The Wolf is a minor antagonist in Disney's 1963 feature film the Sword in the Stone. He was voiced by Jimmy MacDonald, who was the voice of Mickey Mouse for over 30 years.
Personality
The Hungry Wolf is a dangerous but unlucky wolf who is constantly met with misfortune during several encounters with Wart (aka Arthur Pendragon). He tries to eat Wart several times in the film. Of course, he always misses and is injured frequently. He is never once noticed by Arthur or Merlin until his final scene when they turn themselves into squirrels. He is a scrawny wolf who is more comical than threatening. He also bears a resemblance to the Wolf from Peter and the Wolf, though he is not as frightening.
Role in the film
The wolf finds Wart in the forest, and decides to abandon an old bone in favor of having this boy for a meal. He tries and fails to eat him. The last time being when Arthur and Merlin turn themselves into squirrels. He ends up being defeated by a female squirrel who fell in love with Arthur. She tricked him into jumping into the river, where he ended up stuck inside in a log, floating downstream, and is never seen again in the rest of the film.
Trivia
- The scene where the wolf sneaks up on Wart after spitting out the bone from his mouth was recycled from the 1960 Disney short movie, Goliath II.
- Unlike most non-speaking villainous animals who are frightening in appearance, the wolf is the only animal who is not. He appears slightly powerful, but he is mostly dumb, ugly, and rather unlucky.
- The wolf is similar to the Wolf in Make Mine Music in that they both want to eat humans and/or animals, and they both fail miserably. Except that MMM's wolf is more frightening, and yet more challenging for the protagonist to defeat.
- The wolf is the second villain to appear in The Sword in the Stone. The first one is the hawk during the prologue of the movie.
- The wolf inspired the alteration of Tabaqui (and then Kaa) to be similar comic relief lackey antagonists in The Jungle Book.
- In fact, this wolf is the very reason why Tabaqui is completely cut from The Jungle Book, due to their excessive similarities to each other which Walt Disney himself felt that it wasn't a good idea to use two similar canine antagonists so shortly between the releases of The Sword in the Stone and The Jungle Book.
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