[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_sword_in_the_stone_tearjerker.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Dammit Merlin, why didn't you just let this squirrel have her happy ending?]]
* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MuUQk-XwgA The opening scene]] alone is enough to make you weep. The song in the beginning is so melancholy...
---> ''A legend is sung of [[YeGoodeOldeDays when England was young\\
And knight were brave and bold]]\\
The good king had died and no one could decide\\
[[SuccessionCrisis Who was rightful heir to the throne]]\\
It seemed that the land would be torn by war\\
Or saved by [[DeusExMachina a miracle]] alone\\
And that miracle appeared in Londontown\\
[[TitleDrop The Sword In the Stone]]''
-->'''Narrator:''' And below the hilt, in letters of gold, were written these words: '''''"Whoso pulleth out this sword of this stone and anvil is rightwise king born of England."''''' Though many tried for the sword with all their strength, [[OnlyTheChosenMayWield none could move the sword]] nor stir it. [[WhamLine So the miracle had not worked]], and England was still without a king — and in time, the marvelous sword was forgotten. This was [[DarkAgeEurope a dark age]], without law and without order. [[DownerEnding Men lived in fear of one another, for the strong preyed upon the weak.]]
* When Arthur and Merlin turn back into people after being squirrels, you hear the female squirrel who fell in love with Arthur quietly crying. Man, it's hard to even think about without tearing up.
--> '''Merlin''': Ah, you know, lad... that love business is a powerful thing. \\
'''Arthur''': Greater than gravity? \\
'''Merlin''': Well, yes, boy, in its way, I'd, uh- Yes, I'd say it's [[ThePowerOfLove the greatest force on Earth]].
** In the same scene the saddest part is when Arthur just realizes how seriously heartbroken she is and he looks genuinely remorseful knowing he can't do anything to make her happy.
** Enters into FridgeSadness if you know how King Arthur's canon romance with Guinevere turns out. Then he'll '''really''' empathize with the squirrel.
** This is even worse if you realize how different human biology is from other mammals. As far as humans go, Arthur is just a boy barely into puberty, but in squirrel form, that's well into adulthood. The female squirrel would already be a grown woman, but Arthur can't return her feelings not just because he isn't really a squirrel, but because he's still a boy. He won't be ready for anything like that for years. We have no way of knowing if the girl was grief-stricken not just because she understood that her crush was human, but also because he was basically still a child and couldn't return her feelings if he wanted to. Even if we gave the film the benefit of the doubt and assumed that she'd be in the same age range as Arthur from the perspective of squirrel years, she'd technically be older than him physically and emotionally next year. Regardless of how old she actually is, her "relationship" wasn't going to last very long.
* Arthur's HeroicBSOD after losing the chance to become Kay's squire, due to his punishment by Sir Ector. Even '''Merlin''' felt sorry for him. At first.
** Which has nothing on how he feels after Merlin's reaction to his actually becoming Kay's squire, especially when you realize that it's actually ''Arthur'' [[KidHasAPoint who's in the right here]]. After Merlin calls him out for not pushing himself to achieve bigger and better things, Arthur tearfully emphasizes (in so many words) that ''he can't''-- in the feudal era, a child without a legitimate lineage had no prospects and almost no chance of getting ahead in life, and being a squire to a knight is the best chance that he can hope for and the only thing he has left because for a kid like him, he doesn't know how to move forward in life. [[ForegoneConclusion Or so he thinks.]]
** A quick shot of Archimedes shows that [[EveryoneHasStandards even the old owl thought Merlin's words went too far]] and feels ''sorry'' for Arthur when he hears him tearfully breaking down. The look on his face is telling.
--->'''Arthur:''' Merlin! Archimedes! Merlin! Merlin, look! I'm a squire!\\
'''Merlin:''' ''(makes a look of anger and disappointment)''\\
'''Archimedes''': Oh...er...very nice, boy!\\
'''Merlin:''' (''sasrcastic'') Oh, yes. Very nice. A fine monkey suit for polishing boots!\\
'''Arthur:''' It...it's what all squires wear.\\
'''Merlin:''' And I thought you were going to amount to something. I thought you'd have a few brains! (''kicks a stack of books, to Arthur's shock'') [[SarcasmMode Great future. Ha! A stooge for that big lunk Kay. Congratulations, boy!]]\\
'''Arthur:''' (''tearfully bitter'') What do you want me to be? I'm ''nobody!'' You... you don't know a thing about what's going on today! I-I'm ''lucky'' to be Kay's squire!\\
'''Merlin:''' Oh, of all the idiotic - I, I... BLOW ME TO BERMUDA! (''blasts off like a rocket'')\\
'''Arthur:''' Wh...Where did he go?\\
'''Archimedes:''' To Bermuda, I suppose.\\
'''Arthur:''' Where's that?\\
'''Archimedes:''' Oh, an island way out west that hasn't been discovered yet.\\
'''Arthur:''' Will he come back?\\
'''Archimedes:''' Who knows? Who knows anything?
* A brief moment during the wizards' duel when Arthur thinks Mim vanquished Merlin. Archimedes has to hold the boy back from getting killed.
-->'''Arthur:''' Why that horrible old witch! I'll...I'll peck her eyes out! (''starts to fly towards Mim'')\\
'''Archimedes''' No, No! (''Grabs him in time and holds him close'')
* Poor Arthur being saddled with the crown of England after pulling the sword out of the stone. He has ''nobody'' to guide him aside from Archimedes, who has no idea how to help the poor kid. Arthur is a good kid with a kind heart but has no idea how to lead, and his first instinct is, understandably, to run away from his new responsibilities. Thankfully, Merlin reappears at the end to help him.
** Arthur's reaction to Sir Ector bowing to him and begging forgiveness. Ector is, for all intents and purposes, Arthur's father, and while he was a strict, harsh disciplinarian, he was never abusive or cruel. He doesn't want Ector (or Kay for that matter) to bow before him because they are the only family he's ever known.
*** Kay has a very brief shift in expression just as the scene ends, in which his bowing due to seeing everyone else bow leads to him opening his eyes, looking at Arthur in dawning awe, and then closing his eyes with a remorseful expression on his face.
** This gets even worse if you know the legend of Arthur. Arthur is King Uther's son (as far as anyone knows), but he will never know his true parentage. Merlin isn't likely to tell.
----