Film Review: Robin Hood (1973)

**SEPTEMBER 21, 2017 BY PAUL ASTELL.**

\*All reviews contain spoilers\*.

*Disclaimer: This blog is purely recreational and not for profit.*

*Any material, including images and/or video footage, is property of their respective companies, unless stated otherwise.*

*The author claims no ownership of this material.*

*The opinions expressed therein reflect those of the author and are not to be viewed as factual documentation.*

*All screencaps are from Disneyscreencaps.com.*

Cast – (I’m crediting them the way IMDB does; it’s very specific).

Brian Bedford – Robin Hood – A Fox.

Pat Buttram – Sheriff of Nottingham – A Wolf.

Candy Candido – Captain of the Guards.

Ken Curtis – Nutsy – A Vulture.

Andy Devine – Friar Tuck – A Badger.

Monica Evans – Maid Marian – A Vixen.

John Fiedler – Father Sexton – A Mouse.

Phil Harris – Little John – A Bear.

Dana Laurita – Sis – A Rabbit.

George Lindsey – Trigger – A Vulture.

Barbara Luddy – Mother Church Mouse and Mother Rabbit.

Roger Miller – Allan-a-Dale – The Rooster.

J. Pat O’Malley – Otto – A Dog.

Richie Sanders – Toby – A Turtle.

Carole Shelley – Lady Kluck – A Chicken.

Terry-Thomas – Sir Hiss – A Snake.

Peter Ustinov – Prince John – A Lion and King Richard.

Billy Whitaker – Skippy – A Rabbit.

Dori Whitaker – Tagalong – A Rabbit.

Sources of Inspiration – The British legend of Robin Hood.

**Release Dates** –

November 8th (or 9th), 1973 at Radio City Music Hall, New York City, USA (premiere).

December 21st, 1973 in Los Angeles, USA (general release).

Run-time – 83 minutes.

Directors – Wolfgang Reitherman.

Composers – George Bruns.

Worldwide Gross – $32 million.

Accolades – 1 win and 2 nominations, including an Oscar nomination.

**1973 in History:**

**Vietnam War**:

Nixon suspends offensive action in Vietnam and announces the Paris Peace Accords, the first American prisoners of war are released, the US bombing of Cambodia ends (the war ends two years later).

The UK first enters into the EEC (later to become the EU) – in 2016, they then vote to leave it.

Aerosmith release their debut album in the USA.

The American Indian Movement occupy the Pine Ridge Reservation near Wounded Knee for 71 days before surrendering.

Pink Flloyd’s *The Dark Side of the Moon* is released, becoming a landmark album in rock.

Northern Ireland votes to remain in the UK; the Provisional Irish Republican Army set bombs off in London the same day.

Queen Elizabeth II opens the modern London Bridge, as well as the Sydney Opera House in Australia.

Seven miners are trapped and killed in the UK’s Lofthouse Colliery disaster.

The Watergate scandal blows up in the US, resulting in Nixon’s resignation the following year.

Martin Cooper of Motorola demonstrates the first mobile phone (weighing four and a half pounds) in New York City.

The World Trade Center complex is officially dedicated in New York City; Chicago’s Willis (Sears) Tower becomes the world’s then-tallest building.

Pablo Picasso dies at 91 at his home in France, and Bruce Lee dies at just 32 of cerebral edema in Hong Kong.

FedEx (Federal Express) beings operating from Memphis International Airport.

The US launches its first space station, *Skylab*, which orbits the planet until 1979.

The longest total solar eclipse for a very long time occurs in June, lasting just over seven minutes.

The Bahamas gain full independence from the UK, and East and West Germany are both admitted to the UN

The Norrmalmstorg robbery occurs in Sweden, originating the term “Stockholm syndrome” (it’s also the first crime in the country to be covered on live television)

The Yom Kippur War begins, with Egyptian and Syrian forces attacking the Israelis in Sinai and Golan Heights

An OPEC oil embargo sets off the 1973 oil crisis (Nixon later authorizes the Alaska Pipeline because of this)

The Bosphorus Bridge in Istanbul, Turkey is completed, connecting the continents of Europe and Asia over the Bosphorus for the first time

NASA launches *Mariner 10* towards Mercury; it becomes the first space probe to reach it, the following year

*Pioneer 10* sends back the first close-up images of Jupiter

The American Psychiatric Association removes homosexuality from its DSM-II, an important moment for the Gay Rights movement

The Endangered Species Act is passed in the US

Births of Tara Strong, Pharrell Williams, Adrien Brody, Heidi Klum, Neil Patrick Harris, Vera Farmiga, Kristen Wiig, Grey DeLisle, Seth MacFarlane, Verka Serduchka, Aishwarya Rai and Tyra Banks

We’ve reached Disney’s second film of the 1970s, which was a troubled time for the studio in the wake of Walt’s passing.

The story behind *Robin Hood* goes all the way back to the 1930s when Walt came up with the idea of doing a film based on the twelfth century legend of Reynard the Fox, an amoral trickster. Although the idea of a film starring a fox character evidently appealed to Walt, the crooked nature of Reynard made it too risky to make, so the project languished in development hell for decades. It nearly came to fruition for the first time in the early 1950s, when Walt considered including a series of Reynard vignettes in *Treasure Island* (1950) in a similar manner to the animated episodes in *Song of the South* (1946), but that film eventually went on to become Disney’s first fully live-action feature instead. Next, they considered pairing Reynard with another project by turning him into the villain, in a film that would be called *Chanticleer and Reynard*, but the *Chanticleer* project was ultimately scrapped in favour of *The Sword in the Stone* (1963).

Eventually, it was down to Ken Anderson to bring Walt’s fox character to the screen. He had tried valiantly to keep the Reynard idea alive with storyboard sketches in 1956 and a script in 1960, but it wasn’t until after Walt’s passing that the project was finally brought back around for discussion. Anderson was the one who introduced the famous legend of Robin Hood into the mix, which would still allow them to use a fox character while also providing them with a more suitable hero for a film. Larry Clemmons was brought on board to write the script and production got underway shortly after the completion of *The Aristocats* (1970).

However, it was not a smooth production; many of Anderson’s original ideas were overridden by director Wolfgang Reitherman, such as the idea to set the film in America’s “deep south,” with most of the crew favouring the original English setting of the story instead (a good decision, but it did produce some strange inconsistencies in the voice acting). Then there were Anderson’s thoughts on the character designs, such as the Sheriff of Nottingham – he wanted the character to be a goat, to challenge traditional stereotypes of “villainous” animals (something which actually ended up being done recently in *Zootopia*), but Reitherman opted to make him a wolf as he didn’t believe audiences would buy a villainous goat. Anderson grew distressed at what was being done to his project and the endless dithering caused the production to fall behind schedule, which necessitated the recycling of animation that the film has become so notorious for. In the end, the production schedule was very rushed, lasting just sixteen months and resulting in a film which, much like *The Sword in the Stone*, feels like one big hunk of wasted potential.

**Characters and Vocal Performances:**

*Robin Hood* is the first Disney film to feature a cast of solely anthropomorphic animals (*Bambi*’s were more naturalistic) and the choice to do this was Ken Anderson’s again – in his words, it’s what Disney does best. About five of the voice-actors used were British, but the decision was made to cast several Americans as well, many of whom were veterans of Western-themed films and shows; the casting of Roger Miller added to this country vibe, reflecting Anderson’s original intention of setting it in the deep south.

Most of the cast were confirmed by October 1970 (Louis Prima was apparently angry at not being considered for a role), but Robin proved problematic – he was originally supposed to be played by Tommy Steele, but when he couldn’t provide the character with the required “heroic” tone, his potential replacements were narrowed down to Bernard Fox and Brian Bedford, with the latter eventually winning out. Bedford was a veteran of Shakespearean productions, so he made a great choice for a classical heroic role like this – the strength of Robin as a character is that he makes for a solid leading man, even if there’s not a whole lot to him beyond that.

Robin is as charismatic in this version as he is in most others, beloved by the people of Nottingham and vehemently hated by Prince John and his lackeys. He also gets to enjoy a well-established relationship with his leading lady, Maid Marian, demonstrating the suave chivalry typical of such a character. He’s arguably the first true leading man in a Disney film, which up to then were usually led by either female characters, young boys or domestic pets, so that makes a refreshing change of pace.

One of the most enjoyable aspects of the character is his penchant for disguising himself in a variety of creative costumes, each accompanied by a distinct voice and persona (credit to Bedford for that, it works brilliantly). That said, he does come across as a bit one-dimensional; he’s rather shallow and bordering on being a “Gary Stu,” with no particular flaws to speak of apart from his infamously grey morality regarding theft. The thing is that although he’s entertaining to watch, he’s not very relatable, which makes it harder to connect with him – you never really learn much about his motivations or feelings (beyond his undying love for Marian of course) and you never seriously believe he’s in any danger of being caught (although that’s partly due to how inept the villains are). Still, his design was clearly effective, as he apparently made for a weird first crush for many a young girl! (Seriously, this film is such furry-bait).

The dynamic between Robin Hood and Little John was partially inspired by *Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid* (1969), hence the unusual lack of Merry Men in this version; Disney were aiming for more of a “buddy-comedy” theme with these two. The first thing you have to acknowledge about Little John is that he’s almost a carbon copy of Baloo, at least physically; this marked Phil Harris’s third role for Disney in a row and once again he’s essentially performing as himself, so I suppose the animators saw no point in trying to design a totally different Phil-Harris-bear. His voice is just as enjoyable as ever so this isn’t a problem, and Little John *is* actually somewhat different to Baloo and O’Malley in temperament.

Being paired with such a reckless, devil-may-care character as Robin, it only made sense for Little John to be the more responsible one in this case, so although he certainly knows how to have fun it is usually Little John who expresses doubts or worries about their escapades rather than Robin. Little John proves himself to be a loyal friend and an honourable member of the townsfolk, always there for the others in a jam – but unlike Baloo, he’s also capable of actually helping them without messing it up (don’t get me wrong, I do love Baloo). He also gets to sing one of the film’s best songs and enjoys some interesting chemistry with Lady Kluck, who briefly takes on a vaguely “King Louie” persona as they dance together.

Prince John makes for a treacherous and cowardly villain, but he’s *so* funny; he feels like a mishmash of Scar and Shere Khan, with all of their hamminess but almost none of their threat, making him a fun screen presence even if he’s not particularly frightening as the film’s main antagonist. He’s portrayed as a total mummy’s boy (a subtle nod to history, see below) dressed in what looks like a baby-blue nightshirt and has a habit of throwing ridiculously childish tantrums whenever he encounters any kind of obstacle. Despite his lack of physical power, he’s also quite cunning, knowing Robin well enough to manipulate him into his many traps (but still never *quite* clever enough to actually catch him).

The best thing about John, though, is his voice – every line he gets is delivered with marvellous pomp and bite, courtesy of the hugely talented Peter Ustinov, who was the second Oscar-winning actor to voice a role in an animated Disney film after George Sanders (as Shere Khan, another murderous feline). A few months before the film’s release, the animators needed to bring him back to re-record a few of his lines, but they struggled to find him – after making phone calls to cities all over the world, they finally found that he was working down the street at NBC Studios in Burbank that week, less than a mile away!

The character’s complex regarding his dear old mother is actually a reference to the real King John (“The Fool”) of England, who really did take over from his brother Richard after the latter died unexpectedly in battle in 1199 with no heir. The boys’ parents, King Henry II and Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine, were said to have favoured Richard and spoiled him; John, on the other hand, was supposedly crude and dim-witted, even attempting to usurp the throne from Richard while the latter was fighting in the Crusades (just like in the film) before eventually getting it anyway. John was not a popular king to say the least, so perhaps it’s fitting that his memory lives on through characters as pathetic (yet entertaining) as this.

Sir Hiss, Prince John’s right-hand snake, is another character who bears a strong resemblance to an earlier one. He has basically inherited his look from *The Jungle Book*’s Kaa, with a few hints of his voice actor, Terry-Thomas, making their way into the design too. The film needed a character like this; someone who’s even more of a wuss than John himself so the latter has someone to dominate. Hiss is almost sympathetic when compared with his tyrannical master, with the air of a lonely loser who’s been taken in a by a bully and will now defend them no matter the cost, even when the bully is mistreating them. Despite his suffering, he proves to be surprisingly loyal to John, always working hard to help him even though the latter rarely appreciates these efforts. By the end of the film, though, he finally seems to have had a change of heart, rooting for Robin (as he’s evidently pleased to see he survived his jump from the tower) and openly terrified of his increasingly deranged master.

The Sheriff of Nottingham is a corpulent and very American wolf who actually manages to be sort of likeable, despite his obviously rotten motivations. His voice, supplied by Pat Buttram, is quite warm and genial; indeed, he’s almost polite in his dealings with the townsfolk, trills cheerful tunes as he strolls about (including a smear song about his own employer) and at times, such as when he chats to Robin in disguise as a “blind beggar”, he could even be described as friendly. Still, all of this only serves as a lesson to never judge a book by its cover, as under the surface he’s perhaps even more ruthless and mean than Prince John, abusing his position as a “tax collector” to essentially rob the blind, the lame, the church and even children without a care, safe in his belief in his own authority. He ends up putting practically the whole town of Nottingham in jail and proves to be a more worthy adversary to Robin in the climax than John himself ever was. (I always wonder how he managed to escape the flaming tower at the end, though!)

Maid Marian, a vixen and our leading lady, is a bit of a disappointing character. The best thing I can say about her is that, for once, her relationship with the lead male actually has some history behind it – she and Robin knew each other as children and have been pining for each other for years, rather than the more typical handful of days allotted to such couples in the films so far. While it’s nice that she doesn’t just fall for Robin on the spot, she suffers from a strange lack of screen time, as though the writers weren’t sure what to do with her; in the last portion of the film she disappears altogether, only reappearing for the wedding at the end (I hate when films do this, as though the woman is a “reward” for the hero once all the action has been accomplished without her). She comes across as fairly helpless and doesn’t have much agency in the plot, functioning as a basic damsel in distress with little to her character beyond this. Perhaps if they had used their alternate ending (which I’ll explain below), her character arc would have been more satisfying.

Interestingly enough, I found that Marian had better chemistry with her lady in waiting, Lady Kluck. Kluck is the best character in the whole film, hands down; she’s a total joy whenever she’s on screen and adds a lot of warmth to the scenes she’s in. Lady Kluck obviously cares a great deal about Marian and has likely been raising her since childhood; she demonstrates a particular talent for dealing with children when a group of them turn up in the castle garden, which makes her all the more endearing. She’s given a lively Scottish accent by Carole Shelley, who is once again acting opposite Monica Evans as Marian – these two voiced the hilarious Gabble sisters in the last film and had previously played sisters on Broadway, too, so they play very naturally off one another and sound like genuine friends. Mind you, I can’t help wondering how a hen has survived so long in close company with a *vixen*… imagine what could happen if there was ever a food shortage in the castle!

Of the remaining characters, Friar Tuck stands out as the closest thing to a “Merry Man” besides Little John. He was nearly made into a pig, but it was thought that a porcine clergyman might offend the church, so he was eventually redesigned into a badger (although he doesn’t look much like any badger I’ve ever seen). He’s a fairly likeable presence, especially in his big scene where he gives the dastardly Sheriff a well-deserved beating after the scoundrel literally robs the church, but other than that his role is actually surprisingly small compared to other versions of the story. He’s your basic kind and generous holy man, helping to distribute Robin’s funds among the poor and fiercely defending the interests of his church. The funniest thing about him is that he demonstrates a complete lack of tact in whatever situation he’s placed into – it is he who goes barging into Robin and Marian’s love-nest to start a party with the whole town behind him, and his booming calls of thanks to God after being rescued in the tower nearly alert the whole place to Robin’s presence. Perhaps it’s a good thing he’s not in more scenes!

Alan-a-Dale makes for a good narrator, but he’s only in a handful of scenes so there’s not much more to him than that – his most notable moment is when he helps Friar Tuck to scupper Sir Hiss in the latter’s attempts to locate Robin at the archery tournament, by providing his mandolin as a bow to shoot down Hiss’s balloon.

The Mother Mouse and her husband the Sexton are sweet characters in their one main scene, as is Skippy’s mother; both of these motherly characters were voiced by Barbara Luddy, who provides them both with a gentle yet stern demeanour that lends them an air of great depth for such minor roles. The Mother Mouse in particular stands out to me for her small scene in the church, where she donates her last farthing to Friar Tuck after he laments the emptiness of the church’s poor box.

The assorted children (by name, Sis, Toby and Tagalong) are about as one-note and generic as you’d expect, but they do at least have realistically youthful dialogue, something Disney has always been great at doing. Skippy, the leader of their little group is like a more obnoxious version of Thumper, but with none of the latter’s charm – he’s featured in way more scenes than he needed to be and even cuts in on the couple’s honeymoon at the end (something that everyone, including his mother, is apparently okay with).

King Richard himself also makes the briefest possible appearance in the film’s final scene, stealing a joke from Lady Kluck for his only line. The real King Richard was, like his brother, a pretty poor king, spending most of his life abroad and possibly not even speaking English (but he *was* known as “Richard the Lionheart”, hence the visual pun of the character design).

Among the various other animals that appear, my favourites were the rhinoceros guards of Prince John, who are fantastically terrible at their job – Little John is somehow able to steal money out of the Prince’s chest *while they are looking at him* (he is in disguise, admittedly), and later they also nearly kill their master by failing to heed his orders during a charge.

{Top row: Alan-a-Dale and church mice. Middle row: Kids together (Toby, Skippy, Sis and Tagalong and King Richard. Bottom row: The guard rhinos with a hippo musician.}

**Animation:**

*Robin Hood* marks a sad milestone, as it was the last Disney film which all Nine of the Old Men would live to see completed (due to John Lounsbery’s death from surgical complications in 1976). In addition to Lounsbery, this film featured work from Milt Kahl, Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston, as well as the first appearances from some intriguing “newbies” such as Don Bluth (who later went on to criticise the way the film turned out).

There’s no way to dress this up – this is truly some of the most lacklustre animation we’ve seen from Disney up to this point in the canon, largely thanks to the extensive, shameless recycling of whole sequences which the film has been so widely criticised for. Thankfully after this film the recycling epidemic never again hit such a peak, but for anyone with a good knowledge of the earlier Disney films this can be a *very* distracting one to watch because of the sheer amount of it that you’ll have seen before.

In particular, it borrows heavily from the previous two features – *The Aristocats* and *The Jungle Book* – as well as from Disney’s first, *Snow White*; Reitherman was said to have done this deliberately in “homage” to said films, but I don’t think he’s fooling anyone: it’s clear that it was mainly done to save money in those cash-strapped times. *The Phony King of England* scene stands out as perhaps the most egregious example in the entire film – there’s almost nothing original in the whole scene!

I will admit that the film’s fight scenes are well-choreographed, which can’t be said for some of Disney’s better films. Like most of the Dark Age films, the film’s strength lies in its character animation, which is as charming and entertaining as ever, but it feels like the filmmakers were hoping that this would be enough to carry the film by itself. Unfortunately, it wasn’t, making this one of the blander and more visually unappealing films in the Disney canon.

**Plot:**

The plot is handled in a fairly straightforward manner; it’s the basic Robin Hood storyline with all the usual set pieces like the archery tournament and the robberies. The individual segments the film consists of are generally well-handled, with the archery tournament standing out as one of the best parts of the film’s midsection, but overall the pace tends to wander about a bit and at times the plot seems to focus on the wrong characters (I’m looking at the kids especially). The climax is a high point of the film’s story – it’s genuinely suspenseful, with some excellent staging and music used to great effect – but it does let itself down a bit in the very last scene, where everything is wrapped up with a neat little bow after Robin makes another of his miraculous escapes.

There was originally an alternate ending planned that would involve Robin being wounded during the final faceoff on the tower, rather than simply escaping unharmed yet again. After being rescued by Little John, he was going to be taken to the church where he would be tended by Maid Marian, before the arrival of an incensed Prince John. Marian would attempt to defend Robin from him, Pocahontas-style, until the sudden arrival of King Richard, who would imprison his brother and the rest and fix the situation in Nottingham before leaving on another Crusade. Friar Tuck would then marry Robin and Marian and from there the ending would be essentially the same. This honestly would have made for a stronger climax and would have provided more appropriate closure for the various characters’ storylines (especially Marian, who really got the shaft in the final version). As it is, the original ending only exists in storyboard form, and can be viewed as an extra on the DVD, but I wish they had taken the risk of using it in the theatrical release as it might have made the film more memorable overall. Apparently, their reasoning for dropping it was because they didn’t want Prince John to seem too threatening – what?  *He’s your villain!*

**Cinematography:**

This really isn’t one of Disney’s better-looking films. Much like the animation, the artwork in this one is generally pretty dull and uninspiring, with none of the detail or richness that we’d come to expect from them by then. It took a few ideas from the famed 1938 version of the story, *The Adventures of Robin Hood*, which starred Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland, and it probably also drew on Disney’s own earlier live-action take on it, *The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men* (1952), but it’s not nearly as grand in scale as either of those.

With the cinematography, there’s not a whole lot to remark on. There’s no narration over the book-opening this time around, and interestingly said book is illustrated with humans despite the animal-filled cast. The disguises Robin and Little John use throughout the film are a lot of fun, admittedly, especially the gypsy women they pose as near the start! The blind beggar is perhaps the most successful of them all, as it conceals Robin’s distinguishing features better than any of the others. Some touches, like the “love-struck” eyes Robin has when he hears mention of Maid Marian, come across as more creepy than sweet (seriously, he looks demented) and I noticed that they brought back Kaa’s “hypnotic” eyes from *The Jungle Book*, too, although only briefly. There are also occasional moments with deliberate anachronisms for comedy; the best one is definitely Lady Kluck turning the “brawl” at the tournament into an American football game!

As usual, the romantic scenes stand out as the film’s prettiest – if only the whole film could have been designed to that level of quality. The cinematography also starts to pick up during the climax as the colour palette gets darker and the camera angles start to get a bit more inventive, but on the whole, the film suffers from a blandness of design which takes away a lot of the impact a story this iconic could have had.

**Soundtrack:**

One thing *Robin Hood* is frequently praised for is its soundtrack, so I know this will be an unpopular opinion, but I’ve honestly never cared for the music here at all. The score is quite good, with lots of George Bruns’ classic jazz motifs (incidentally, this was his last time scoring a Disney film), but the individual songs mostly leave me cold.

The opening credits play over a rather boring song called *Whistle Stop*, which doesn’t exactly open things on a grand note. Compare it to the opening song from *The Sword in the Stone*, which really suited the medieval tone of the story (even if the setting there wasn’t technically medieval) and actually felt a lot more appropriate to it than anything else in that film. *Whistle Stop*, as you might already have heard, went on to inspire *The Hampster Dance* in 2000 – the fact that part of it was turned into a meme like this years later really tells you all you need to know about it. It’s catchy in a vaguely annoying way, but seriously, you’re going to open a Robin Hood story with this? I’ve seen TV shows with better opening themes.

Alan-a-Dale/Roger Miller’s second number is *Oo De Lally*, which is short but better than the last song, initially serving to set up Robin and Little John’s friendship and then cropping up again many times later in the film. It has a pleasant melody to it that is woven in and out of the score, becoming a sort of character motif for Robin and returning during chases or fights to add a comic touch.

*Love* was written by Floyd Huddleston and George Bruns and is performed by Huddleston’s wife, Nancy Adams, as Robin and Marian are enjoying some alone time (not for long though). As far as Disney love ballads go, this isn’t one of their best; it’s very generic and feels much more ‘70s than any of the other numbers, lending the scene a strangely anachronistic feeling – but I suppose it is quite soothing, and it was good enough to be nominated for an Oscar (losing to *The Way We Are* from the film of the same name), so clearly it’s just me.

Right after it, in an almost jarring case of mood whiplash, we launch straight into *The Phony King of England*, written by Johnny Mercer and performed with gusto by Phil Harris. In this infamously recycled scene, the residents of Nottingham gather in Sherwood Forest to poke fun at their tyrannical monarch after Robin has outwitted him again. Although this one, too, feels out of place as it has a barn-dance tone to it, it’s easily my favourite of the film’s songs and I’m always humming it for days after seeing the film. (Disney’s never let historical accuracy get in the way of a good hoedown before, anyway – just look at the package films!) I especially liked the way the song was so catchy that even the *villains* start to sing it, to the consternation of Prince John (who is being joyfully lambasted in its lyrics).

The film’s other song is *Not in Nottingham*, the third piece written and performed by Roger Miller, which plays after Prince John’s iron-fisted crackdown on tax payments which leads to nearly everyone being imprisoned. I think this might be my problem; I guess I’m just not a fan of this guy, as his songs are the ones I found boring – this one in particular is incredibly dreary and depressing, but then it does match the tone of the scene it’s in very well. I know the song has earned a lot of praise elsewhere for its melody and lyrics, so again, I’m sure it’s just me and my taste, but there you go. (Also, is it just me, or is Sir Hiss the only one in the film who can correctly pronounce Nottingham? For the record, it’s “Notting-um,” not “Notting-HAM”).

A soundtrack record was released with the film back in 1973, but the full soundtrack wasn’t released until August 2017, as part of the *Walt Disney Records: The Legacy Collection* series on compact disc and digital download. The music of the film has gone on to considerable later life: in addition to *The Hampster Dance*, the song *Love* was featured in the film *Fantastic Mr. Fox* (2009) and *Oo De Lally* cropped up in a 2015 commercial for Android which shows various species of animal playing together. The opening theme was apparently also adopted by fans of Liverpool FC, being used as a song for club captain Steven Gerrard.

One other small note on the music that I found interesting: the music playing in the background as Lady Kluck does her “football routine” on Prince John’s guards is an arrangement of *Fight On* and *On, Wisconsin*, which are the respective fight songs of the University of Southern California and the University of Wisconsin.

There are a whole plethora of great lines in this film; indeed, the writing and voice acting are probably my favourite things about it. It’s impossible to pick a favourite – there’s the moment where Lady Kluck, playing badminton, cries “As your lady in waiting – I’m waiting!”, or the classic Phil Harris delivery on Little Bear’s line, “What a *beauuutiful* brawl!”, or Friar Tuck’s “Barbara Windsor” moment as he screams “GET OUT OF MY CHURCH!” at the stunned Sheriff.

However, the absolute gems all come from good old PJ.

The best has to be this delicious one from an early scene where he’s trying on his brother’s crown:

“This crown gives me a feeling of *power*! POWER! Forgive me a cruel chuckle, heh-heh-heh-ha, *power*… mmmm…” The look on his face is just priceless; I love the little moments like that.

**Final Verdict –**

The film received generally positive reviews during its original release, but its reception has become decidedly more mixed with the passing years. It has long been criticised for its overreliance on recycling in the animation, as well as its rather drab design and tepid plot. Critic Christopher Finch considered it to have excellent character animation but noted the poor art direction and production values, saying that “This version of Robin Hood is almost entirely lacking in allegorical power.” John Grant, meanwhile, more bluntly wrote that “*Robin Hood* is the weakest of the Disney animated features,” although to be fair he was writing before the creation of such dreck as *Chicken Little* (2005).

The film was rereleased only once in 1982 to disappointing results, before becoming the first instalment of the Walt Disney Classics VHS collection in 1984. It was chosen for this not so much as an honour, but because Disney were initially reluctant to release their classics on home media as they feared it would detract profits from future rereleases – this one was thus chosen to go first as it had a poorer reputation than most of the others that existed at the time (it’s worth noting that it came out on tape just one year before *The Black Cauldron* debuted in theatres…)

There were further VHS releases in the UK in 1987 and 1989 and several more in the US in 1991, 1992, 1994 and 1998 (quite a few; perhaps the film had a decent cult fan base even then). In 2000 it then got its first joint DVD/VHS release, with another DVD in 2006 (my copy) and a fortieth anniversary edition accompanied by a Blu-ray release in 2013.

In December 2014, the inevitable news of a live-action remake was announced – Disney was said to have bought a spec script titled *Nottingham & Hood* (What’s that, Robin Hood gone gangster?) and were hoping that it would spawn a new film franchise (of course they were). The tone was going to be something like that of the *Pirates of the Caribbean* series. However, nothing more seems to have been heard of this since, which is surprising after nearly three years – I have to admit, this is one of the few classics that I think could actually *benefit* from being remade, so I hope they pick this idea up again down the line.

So, to summarise – do I like this film? Eh, not really. I know a lot of you probably do and of course that’s fantastic, I’m glad you enjoy it, but I’m afraid I just don’t. I find most aspects of it too weak to really hold my interest; the art direction, the music, the pacing… I will give it credit for its excellent voice cast and good writing though, as they are the only things that made it watchable for me. I get the feeling that people who grew up with this one tend to look on it more kindly and unfortunately I didn’t; I must have seen it for the first time (like so many others) on Disney CineMagic maybe half a decade ago. Actually, I do remember CineMagic overplaying it like mad, so that could be part of the reason why I struggle to sit through this one nowadays – it’s worth watching once or twice, but it’s one of those films which just loses more and more of its impact the more times you see it. Much like *The Sword in the Stone*, it feels like there was a lot of wasted potential here – if only it could have been made during the 1940s, or the 1990s – so unless you’re a completist who needs to see them all, this might be a good one to skip.

My Rating – 2/5.

**Gallery:**

Yikes! I wouldn’t want to see him when he’s angry.The best linebacker the Sherwood Strikers ever had.