Disney Sundays: Robin Hood (1973)

          I was first introduced to the legend of Robin Hood as a kid when my dad showed me The Adventures of Robin Hood starring Errol Flynn. It’s the first old movie (apart from The Wizard of Oz -also from 1939) that I remember seeing and enjoying despite it being clearly an old movie, and it forever influenced my idea of the medieval hero. And though it’s romanticized (as the story itself is) and in some places corny, no cinematic version of the famed character has yet been quite as good.
          This was also the film that Disney had to contend with when they made their own interpretation of Robin Hood in 1973. And perhaps knowing this, they made a version starring animals that doesn’t take itself too seriously. Which is both a good and bad thing. There’s a possibility to have different interpretations of characters and the story, but also a possibility both will be bland in the over-the-top cartoon-y tone. 
          The story just as you remember, is about Robin Hood, the outlaw of Sherwood Forest stealing from the rich and giving to the poor. We see his numerous adventures and attempts to thwart Prince John, whose greed has left the poor of Nottingham penniless. During which he inspires children, saves lives, and wins the heart of Maid Marian.
          First off, thank you Disney for giving us an English Robin Hood! Usually Robin Hood films feature a predominantly British cast but with an Aussie or an American in the title role, something which seems a little unfortunate considering how he is one of the greatest English figures. And this Robin Hood is fine, though his penchant for disguises and humiliating his foes at times makes me think he’s more Bugs Bunny than Robin Hood. His reputation is really played up though, with everyone constantly seeing him as a great hero and the film focuses a lot on how good of a person he is, which can get annoying. They revere him intently and he for the most part lives up to their expectations, making for too perfect a characterization. I prefer Robin to be a little flawed. His famous merry men are all but absent in this film which is a bit of a shame. Though I do like Little John, and think he and Robin have a likable companionship. We don’t get a lot of Maid Marian and when we do she’s usually accompanied by Lady Kluck (who’s name I cannot type with a straight face). She’s friendly and kind and has been pining after Robin for years, but doesn’t have much personality beyond that. We never get an explanation as to what role she plays and who she is apart from “Maid Marian”. Other versions give some detail about her back story at least. And then there’s Prince John who’s characterization is ...fascinating. On the one hand it’s never a dull moment when he’s on screen, and his back-and-forth with Sir Hiss can be very funny at times, like a great old British double act. But on the other hand, he’s probably the most pathetic villain Disney’s ever had, and it gets sad at times almost to the point of being mean-spirited. King John was a real person Disney! And all the scenes of him losing his temper, cowering, crying, calling for his mummy, and sucking his thumb get awkward after a while. He’s like that little kid you feel sorry for. It was a strange idea made even stranger by the casting of Peter Ustinov in the role.
          Ustinov did his best with Prince John though, and generally the voice cast they got for Robin Hood is great. Brian Bedford and Monica Evans voice Robin and Marian respectively; by now it’s clear Phil Harris has one character -Baloo, but at least he’s back where he belongs in a supporting role as Little John who’s literally Baloo in a hat. Roger Miller voices Alan-a-Dale very well and Andy Devine creates a pretty sympathetic Friar Tuck. Casting Terry-Thomas as Hiss was an odd choice, but one that paid off pretty enjoyably. But on the flip side of that is Pat Buttram as the Sheriff of Nottingham. Buttram has a very distinctive voice that works in a number of roles, but the Sheriff is not one of them. It’s hard to ignore that this part that’s been played wonderfully by Basil Rathbone and Alan Rickman, is done here in a goofy southern drawl.
          One thing I do like though is that in terms of the plot, it takes the framework and a few elements of the classic story (you can’t not have the archery scene in a Robin Hood movie!), but does its own thing for the rest. At least...I like it in theory. The film is a little episodic and like The Aristocats at times it feels like there wasn’t enough story for the runtime. Thus we get detours with little kids meeting Maid Marian, which is really corny but also a little cute. There’s another one where the Sheriff steals the last farthing Friar Tuck has and locks him up, which admittedly works to the plot but I have problems with how much they exaggerate  the harshness, again by contrast showing how impeccably virtuous Robin is. The archery scene is supposed to feel grand but because of this film’s tone, it can’t. And Robin and Little John don too many disguises. I think if the film wasn’t so much of a comedy and focussed on the adventures that could be had with this character and set-up, the movie overall would have benefited. The other option would be to go full comedy like Men in Tights (check out my thoughts on that right here: http://returnofthebosch.blogspot.ca/2016/03/when-youre-in-fix-just-call-for-men-in.html) or “Robin Hood Daffy” which would be definitely out of Disney’s comfort zone at the time. Because of this too, the action and cast of characters are confined to a small world of just Nottingham, rather than England on a whole. It doesn’t feel as large or epic as the Robin Hood story should be. That being said, I like how we open in media res and don’t show Robin’s return from Crusade and assembling of his Merry Men. I miss his famous first encounters with Little John and Friar Tuck, but this was different and in all honesty, kids don’t need that much more introduction to the heroes. The climax and ending too is pretty fun. In fact maybe it’s just the middle that leaves something to be desired.
          The music for this film is all done in the style of American almost bluegrass folk, which I think is kinda clever. Robin Hood is after all a folk hero so why not represent him with folk music? It’s a bit odd, but in a strange way it works. The opening number is catchy and accompanies some pretty good opening credits that introduce the cast and their characters nicely. There’s a really generic love song in the middle for Robin and Marian that is a nice kind of mellow. Unfortunately it’s followed by perhaps the worst scene in the film. Not only is the song that the Sherwood denizens sing pretty poor, but the reused animation is incredibly distracting. I grew up with The Jungle Book so you can bet I recognized all the frames that were just redone from that film. I understand that Disney needed to produce the film cheap but it just looks really lazy. Little John and Lady Kluck in stature and width seem almost designed to mimic Baloo and King Louie. There’s even a dance scene that they retraced from Snow White! Apart from that problem, the animation overall isn’t great. It’s not bad but there’s nothing that’ll amaze you, it’s just kind of standard. It looks a little like Warner Brothers, which is fine for their kind of shorts but I expect a little more from Disney.
          I think Robin Hood done by Disney could be very exciting and fun but this film didn’t really take advantage of that. The animals playing the parts is an interesting touch but once you get past the visual strangeness of seeing rhinos and elephants in tights, it comes off as kind of like the Muppets doing a classic story, but without quite the soul. It’s got some good story elements and some good characters, but the poor story elements, basic characters and animation, as well as going too far with the inept Prince John which detracts from the comedy, holds the film back. By no means is it a bad movie, it’s just pretty basic and at the end of the day not very memorable. It’s fine to show your kids (though you yourselves won’t get anything out of it), but there are a few other versions out there that are probably better.

Next Week: The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977)