Robin Hood
Year: 1973
Directed by: Wolfgang Reitherman
Starring: Brian Bedford, Monica Evans, Phil Harris & Peter Ustinov
Runtime: 83 mins
BBFC: U
Published: 10/05/21
Directed by: Wolfgang Reitherman
Starring: Brian Bedford, Monica Evans, Phil Harris & Peter Ustinov
Runtime: 83 mins
BBFC: U
Published: 10/05/21
Almost any British child knows the story of Robin Hood, his merry men, and their plight against the sheriff of Nottingham and Prince John in the twelfth century. His actual existence remains a topic of debate to this day, but the story goes that he stole from the rich to feed the poor in a time where the King of England, Richard I, was out on a crusade and his younger brother Prince John held the throne in his place.
It’s a story kids love because Robin Hood is a generally likeable character. He’s morally good, he’s brave, kind, and mischievous. It’s easy to tell and considering how many times the legend has been adapted over the centuries, it’s a story that never seems to age in the values it promotes.
Disney’s twenty first Animated Classic then has it pretty easy in that all it needs to be is a competent retelling of the beloved tale to be successful, but as history has proven with films like The Sword in the Stone, it seems Disney don’t always quite hit the nail on the head with these things.
Prince John (Peter Ustinov) is overtaxing the poor to fund his lavish lifestyle, and he hits the people of Nottingham the worst with taxes so high they can barely afford to feed themselves. Robin Hood (Brian Bedford), an outlaw that lives in the nearby Sherwood Forest, does what he can to ensure that the money taken by the Sheriff is stolen and returned to those who truly need it. With the aid of his merry men, Hood enters an archery competition to try and win a kiss from the fair Maid Marion (Monica Evans), a woman he has fallen in love with. In doing so however he compromises the safety of the Nottingham residents, who are subsequently imprisoned for failure to pay taxes.
Unable to stand by and do nothing, Hood devises a plan to free the townsfolk and steal all of the tax money from Prince John to attract the attention of King Richard so that he might intervene with his brothers tyrannical rule.
It’s a story kids love because Robin Hood is a generally likeable character. He’s morally good, he’s brave, kind, and mischievous. It’s easy to tell and considering how many times the legend has been adapted over the centuries, it’s a story that never seems to age in the values it promotes.
Disney’s twenty first Animated Classic then has it pretty easy in that all it needs to be is a competent retelling of the beloved tale to be successful, but as history has proven with films like The Sword in the Stone, it seems Disney don’t always quite hit the nail on the head with these things.
Prince John (Peter Ustinov) is overtaxing the poor to fund his lavish lifestyle, and he hits the people of Nottingham the worst with taxes so high they can barely afford to feed themselves. Robin Hood (Brian Bedford), an outlaw that lives in the nearby Sherwood Forest, does what he can to ensure that the money taken by the Sheriff is stolen and returned to those who truly need it. With the aid of his merry men, Hood enters an archery competition to try and win a kiss from the fair Maid Marion (Monica Evans), a woman he has fallen in love with. In doing so however he compromises the safety of the Nottingham residents, who are subsequently imprisoned for failure to pay taxes.
Unable to stand by and do nothing, Hood devises a plan to free the townsfolk and steal all of the tax money from Prince John to attract the attention of King Richard so that he might intervene with his brothers tyrannical rule.
Disney’s adaptation of the legend doesn’t do anything wrong when retelling the tale, but it doesn’t do anything particularly interesting with it either. Perhaps the greatest difference between the Disney version and any other retelling of the story is that this time the main characters are animals. Robin Hood is a fox, Marion a vixen, Prince John a lion, and the townsfolk of Nottingham being a variety of woodland creatures. The animals are all assigned very well, with the personalities of each character matching the behavioural traits of each animal they’ve been represented as.
I’m not much of a fan of the songs used in the film, I find that they’re actually quite irritating because of how repetitive they are. But some of them are classic Disney songs that many love to this day so I guess it just comes down to how much you can stomach the bard Alan-a-Dale and his lute.
I don’t even find the animation to be anything to write home about. It continues the use of xerography but this time the colours seem to feel a little washed out, at least in comparison to other Disney films of the era. When compared to The Jungle Book for instance, the most obvious thing is that the greens look less vibrant. Both films have a lot of greenery in them, so it’s easy to spot when watching them so close to each other as I have. It’s a small thing to complain about because the character design and the actual animation itself is still top notch, but the colours make it looks a little bland at times.
Disney’s Robin Hood is not the best adaptation of the legend, but also not the worst. For everything the film does well it does something not so good to balance it out. But it is perhaps one of the most accessible adaptations of the story, due to it being much more focused on a younger audience. A good but not great retelling of the tale that I doubt I’ll be in any rush to re-watch anytime soon.
I’m not much of a fan of the songs used in the film, I find that they’re actually quite irritating because of how repetitive they are. But some of them are classic Disney songs that many love to this day so I guess it just comes down to how much you can stomach the bard Alan-a-Dale and his lute.
I don’t even find the animation to be anything to write home about. It continues the use of xerography but this time the colours seem to feel a little washed out, at least in comparison to other Disney films of the era. When compared to The Jungle Book for instance, the most obvious thing is that the greens look less vibrant. Both films have a lot of greenery in them, so it’s easy to spot when watching them so close to each other as I have. It’s a small thing to complain about because the character design and the actual animation itself is still top notch, but the colours make it looks a little bland at times.
Disney’s Robin Hood is not the best adaptation of the legend, but also not the worst. For everything the film does well it does something not so good to balance it out. But it is perhaps one of the most accessible adaptations of the story, due to it being much more focused on a younger audience. A good but not great retelling of the tale that I doubt I’ll be in any rush to re-watch anytime soon.