"A pox on that phony King of England! Oo-de-lally! Oo-de-lally!" -Literally everyone
Initial thoughts before viewing: I watched this movie a lot growing up (on VHS, naturally). I never considered it a favorite of mine until I was older and started to randomly sing the "Whistle Stop" song, well, a lot. I'm not exactly sure when it happened, but Robin Hood is a movie that has become quite beloved for me.
I was in a film class in college on Disney animation, and the professor lecturing said something to the effect that Robin Hood was probably the worst Disney animated film ever made. I was aghast. My beloved Robin Hood, the worst? I mean, had that professor even SEEN Chicken Little? 🐣 I still think about his savage comment to this day, and I am more determined than ever to prove that professor wrong in this review.
If you have never seen Robin Hood or need a refresher, here is a link to the movie's Disney Wiki page where you can read the plot summary.
Highlights:
-The most addictive Disney song ever --"Whistle Stop": This is the song that Alan-A-Dale, the minstrel rooster, sings at the very beginning of the movie. It's one of my favorite songs and something I probably sing on the daily. It's so simple and happy - it gets me in a cheerful mood every time I hear it. It brings the opening credits to life and is one of the few instances I can think of where you actually want to watch the opening credits of a movie. You may recognize this tune (sped up) as the Hamster Dance Song, or something that sounds like Alan-A-Dale on acid. Still, give the original a whirl - but don't blame me when you can't get this happy little ditty out of your head for a week. Bah-buh-puh!
-Prince John is ridiculous in the best ways possible: There are 2 types of Disney villains: the ones that strike fear into you (Maleficent, Shan Yu, etc), and the ones that make you laugh (Captain Hook, Yzma, etc). Prince John is one of the best examples of the latter. He's wonderfully unique with his mommy issues, habitual thumb sucking, and infantile behavior. He's clearly a coward and the antithesis of the regal, brave lion stereotype. This is reinforced in his mane-less design, something I noticed as a child that drove me bonkers. If Prince John is a lion, I wondered, where is his mane?! This was intentionally done by the animators, and is SO EFFING CLEVER I am just now appreciating how great this detail is. As far as villains go, was anyone every really afraid of Prince John? Not physically, no. But he wielded his power over Nottingham with an iron fist and was a hilarious and effective bad guy in this light-hearted tale. As far as outlandish, ridiculously enjoyable villains to watch, Prince John def makes the list.
-FINALLY, love interests with a backstory: It's SO REFRESHING that the movie's central love story, Robin Hood and Maid Marian, have a credible history together. It's made very clear that the pair grew up together and were sweethearts. This makes their separation and eventual reunion so special and moving. It's not a story of love at first sight (hem hem, looking at you Cinderella, Snow White, and Aurora), but rather the coming together of lovers who had been kept apart by politics and, well, life. Their love song, appropriately titled "Love," is a simple and beautiful melody about their enduring love, starting from childhood until the present. It was even nominated for an Oscar for Best Original Song. It's an underrated Disney love song, so go give it a listen!
-Robin Hood is a fox: This is going to get weird, but bear with me. Robin Hood, an anthropomorphic fox, is hot. If you think I've just announced a hot take, I am happy to tell you that I am not alone here. I've found articles upon articles all talking about the fact that Robin Hood may have made a whole generation sexually confused about foxes.
In this article entitled "Foxy: Why Everyone Has a Crush on Disney's Robin Hood," writer Kayleigh Donaldson attempts to explain this foxy phenomenon: "Not only is [Robin Hood] charming, but he’s impeccably chivalrous, a great supporter of the beleaguered underdog, an enemy of undemocratic power, and a hopeless romantic. He doesn’t mind making a fool of himself to get the girl, and he’s simply better than the competition. If you’re a kid watching this seemingly innocent cartoon and the hero of the piece is the most potent embodiment of that heroic archetype you’ve ever seen, it’s going to make an impression."
I mean, yeah. Robin Hood is by far the most interesting, complete male hero character we'd seen Disney animation put out there (at that time). He runs circles around those boring, vanilla princes of the past. When it comes to Disney hunks, don't discount Robin Hood. If you know, you know.
Disliked:
-The one time recycling isn't a good thing: Even as a kid, I knew that Baloo and Little John were basically the same character. Both were voiced by Phil Harris and have similar care-free personalities (although Little John is a smidge more responsible). Sir Hiss, Prince John's sidekick, is also essentially Kaa from The Jungle Book. But these doppelganger characters are just the tip of the iceberg.
Nowhere is the recycled animation more apparent in Robin Hood than in "The Phony King of England" sequence which features animation reused from no less than 3 previous Disney releases. The video below does a great job with a side by side comparison of the original animation vs the reused animation.
Why did Disney reuse footage? The obvious answer would be budgetary constraints, although I have also read that the animators simply used the previous films as "inspiration" for scenes with complex movement. Yeah right. Either way, if you're a chronic Disney fan, the reused animation and character design is pretty easy to spot and takes you out of the movie a bit. I don't want to be watching Robin Hood and thinking, "Hey, that's from The Jungle Book!" No bueno.
-Americans in medieval England: While Robin Hood, Maid Marian, Lady Kluck, Sir Hiss, and Prince John all have appropriately British accents, ALL the other characters have American accents. Even more perplexing, Friar Tuck and the Sherriff of Nottingham have rural, southwestern U.S. accents. It's something you don't really think about as a kid, but watching as an adult, it's a little bizarre to see such a mix match of accents in what is supposed to be a very classically British story.
Random Thoughts I Had While Watching:
-An outlaw for an in-law: The movie says that Maid Marian, a fox, is the niece of King Richard, who is a lion. Huh. I'm going to assume that the term "niece" is not too literal here.
- This X-rated moment: Robin Hood (in disguise) is quite handsy with Little John here. Def never noticed this as a kid, but I almost spit out my drink when I saw it as an adult. Oye.
Closing Thoughts:
-Robin Hood is NOT a crappy movie. Granted, it's not on the same epic scale as a Sleeping Beauty or a Frozen, but it's so charming and wonderfully lighthearted. Robin Hood is not breaking any barriers or winning any awards, but it's damn enjoyable. The storyline is solid. The characters are solid. The songs are solid. No offense to my film professor from all those years ago, but this is NOT a bad movie. This is the hill I will die on.
-Robin Hood has a very high re-watchability score. LOOK: I can love and appreciate certain movies, but that doesn't mean I always want to re-watch them. Do I love Coco? Absolutely. Do I want to watch Coco on the regular? Heck no (do you want to cry today?). Robin Hood is a reliable go-to when I want to chill out and just enjoy Disney magic. It's funny, has amazing musical bops, is highly quotable ("Hiss! You're never around when I need you!"), and the jail break ending is appropriately dramatic and exciting. I am always down to watch Robin Hood.
-Robin Hood = nostalgia. Although Robin Hood came out in 1973, I associate it with the good ol' days of VCRs and Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. I'm talking about the 1990s, that golden decade of my childhood. Robin Hood takes me back to those simpler times, and for that, I am grateful. In fact, Robin Hood was the first movie I watched on Disney+, and I'm not sorry about it. Not one bit. Oo-de-lally!
My Rating: 7.5/10
My Rating Scale/System:
10 - Masterpiece / Award Worthy 🤩
9 - Almost perfect / Exceptional 🥰
8 - Great / Well-crafted 😁
7 - Good / Noteworthy 😊
6 - Above average / Memorable 🙂
5 - Solidly average 😐
4 - Mixed feelings / Mediocre 😕
3 - Uninteresting / Struggle bus 🥱
2 - Barely watchable 😡
1 - Failure / Why is this a thing? 💩
