Robin Hood (1973)
Disney Animated Classic Number 21
Starring: Brian Bedford, Phil Harris, Monica Evans, Terry-Thomas, Roger Miller, Peter Ustinov.
Directed by: Wolfgang Reitherman
Rating: ★★★★
I found it incredibly difficult to watch Robin Hood ‘objectively’. It was always one of my favourite Disney films as a child, so it was hard to re-watch a film that means so much to me in order to analyze it as a ‘reviewer’ and ignore my emotional attachments towards it.
As soon as the cheap looking opening credits began, I was immediately taken back to my childhood, and I had a horrible feeling that Robin Hood wasn’t going to be as good as I remembered it. The title sequence, which has an incredibly memorable song over the top, introduces us to the various characters by providing clips straight from the movie. This technique sure is tacky, but it instantly sent me back to my infancy, so I have a lot of love for it. Who doesn’t love rooster Alan-a-Dale (voiced by country and western singer Roger Miller) whistling and scatting the tune that I’m sure anyone who has seen this film as a child could immediately recall? (Da doo da doo, dah doo dah doo doo…)
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| Alan-a-Dale having a sing song... |
Alan-a-Dale serves as the stories’ narrator, watching and sometimes taking part in the events of the film. Sure, it makes no particular sense to have a folk singing rooster provide most of the soundtrack to a movie set in medieval England, but since almost all of the characters in this movie are American and not English, we can ignore it. Our narrator introduces us to Robin Hood (Bedford) and Sherwood Forest, and tells us about Prince John (Ustinov) and his faithful servant Sir Hiss (Terry-Thomas) who has hypnotised King Richard to leave England for the crusades so that the Prince could usurp his throne. Now that the country has fallen apart, it is up to Robin Hood and Little John (Harris) to rob from the rich and give to the poor, which is exactly what they begin the film doing.
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| Who does love to hate thumb sucking Prince John? |
The song about Robin and Little John walking through the forest is great, but almost from the get go we can see just how many elements Robin Hood has ‘borrowed’ from other Disney Animated Classics. Little John is almost identical to Baloo from The Jungle Book, and I remember as a child thinking that Baloo himself was ‘playing’ the role of Little John as some kind of intentional meta-referential cameo. But he isn’t. Robin Hood just had a very tight budget, and so because of this, footage from other Disney animations (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, The Jungle Book and The AristoCats) was reused by tracing over specific sequences. Without even knowing this when I was a child, watching it now it’s pretty obvious. The entire opening scene in which Robin Hood and Little John drag up in order to steal jewels and gold from Prince John really reminded me of the animation from Bedknobs and Broomsticks, which preceded Robin Hood by two years.
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| Little John and Robin getting up to some crazy antics... |
Regardless of the poor animation, the characters, events, story and jokes are all good enough to help assist Robin Hood out of its murky cells to make it a very enjoyable movie. Thumb sucking Prince John is pretty funny, and the bit when the thieves suck the jewels from his rings always used to make me smile. The assorted minor characters, such as the rabbit kids and their turtle friend, are unforgettable, and the moment that Robin Hood gives one of the rabbit children his hat and bow and arrow (since The Sheriff of Nottingham steals his birthday present) is great, as any child would love a present from Robin Hood. Because of Robin’s instant charm and kindness, we warm to him very quickly, and so the film immediately has heart plonked firmly in the centre of it.
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| Robin Hood helps the poor, and so they help him... |
It isn’t just Robin Hood that we love. BalooLittle John is a loveable rogue, and Maid Marion (Evans) is also likeable. Prince John is a funny and rather unusual villain in that he’s more stupid than evil, and even though he is a ‘bad guy’, it is hard not to feel sorry for his competent but long suffering manservant Sir Hiss. He is brutally bullied and beaten by Little John throughout the film’s duration, and although he is actually intelligent enough to foil Robin Hood’s schemes, he is never thanked for it. Friar Tuck and the devoted church mice are also excellent too, and share in one of the film’s most touching scenes, when the Sheriff steals from the poor box of the church. I remember this scene, and the ones in prison following it, as being incredibly potent and emotional, once again delivering a sentimental blow to the audience.
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| Friar Tuck enjoys his food, but he also enjoys helping others... |
Other strong sequences include the archery competition, the jailbreak and the castle fire. But I really feel that what carries us through the entire film is the fact that these great moments work together effectively with the robust soundtrack. ‘Oo De Lally’ and ‘The Phoney King of England’ are quirky and unforgettable, and are accompanied by some excellent action, for example the puppet show. The two slower, more heartfelt songs ‘Not In Nottingham’ and ‘Love’ are sincerely emotional. As a child I never really liked the love song, but as an adult I appreciate the incredibly 70s-ness of it, and added together with the fireflies and engagement, it is a very nice moment. As an aside, the song itself reminds me of the other very 70s love song in The Rescuers and the vulpine sex scene in The Fox and the Hound, which is clearly a direct copy of this one (a rip-offed scene from movie full of ripped off scenes- now I'm getting confused...).
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| Robin as a stalk is one of the more memorable parts of the film. |
Robin Hoodis, in spite of its obvious aesthetic weaknesses, a very strong entry. This is mainly due to the fact that every moment of the film is filled with something visually and/or audibly interesting, funny or exciting, and there is hardly any ‘down’ time. The exhilarating finale in the castle and the happy ending may be clichéd, but we genuinely want them to happen as everyone in the film deserves a happy ever after. Robin Hood’s heartfelt and tender message of charity and helping those in need also provides more substantial sustenance than many of the other Disney classics.
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| Robin certainly loves to disguise himself... |
It’s interesting to note that Disney originally wanted to do a movie about Reynard, a trickster fox who is the star of different European countries' fables of old, but decided not to because he was more morally ambiguous. They still took ideas from these stories and incorporated them into Robin Hood, and I think that this was probably a better idea, as the sentimental message of someone fighting for justice was thankfully not left on the cutting room floor, and if it had been, then perhaps Robin Hood wouldn’t have been as good as it is.
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| They all get a happy ever after in the end... |
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