Archimedes is the tritagonist of Disney's 1963 animated feature film The Sword in the Stone. He is Merlin's pet owl who has the ability to speak like a human.
Little of Archimedes' past is known. At some point, he became the pet owl of Merlin and gained the ability to speak. Like his owner, he has also had dealings with Madam Mim in the past, as he evidently fears her.
Personality
“When he stays out all night he's always grumpy the next morning.”
Archimedes is known for being somewhat grouchy and sarcastic, especially in the morning. He also has a pompous streak, and is easily offended. Though he is loyal to Merlin, he is not afraid to point out the Wizard's shortcomings and often does. He is, however, very well educated, and possesses a great deal of practical knowledge. Though at first he is haughty and dismissive to Arthur, he slowly warms to him as he helps Merlin educate him, and eventually becomes a devoted and loyal friend, even staying by his side after Merlin blows himself to Bermuda.
Inspiration
Archimedes is based on Merlin's talking owl, from the book The Sword in the Stone, which the film was based on. Like the movie, the book version of Archimedes can talk and teaches Wart to fly.
Archimedes first appears with Merlin in their forest cottage. He scoffs at Merlin's idea that someone will join them for tea. Later, when a young boy named Wart does appear, he snidely reminds Merlin about his limits, when Merlin states that he can see everything in the future, as Merlin had no clue who the person was that would be joining them. On meeting Wart, Archimedes is offended at the boy mistaking him for a stuffed owl and refuses to speak to him.
Archimedes accompanies Merlin as they travel to Sir Ector's castle, where Wart lives. Merlin introduces Archimedes as a "highly educated owl," which sends Sir Ector into hysterics, much to the offense of Archimedes. The next day, Archimedes protests that Merlin should return to the woods, as Sir Ector has placed the two of them in a crumbling tower, referred to as the "guest room." It rains that night, and Archimedes is soaked due to the numerous leaks in the tower. After Merlin sees Sir Pellinore come with news, Archimedes is sent to investigate (after Merlin threatens to turn him into a human). In the dining room, Archimedes overhears the men speak of an upcoming tournament, where the winner would become king of England.
The next morning, Archimedes is forced to remind a forgetful Merlin of where they are. The two then watch as Wart helps Kay practice his jousting. When Merlin scoffs at the idea that jousting is a science, Archimedes points out that Wart likes the sport just as much as the rest do. Merlin then reveals his plan to use magic to help Wart learn the value of an education.
Archimedes later accompanies Merlin as the wizard gives Wart a lesson. Merlin forgets the spell he intended to cast and awakens a sleeping Archimedes for the spell. Archimedes is shown to be very cranky early in the morning and finds a nice tree to sleep in, while Merlin and Wart swim through the moat as fish. Archimedes suddenly woke up from the scream, as he is soon saw Wart being chased by a giant pike and quickly flew to the rescue. After Wart and Merlin are human again, Archimedes angrily denies trying to save the boy, and that he really intended to eat Wart. However, Merlin slyly notes that Archimedes was willing to take a huge risk just for the sake of food.
Later, when Merlin and Wart have transformed themselves into squirrels for another lesson, Wart is being chased by a lovestruck female squirrel. Archimedes' sleep is once again disturbed by Wart landing on top of him, to which the owl shoos Wart away, not knowing who he is.
Archimedes is next seen after Wart is fired as Kay's squire. Merlin begins Wart's education in earnest by talking about very complicated theories. Archimedes sees that Wart is getting confused and forcibly takes over Wart's education. Archimedes is shown to be much more practical than Merlin. He first tasks Wart with reading a mountain of books, but when he discovers that Wart can't read or write, Archimedes teaches him. During a break, Merlin demonstrates a model airplane. Archimedes believes that it won't work, and starts cracking up when the plane crashes and sinks into the moat, due to it being caught in Merlin's beard.
When Merlin turns Wart into a sparrow, so that Wart can fly as he dreamed, Merlin begins to explain the concept of flight using Archimedes' wings as a model. Archimedes quickly stops this and decides to teach Wart to fly himself, as he himself is a bird. He teaches Wart to fly by making him do it. Everything is going well when a hawk appears and tries to eat Wart. Archimedes attempts to delay the hawk, and Wart is able to dive into a chimney to escape. When Archimedes sees that Wart is now in the hands of Madam Mim, Archimedes flies off to warn Merlin. Archimedes next appears as the Wizard's Duel is about to start, and he explains the premise to Wart. Alongside Wart, he watches the duel and occasionally yells out advice to Merlin.
At Christmas, Wart is made Kay's squire, to which Archimedes kindly congratulates him, but Merlin is disappointed in Wart for not pushing himself to achieve better things and goes to Bermuda (not before it cut to a scene where Archimedes thought Merlin's words went too far). When Wart asks Archimedes if Merlin ever comes back, the owl only answers, "Who knows? Who knows anything?" Archimedes stays with Wart, accompanying him to London to the tournament. He goes with Wart as he attempts to find a sword for Kay. When Wart attempts to retrieve Excalibur, Archimedes warns him against pulling it. Later, he witnesses Wart being officially recognized as the rightful king Arthur and shows a mixture of happiness and disbelief.
After the coronation, Arthur feels unprepared for the duties of a king. Archimedes tries to help him run away, but they are unsuccessful as the castle is surrounded by cheering subjects. Merlin magically reappears to guide Arthur again, and Archimedes presumably chose to stay with them.
In Descendants: The Rise of Red, we see many symbols and statues of him during Merlin's scenes in Merlin Academy. His enchanted figurines come to life to protect Merlin's belongings, such as the Sorcerer's Cookbook, but are are eventually shattered when Chloe Charming throws her shoes at them to prevent Uliana and her gang from being successful in their revenge.
While Merlin appears in the popular video game series Kingdom Hearts, Archimedes is absent. However, his birdcage is seen outside Merlin's home in the original Kingdom Hearts. In Disney Magic Kingdoms, a similar thing happened prior to his addition to the game.
Archimedes also appears in the promotional comic book The Sceptre and the Kingdom.
Archimedes was named after the Greek mathematician, physicist, philosopher, engineer, inventor, and astronomer, Archimedes of Syracuse.
In Italy, Archimedes is called Anacleto, because Archimede is already the Italian name of Gyro Gearloose.
Archimedes' coughing noises were soon recycled sound effects for Roquefort from The Aristocats.
In first Polish version of the movie, he was female and his name was changed to Minerwa. This name change is named after the Roman goddess Minerva, the Roman equivalent of Athena, a goddess often depicted with an owl to symbolize wisdom.
In Alan Moore's graphic novel Watchmen, Archimedes was referred as an influence for the hero Daniel Dreiberg, who was inspired after seeing him to become the super-hero "Nite Owl".
Karl Swenson, the voice of Merlin in the same film, was initially cast as Archimedes, but the filmmakers decided to cast Swenson as Merlin. Therefore, Junius Matthews was cast as Archimedes instead.
