Product: Robin Hood [VHS] (1973)
Rating: 5.0
"Robin Hood and Little John trippin' through the forest . . ."
When she was a kid and I was an older kid, my sister had a copy of the ROBIN HOOD record that Disney put out (It had all the songs and dialogue) and I had a great time listening to it with her. When the classically-animated ROBIN HOOD was released on VHS, we bought it together. Now my nephew loves it too!This is a fableized version of the Robin Hood legend based almost entirely on Errol Flynn's 1938 performance as the Bandit of Sherwood Forest. Disney's Robin even wears green tights and the same hat that Errol Flynn sported. Despite what some reviewers have written, the story is not based on "English legend," it's based on Warner Brothers' interpretation of English legend. Not that it really matters.The characters are all animated talking animals. Allan-a-Dale is a lute-playing rooster who sings most of the songs and narrates in a kind of down-home Southern American accent. Little John is a big, slow moving bear with a Texas drawl. Prince John is a cranky lion. Robin Hood himself is a proper English vulpine.The songs are funny, and if none of them are as memorable as, let's say, the songs from MARY POPPINS, they're still enjoyable. The dialogue is easy on the ears:LITTLE JOHN: "Robin...Oh, Robear [French]... Hey man, you're burnin' the chow! You're not paying attention! You're thinkin' about somebody with long eyelashes."ROBIN HOOD: "Oh, Johnnie...I can't stop thinking about her."LITTLE JOHN: "Then marry the girl!""The Girl" is Maid Marian. And take it from me. She's a fox.