BACKGROUND
I’m sure for many people, Disney’s Robin Hood was their first introduction to the stories and legend of Robin Hood, the English outlaw who stole from the rich to give to the poor.
It may not be Disney’s best animated feature, in fact, criticisms have been harsh towards the movie, most notably for its reuse of previous animation, but it has a special place in the hearts of many.
I love this version of Robin Hood. It probably helps that I like the overall legend, though I have only watched a couple of other adaptations of the stories, with BBC’s television series Robin Hood (2006-09) being my personal favourite. But I still enjoy Disney’s Robin Hood. I’m not wowed by the animation or by the story, but it has charm and heart, with some good action sequences, funny characters, and catchy music. Who hasn’t spent their time whistling the opening tune at times, or singing “Oo-de-Lally”? I know I have!
The legend of Robin Hood has been told in many ways, with the consensus being that he was a skilled archer, loyal to King Richard, and had his love Maid Marian and his band of “merry men” around him. When the Sheriff of Nottingham, loyal to Prince John, started to harshly tax the people, Robin became an outlaw, fighting against this new rule and trying to help those who were suffering at the hands of it. The reign of Richard I is the usual time setting for the legend, so from 1189 to 1199, with the Crusades, the religious wars that took place around the 1100-1200s in and around the Holy Land, being another time-specific marker, with some adaptations stating that Robin fought in the Crusades, with others saying Robin was of noble birth.
As Robin Hood was only the second animated release after Walt Disney’s death in 1966, and within the Disney’s “Bronze Age”, it was likely that the quality may have suffered since many of the animators knew Walt personally and were incredibly affected by his death, not to mention the fact that Walt Disney was generally quite involved in the production of his animated movies.
PLOT
Disney’s Robin Hood starts off with a singing rooster, Allan-A-Dale, very different to most other adaptations! He sings during the opening credits, where each character is introduced briefly during the sequence, after a typical “storybook opening”. After this, we are led into Sherwood Forest, and see that there is a reward for the capture of Robin Hood. Robin and his friend, Little John, are being targeted by the Sheriff of Nottingham’s men whilst out in the forest, going about their day, but, as usual, they successfully escape. Soon, they see a golden carriage going through the woods, and follow it, hoping to find a rich person whose riches they can take to give to the poor, Robin’s noble mantra in life.
But this isn’t just any carriage, this is Prince John’s royal carriage. Prince John, it turns out, is the current ruler of England as his brother, King Richard, is fighting in the Crusades. Something that Sir Hiss, Prince John’s advisor, hypnotised him to do so Prince John could take the throne. Prince John is sat merrily in his carriage, counting all the taxes that he’s collected over England. They are on their way to Nottingham, when Robin Hood and Little John, dressed as female fortune-tellers, get the carriage to stop so Prince John can have his fortune read. Sir Hiss warns him they could be bandits, but Prince John doesn’t believe women can be bandits! Yet, they certainly rob him – of his money, his carriage’s golden hub caps, his jewels, and even his robe! The two get away with Prince John falling out of his carriage, into the mud, where he comforts himself, as he will do throughout the movie, by sucking his thumb!
After this, we see the Sheriff of Nottingham taxing all the people there, finding coins that are hidden, taking children’s birthday farthings, and stealing from a “blind beggar”. But it’s ok, because the beggar is Robin Hood and he’s come to give the villagers a bag of coins each to help them survive. Robin even gives a child, little Skippy, a bow and arrow as a birthday present, along with his hat. Skippy excitedly goes out to play with it, along with his friends, but he shoots the arrow into Prince John’s castle grounds. Luckily, Maid Marian and her lady-in-waiting Lady Kluck are playing badminton and tell Skippy not to be frightened as he sneaks in to retrieve the arrow. It turns out they are very nice and happy to speak to all the children, even the girls who are trying to get Marian to admit she’s in love with Robin Hood. The two were sweethearts, but Marian went off to London and Robin stayed behind, so each is sure the other has forgotten all about them.
This is not true, as Marian keeps Robin’s reward poster in her wardrobe, and Robin spends so much of his time daydreaming about her that he can’t focus on anything else. Friar Tuck comes by their camp in Sherwood Forest to tell them about an upcoming archery tournament, where one of the prizes is a kiss from Maid Marian; the other is a golden arrow, much less important! Robin Hood decides he must enter, and goes in disguise as a stork, with Little John disguising himself as “Sir Reginald, Duke of Chutney”, sitting himself beside Prince John. Sir Hiss is told to go off and search for Robin Hood. He finds that Robin is the Stork, who is winning the contest, with the only other serious competition being the Sheriff of Nottingham. As Sir Hiss is about to tell Prince John, luckily, he is stopped by Friar Tuck and Allan-A-Dale and put into an ale barrel. The tournament continues and the Stork, or Robin Hood, wins easily despite the Sheriff’s attempts to cheat. Prince John assumes that the Stork is Robin Hood and when dubbing him the winner, reveals his true identity. He is captured by the guards and about to be sentenced to “sudden, instant, and even immediate death”. However, Little John threatens Prince John with a dagger, pressing it against his back, until he releases Robin Hood. Confused, he is let go, but the Sheriff has seen that Robin Hood was only released under threat, and fights Little John, with Prince John, now not at risk of death, ordering the re-capture of Robin Hood. A chase ensues, involving pretty much the whole of Nottingham! Maid Marian and Robin Hood manage to get away together, with Little John and Lady Kluck distracting many of the guards. They all get away and escape into the forest.
Here, Robin Hood and Maid Marian say that they still love each other, and get engaged with a little flower ring, in a romantic scene with a waterfall and lots of fireflies. The schmaltzy stuff is quickly ended by a surprise party, to celebrate Robin Hood’s freedom, where everyone dances, has a laugh, and sings an entire song, purely at the expense of Prince John, dubbing him “The Phony King of England”. The next day, even the Sheriff and Sir Hiss are singing it at the castle. This doesn’t end well, and Prince John, furious, decides to triple the taxes, with anyone not being able to pay being thrown in jail. It’s a sad day for Nottingham as many of the people lose their houses and are thrown in prison, even Allan-A-Dale, the singing rooster, who can’t come up with anything hopeful to sing about…
Friar Tuck, nevertheless, as a member of the church tries to remain positive. The sexton and his wife have saved a farthing and offer it to go in “the poor box”. Friar Tuck takes it gratefully and deposits it there. Soon, the Sheriff arrives, saying that even the church is behind on its taxes, and removes the farthing from the box. Friar Tuck is furious and insults him and Prince John. The Sheriff warns him that if he continues, he’ll be hanged. Friar Tuck gets even more angry and starts to battle the Sheriff – he’s a surprisingly good swordsman! But it’s not enough, and Friar Tuck is arrested on the grounds of high treason.
Though Prince John is surrounded with piles of money, he’s angry that Robin Hood has still not be found. He states that Friar Tuck will be hanged at dawn, hoping that will bring Robin Hood out of hiding. It works, and him and Little John set about planning a jail break. Robin Hood disguises himself as Nutsy, one of the Sheriff’s vulture henchmen, and sings the Sheriff to sleep, before stealing the keys and passing them over to Little John, who goes in and frees everyone. At the same time, Robin goes into Prince John’s room and sets up a conveyor belt with ropes between there and the jail, passing bags of coins along it, over to Little John, who collects them, and gets everyone to head for the castle exit. However, Sir Hiss has woken up to see what’s going on, and grabs hold of a bag, but the makeshift conveyor is too strong, and Prince John is pulled out of bed, landing in the castle forecourt. He sees everyone escaping prison with his gold and calls the guards. Another chase ensues, with them all getting away – except Robin, who stops to save one of the young rabbits. Robin climbs up the castle towers, making it inside, but the Sheriff sets the whole place on fire. Robin climbs right to the top of the highest tower, but the fire consumes everything. He has no choice – he jumps down into the moat. Prince John’s archers continue to shoot at him. Robin does not reappear, with just his hat bobbing in the water. Little John and Skippy wait for him at the water’s edge, but lose hope.
As they are about to leave, they see a reed swimming towards them – it’s Robin Hood; he’s alive! The movie then skips forward to find that Robin Hood and Maid Marian are getting married, and that King Richard has returned, putting his brother, Prince John, Sir Hiss, the Sheriff, and Trigger and Nutsy, the vulture henchmen, in prison. All is well in Sherwood Forest and Nottingham, with King Richard now having “an outlaw for an in-law”.
This wasn’t the first time that Disney had tackled the same source material. The Disney Studios made a live-action retelling of Robin Hood titled The Story of Robin Hood (1952), which was filmed in Buckinghamshire in the UK. It is a slighter darker story, as it is the murder of Robin’s father by King John’s men that leads him to become an outlaw, however, it does include the same story elements of the archery tournament, his love interest Maid Marian, and helping the people who are being taxed harshly by King John – which feature in the animated version, as well as in pretty much every other Robin Hood adaptation, so it’s not much different to any other version of the legend!
CHARACTERS & CAST
Robin Hood is a fox in Disney’s animated film. He is an outlaw, though not particularly roguish. Robin is very clear of his purpose: to take from the rich and give to the poor. He doesn’t use the term “steal”; he likes to say they borrow from those who can afford it. All the people of Nottingham love him and are grateful for all the help he gives them, whether that is giving them money, or breaking them out of jail. Robin is generally quite relaxed; though he knows he is constantly under threat of capture by Prince John or the Sheriff’s men, he believes he can escape them the majority of the time. He’s an optimistic character, with him saying that “there will be happiness again in Nottingham”, even when things look dire. Because of this, Robin is able to continue on his mission to defeat the evil forces at play, and sure enough, his hopefulness turns out to be well-founded as King Richard does return and resolves everything, leaving him to marry his true love, Maid Marian. Robin is also helped by his best friend, Little John, who manages to get Robin out of a few scrapes all on his own, such as at the archery tournament!
Robin Hood was originally going to be voiced by singer Tommy Steele, but it was decided that his voice was too exuberant and lacked the leadership quality that Robin has as a character. Other actors who were considered were Davy Jones from The Monkees, Terry Jones from Monty Python, and Rob Reiner. Eventually, some of the team saw Brian Bedford on stage in Los Angeles and brought him in for a test in 1971. He gave the part charm, heroism and some self-mocking humour, which was perfect for Robin[1]. Brian Bedford was an English actor who was nominated for seven Tony Awards during his theatre career, and featured in many performances of Shakespeare plays.
Little John is Robin Hood’s “right-hand bear”, as that is the animal he is portrayed as! Little John tends to voice the more practical issues with Robin’s plans, being a bit more risk-averse, not wanting to barrel in to places without a plan so they don’t end up captured! He’s very funny as a character, and is confident in his abilities, especially when it comes to disguises. When he walks right up to Prince John as “Sir Reginald” during the archery tournament, he is not afraid of Prince John discovering who he is, and keeps up the pretence without hesitation. Little John would do anything to help Robin, and is genuinely concerned for his safety at times, like at the end of the movie when he believes Robin has been shot and drowned in the castle moat; he’s a good friend to Robin, and loyal to him.
Little John is voiced by Phil Harris, who voiced Baloo in The Jungle Book (1967), which makes sense as the design of Baloo is basically the exact same design for Little John! He also voiced Thomas O’Malley in The Aristocats (1970), the Disney release between these two movies.
Then, there is Maid Marian. She is a fox, like Robin. The two were childhood sweethearts, until Marian went to London, leaving Robin behind. Each of them believes they have been forgotten by the other, only to find that is not the case and they both still love each other as much as they did back in the day. Marian is sweet and caring to others, despite being part of the “royal circle” with Prince John. This is because Marian is King Richard’s niece, though the family connections are not clear, as she is not referred to as Prince John’s niece. Unfortunately, Marian doesn’t have much of a role in the movie, just being Robin Hood’s love interest and eventually his wife. She doesn’t have much to do with the story, although she has a good aim when she’s throwing pies! She gets one of the vultures good with one of those when they’re all trying to escape the guards after the archery tournament! Still, Marian has had a stronger role in other non-Disney Robin Hood adaptations, especially in more modern ones.
Maid Marian is voiced by English actress Monica Evans, who played the role of Cecily Pigeon in The Odd Couple on screen and on stage. She also voiced Abigail Gabble, one of the geese, in The Aristocats (1970).
Lady Kluck is Marian’s lady-in-waiting, who is portrayed as a hen, naturally, and a Scottish one at that! Lady Kluck is not prim and proper as many ladies-in-waiting are presented on screen; she is prepared to fight if she needs to, which seems to impress Little John. This is particularly apparent during the post-archery tournament chase where she shows off her American football moves. In this scene, song arrangements including “Fight On” and “On, Wisconsin”, the fight songs of University of Southern California and University of Wisconsin, are even used to reinforce this[2]. She is loyal to Marian, like Little John is to Robin Hood, but again, does not feature too much in the movie.
Actress Carole Shelley voices the role of Lady Kluck. She portrayed the role of Gwendolyn Pigeon, Cecily’s sister, in the original production of The Odd Couple, as well as in the 1968 film movie and 1970s television series, alongside Monica Evans. Also, alongside Evans, she voiced Amelia Gabble, Abigail’s sister, in The Aristocats (1970). More recently, Shelley originated the role of Madame Morrible in the original Broadway cast of Wicked.
Prince John is potentially the funniest Disney animated villain. He’s meant to be a menacing “king”, he is a lion after all, yet most of the time, he just sounds whiny and whimpering! I think this is why he is a popular Disney villain then, because he’s just hilarious to watch. The fact he clearly has “mummy issues”, leading to him sucking his thumb at random intervals, is a great detail to have included in the character! Prince John is clearly a very greedy individual, not wanting to prove he can be a good king, but just to say he’s been one. It turns out that, with the help of his snake advisor, Sir Hiss, the two tricked King Richard I into going to fight in the Crusades, purely so Prince John could take the thrown. Nobody likes Prince John, not even Sir Hiss, I don’t think, but he has a prominent role in the movie, wanting to tax the people as punishment for not loving him, and desperately trying to capture Robin Hood at any cost, because, without Robin Hood, he can be free to rule as he wishes without anyone trying to stop him. Of course, it doesn’t turn out like that and his brother, King Richard I, also known as Richard the Lionheart, returns and straightens the whole mess out, ultimately placing his brother and his comrades in prison for their disgraceful behaviour.
British actor Peter Ustinov voices the roles of Prince John and King Richard. He had a prolific acting career, winning two Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actor in Spartacus (1960) and Topkapi (1964). He also starred as Hercule Poirot in Death on the Nile (1978). For Disney, Ustinov played the part of Captain Blackbeard in the live-action film Blackbeard’s Ghost (1968). A few months before Robin Hood was due to be released, the team needed Ustinov to come back to re-record some lines. They searched all over the world for him, only to find that he was working at the NBC Studios in Burbank just half a mile away[3]!
As I mentioned, Sir Hiss is Prince John’s loyal snake advisor, though he is always doing or saying the wrong thing and annoying him! I feel sorry for Sir Hiss at times, because he just wants to do a good job, and get some praise from Prince John, but sadly, it never comes, no matter how hard he tries! Sir Hiss is voiced by English actor and comedian Terry-Thomas, who had performed on radio, stage and screen numerous times during his career. He was considered for the role of George Banks in Disney’s Mary Poppins (1964); he was particularly known for portraying upper-class characters.
The other “bad guy” is the Sheriff of Nottingham. He’s the one who has to carry out Prince John’s wishes, like collecting the taxes and arresting anyone who cannot pay. The Sheriff even steals money from children and beggars, as well as hunting for any hidden coins that he can collect. He is portrayed as a big wolf, though he can fight if he needs to. Him and Friar Tuck certainly have a good duel between the two of them! The Sheriff is wicked and hated by the people of Nottingham, who refer to him as “Bushel-Britches” quite a lot of the time! He gets his comeuppance in the end though, by ending up in jail with the other villains! Pat Buttram voices the Sheriff of Nottingham, who, in contrast to many of the other characters, has a strong Southern American accent. Buttram featured in other Disney animations, such as Napoleon in The Aristocats (1970) and Luke in The Rescuers (1977).
The Sheriff also has two vulture “henchmen”, Nutsy and Trigger, who aren’t particularly smart, with Trigger accidentally releasing his crossbow multiple times, sending it ricocheting about the place with everyone ducking for cover! They try their best, but it’s just not good enough for the Sheriff, who is quite dismissive and rude to them. They are voiced by Ken Curtis and George Lindsey, respectively, with Curtis having roles in many westerns such as Gunsmoke (1955-75), and Lindsey being known for his role as Goober Pyle on shows like The Andy Griffith Show (1960-68). They also have American accents in the film.
Finally, we have Friar Tuck, a badger, and Allan-A-Dale, a rooster. Friar Tuck is a part of the church, so naturally, he tries to help out all the people of Nottingham alongside Robin Hood. He even tries to keep their spirits up when many are in jail by ringing the church bells, and sacrifices himself to the Sheriff when money is stolen from the “poor box”. Friar Tuck fights for what is right. He puts up a surprisingly good fight with the Sheriff, but unfortunately almost gets himself hanged for it! Luckily, he is freed by Little John and goes on to help free the others. Friar Tuck was originally planned to be a pig, however, as he is part of the church, it was thought this may be offensive, which is why he ended up as a badger[4].Allan-A-Dale is the singing narrator, telling us what we are seeing at times, as well as telling us how the town is feeling. He generally remains hopefully, up until the point he is thrown in jail for not being able to pay his taxes. Allan-A-Dale doesn’t feature much in the action of Robin Hood, though he does team up with Friar Tuck at the archery tournament, by putting Sir Hiss in a barrel of ale so he cannot tell Prince John that Robin Hood is there, disguised as a stork.
Friar Tuck is voiced by American actor Andy Devine, who performed in many Western films, such as Stagecoach (1939) and How the West Was Won (1962). Country singer-songwriter Roger Miller voices, and sings, the role of Allan-A-Dale.
Some other interesting voice parts in smaller roles are: J. Pat O’Malley as Otto the blacksmith, who voices Colonel Hathi in The Jungle Book (1967); Candy Candido as the crocodile Captain of the Royal Guard, who voices Fidget in The Great Mouse Detective (1986), and John Fiedler, original voice of Piglet, and Barbara Luddy, Lady in Lady and the Tramp (1955) and Merryweather in Sleeping Beauty (1959), voice the mouse church sexton and his wife. Luddy also voices Mrs. Rabbit in Robin Hood.
PRODUCTION
Choosing to make an animated film around the legend of Robin Hood would seem like a no-brainer for the Disney Studios, seeing as so many of their films are based around stories such as this. It’s a similar concept to The Sword in the Stone (1963) after all. Yet that was not the original idea.
The original plan was for Disney to make an animated movie around foxes, with a concept based on the stories of Reynard the Fox, a trickster fox, being heavily considered around 1937. These fables were popular in areas such as the Netherlands, France and Germany. Since these stories were in the public domain, no discussions around purchasing the rights to adapt them would’ve been necessary, however, the stories were incredibly bleak, especially by Disney standards.
Dorothy Blank, who had worked on Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) and Al Perkins were assigned by Walt Disney to come up with a script based around Reynard. The sequences would’ve been around scenes of various disguises and escaping danger. The final plot point would have seen Reynard captured, to be executed by hanging. Reynard would say in prison that his father had hidden his wealth in a volcano, with the King and others going to look for it. All would die when the volcano erupted – except for the King, who would challenge the Wolf, Reynard’s uncle, and Reynard to duel. Reynard would win through trickery, stealing the royal treasures, during a party thrown in his honour. Again, Reynard would be captured, this time being exiled to the volcano, where he finds his father’s treasure, happy to have tricked everyone into completing his ultimate goal. Walt Disney thought the story was perhaps too sophisticated and that with Reynard being just a crook, with very few redeeming features, that he was not the best protagonist for a Disney movie, not befitting of their “family brand” image[5]. The idea was shelved.
After this, Reynard the Fox was considered as part of a new idea based on Chantecler, a story about a rooster who thinks his crowing makes the sun rise; Reynard was going to be the villain. However, though many animators were working on this concept in the 1960s, Walt Disney decided to go with The Sword in the Stone (1963) instead, leaving Chantecler as another unfulfilled story idea.
Whilst The Aristocats (1970) was in development, the idea of basing the next animated feature on the legend of Robin Hood, but with animals, was discussed. Ken Anderson wanted to “Americanise” the story of Robin Hood, with a plan to set the movie in the Deep South, using Song of the South (1946) as a model, but the reputation towards that movie was not good, even in the 1970s, so it was decided to go all in on Robin Hood with its traditional English setting. Woolie Reitherman greenlit the story idea, with Robin Hood being the first animated film to not have been approved by Walt Disney himself[6].
The final story for Robin Hood was written by Larry Clemmons, who started his career at Disney as Ward Kimball’s assistant and went into the story department as he accepted that he was not going to be one of the best animators there! Clemmons was let go from the studio in 1941 due to the strikes at the time, but returned in 1954 to write for the Mickey Mouse Club and Disneyland television series. In the late 1960s and 1970s, Clemmons became the principal writer for Disney animation, contributing to other movies such as The Jungle Book (1967) and The Aristocats (1970), along with Robin Hood.
Ken Anderson was responsible for the character designs, and it is believed he was influenced by early work on Reynard the Fox. Anderson created characters whose bodies were basically human bodies, moving and looking the same, but being covered in animal fur, feathers etc., with an animal head on top. Anderson did have plans to create a whole band of characters, to fit in with the traditional idea of Robin’s band of “merry men”, however Woolie Reitherman wanted the picture to be a “buddy picture”, with just two main characters. This did annoy Anderson somewhat as many of his interesting character plans had to be tossed aside[7]. Still, the story came together eventually, and, though it may not be the strongest story within Disney Animation’s history, it does a good job of telling a simple, family-friendly retelling of the legend of Robin Hood.
However, many people criticise the movie for its quick cuts, and loose connecting material between scenes. Though I can see this critique, it doesn’t bother me at all. Another factor that seems to annoy people is the recycling of animation from previous movies and repeats of scenes within Robin Hood. An example of a repeated scene here is where one of Skippy the Rabbit’s siblings is laughing. She does this after Marian kisses Skippy on the cheek, and then again, during “The Phony King of England”. Little John and Sir Hiss also bear quite the resemblance to two characters from The Jungle Book (1967), with Little John being Baloo with brown fur instead of grey, and even Phil Harris returning to Disney to voice Little John, and Sir Hiss being similar to Kaa. Nutsy and Trigger also look like two of the vultures in The Jungle Book.
But the biggest, most obvious, recycling of animation appears within “The Phony King of England” scene. Yes, many of the dance moves come from other Disney animated films. Maid Marian’s dancing sequences are “copied” from Snow White, and Duchess in The Aristocats. Some of the other cats from The Aristocats also feature in this scene, as well as Lady Kluck and Little John dancing in the exact same fashion as Baloo and King Louie during “I Wanna Be Like You” in The Jungle Book.
The need to reuse animation came from a need to fit within a tight budget and tight production schedule. It’s just one of those things that businesses have to do to make as much profit as they can. It’s not like Robin Hood was the first and only Disney film to do this either, you can spot this in many others. For example, something I noticed is that some of Maid Marian’s poses and expressions reminded me of Madame Medusa in The Rescuers (1977). Perhaps Robin Hood is just the most obvious example of this, but again, this does not bother me in the slightest or take away my enjoyment of the film.
MUSIC
Probably my favourite part of Robin Hood is the soundtrack. It’s super catchy, with both children and adults alike, with everyone knowing at least the first two songs if nothing else! The soundtrack consists of many country and western elements, which separates the film from other traditional Disney animated features, and even between other Robin Hood adaptations[8]. This probably has a lot to do with Roger Miller, who wrote and performs three of the five songs: “Whistle Stop”, “Oo-De-Lally”, and “Not in Nottingham”. Miller was one of the most popular country-western singers of the 1960s. “Oo-De-Lally” is played during the opening scene of Robin Hood and Little John in the forest, dodging the Sheriff’s archers. It literally narrates what you are seeing before you, yet it’s still a popular song and sets the right feeling up for the rest of the film. “Whistle Stop” is probably the catchiest song, as it has absolutely no dialogue, but it’s so easy to remember. This is the song that plays during the opening credits and is easily recognisable as coming from Disney’s Robin Hood. Both songs have been used in commercials and advertising, such as “Oo-De-Lally” for Android in 2015, and “Whistle Stop” for the T-Mobile commercial within the 2014 Super Bowl. A sped-up version of “Whistle Stop” was also used in the Hampster Dance, one of the earliest Internet memes, created in 1998 by Canadian art student Deidre LaCarte. “Not in Nottingham” is sung during the scene where most of Nottingham is being arrested for not paying their taxes. It’s melancholy, fitting the scene well, and being different to the rest of the music, which are generally cheery and positive.
For the other songs, my personal favourite is “The Phony King of England”, written by Johnny Mercer and performed by Phil Harris as Little John. It’s just such a silly song, but the lyrics are memorable: “Too late to be known as John the First, he’s sure to be known as John the Worst”. This is true; King John has gone down in history as one of the worst Kings of England, ruling from 1199 until 1216. There has been no other King John since! I like the scene too, even though it does feature so much re-used animation! It also fits in with that country and western feel of the soundtrack. “The Phony King of England” is similar to a folk song called “The Bastard King of England”, which first appeared around 1927 in England, but obviously has more family-friendly lyrics!
Then there is “Love”, obviously sung whilst Maid Marian and Robin Hood walk through the forest together at night-time. It was written by Floyd Huddleston (lyrics) and George Bruns (music), being performed by Nancy Adams. To be honest, this is my least favourite song of the whole soundtrack, because it’s got that whispery choir sound that I don’t like much which has featured in other Disney animations, such as Lady and the Tramp (1955), and it’s a bit of a random lovey-dovey scene, which doesn’t fit most of the movie! It was nominated for “Best Song” at the 46th Academy Awards in 1974, losing out to “The Way We Were”, from the movie of the same name. “Love” also features in Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009).
I particularly like the score too, which is composed by George Bruns. It sounds similar to Sleeping Beauty (1959) in places, such as my favourite piece called “Lower the Bridge”, where Robin is trying to escape Prince John’s castle, which sounds like when Prince Phillip is battling Maleficent, but that’s fine because Bruns also composed Sleeping Beauty! The “Main Title” sounds similar to The Sword in the Stone (1963) soundtrack, that Medieval kind of sound, but again, Bruns composed the score for that film! George Bruns composed for many Disney films from the 1950s to 1970s. His Oscar nomination for “Love” would be his fourth and final nomination. The soundtrack as a whole was nominated for a Grammy for “Best Recording for Children”, losing to Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too (1974).
RECEPTION
Robin Hood premiered in November 1973 and was successful financially, making around $9.5 million, the biggest box office total for Disney at the time[9]. But critically, it received mixed reviews. Some felt that the film was entertaining and that the characters were charming, with a lot of personality and a good voice cast. Others commented saying that the animation quality was subpar and that the movie was not memorable enough or did not connect with the audience. It still continues to be either forgettable or a favourite, dividing audiences, however amongst all the other Robin Hood film adaptations, it comes out as being one of the better ones. In a 2022 ranking by Entertainment Weekly, Disney’s animated Robin Hood came third on this type of list, with it being considered charming, with great songs and thrilling action sequences, though admittedly not one of Disney’s best. Disney’s live-action film The Story of Robin Hood (1952) only came second from bottom in the list, stating that it was bland and was a rip-off of the 1938 The Adventures of Robin Hood, which topped the list, and starred Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland[10].
Robin Hood has been released onto VHS, DVD and Blu-Ray over the years, with extra production details being added in recent years. An alternate ending was released on the 2007 Special Edition DVD. This ending would’ve featured a darker, more vicious Prince John, who would threaten to kill the already-wounded Robin Hood within Friar Tuck’s church before being stopped by the sudden return of King Richard[11]. For the 40th anniversary of Robin Hood in 2013, the Blu-Ray release featured a deleted storyline titled “Love Letters”, where Prince John had a plan to write letters to Maid Marian and Robin Hood, pretending to be from each other, to get them in one place so that he can capture them[12].
LEGACY
Unfortunately, as Robin Hood is not considered one of the “good” Disney Animated Features, the characters and the movie are not generally mentioned within the Disney Theme Parks. There is a quick-service food location at Fantasyland within Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom called “Friar’s Nook”, but it is not overly themed to Robin Hood, with only a picture of Friar Tuck appearing on the signage. The characters used to be present around the 1970s and 1980s, but nowadays are considered to be very rare finds. I believe I have met Prince John and Friar Tuck previously, at a character breakfast in Disneyland Paris, but that was way back in the early-2000s! I’m not sure if I’ve ever met Robin Hood and Little John before but these four characters appeared as part of the “Long Lost Friends” weeks in 2013 at Walt Disney World Resort. They did also appear for meet-and-greets as part of “Mickey and Minnie’s Surprise Celebration” for Mickey’s 90th birthday in 2019. The most recent appearance I could find was that Robin Hood was spotted at Disneyland in February 2023. You may also see the Sheriff of Nottingham or Prince John at one of the US Parks’ Halloween parties or parades, as the Sheriff was part of the Frightfully Fun Parade in 2022 for the Oogie Boogie Bash at Disneyland, and Prince John made an appearance there in 2021. But generally, these characters seem to only pop up for special events and parades within the US and Paris Disney Theme Parks; they seem much less likely to appear in Tokyo, Hong Kong or Shanghai. You may be lucky and find some Robin Hood-themed merchandise, but this is more likely around an anniversary of the movie.
Back in April 2020, a live-action remake of Robin Hood was announced, to be directed by Carlos López Estrada, director of Blindspotting (2018), with the script to be adapted by Kari Granlund, who worked on the live-action Lady and the Tramp (2019)[13]. There has been no further news since this date so it may not even happen. Many live-action remakes were announced around this time and have not moved any further forward, simply being added to an ever-growing list. Fingers crossed this is one of those that will not progress; it’ll look really freaky if it does!
FINAL THOUGHTS
I think Robin Hood has a lot going for it, with its delightful characters and brilliant music. It was one of the first movies to be released after the Disney Studios had suffered the loss of their great leader. It was always going to be difficult for them to move forward after that, but I think this was one step forward for the company, and I believe over the years, it has gained more fans. Byron Howard, co-director of Zootopia (2016) has said that his love of Robin Hood was a major inspiration for that movie.
It is a shame that more people don’t love Robin Hood, but I can understand that it is not Disney animation at its finest. Yet I find plenty that I love about this film, and have watched it many times throughout my life; it really makes me smile.
REFERENCES
[1] Credit: Fox Carney, ‘Must See Rare Robin Hood Artwork from Disney’s ARL’, D23.com, 9th November 2018.
[2] Credit: Jim Korkis, Everything I Know I Learned from Disney Animated Films (2015), ‘Robin Hood (1973)’, pp. 61-63.
[3] Credit: Jim Korkis, Everything I Know I Learned from Disney Animated Films (2015), ‘Robin Hood (1973)’, pp. 61-63.
[4] Credit: Jim Korkis, ‘In His Own Words: Ken Anderson on Disney’s “Robin Hood” (1973)’, CartoonResearch.com, 24th January 2020.
[5] Credit: BJ Colangelo, ‘Disney’s Robin Hood Started As A Different, Darker Movie’, SlashFilm.com, 9th February 2022.
[6] Credit: William Fischer, ‘Disney’s ‘Robin Hood’ Was the Last Gasp For a Generation of Animators’, Collider.com, 12th January 2023.
[7] Credit: Jim Korkis, ‘In His Own Words: Ken Anderson on Disney’s “Robin Hood” (1973)’, CartoonResearch.com, 24th January 2020.
[8] Credit: Jim Fanning, The Disney Book: A Celebration of the World of Disney (2016), ‘Cache of Classics’, p. 73.
[9] Credit: Jim Korkis, ‘In His Own Words: Ken Anderson on Disney’s “Robin Hood” (1973)’, CartoonResearch.com, 24th January 2020.
[10] Credit: Mary Sollosi, ’11 big-screen Robin Hoods, ranked’, Entertainment Weekly (online), 18th June 2022.
[11] Credit: Disney, “Alternate Ending”, from Robin Hood (1973) DVD Special Edition (2007).
[12] Credit: Disney, “Deleted Storyline “Love Letters””, from Robin Hood (1973) Blu-Ray 40th Anniversary Edition (2013).
[13] Credit: Will Richards, ‘A ‘Robin Hood’ live-action remake is set to come to Disney+’, NME.com, 11th April 2020.
The Disney Purist 