Robin Hood (1973 film)
Robin Hood is a 1973 American animated musical adventure comedy film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by Buena Vista Distribution. Produced and directed by Wolfgang Reitherman, it is based on the English folktale "Robin Hood". Taking place in a world populated by anthropomorphic animals, the story follows the adventures of Robin Hood, Little John, and the inhabitants of Nottingham as they fight against the excessive taxation of Prince John, and Robin Hood wins the hand of Maid Marian. The film features the voices of Brian Bedford, Phil Harris, Peter Ustinov, Pat Buttram, Monica Evans, Terry-Thomas, Roger Miller, and Carole Shelley.
The idea to adapt Robin Hood into an animated feature was dated back to Walt Disney's interest in the tale of Reynard the Fox following the release of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The idea was repeatedly shelved for several decades. In 1968, Ken Anderson pitched a film adaptation of Robin Hood, incorporating ideas from Reynard the Fox by using anthropomorphic animals rather than humans. The project was approved, becoming the first completely "post-Walt" animated feature and the first with an entirely non-human cast.
Robin Hood was released on November 8, 1973. The film received mixed reviews from critics, but it was nonetheless a box-office success, grossing $33 million worldwide against a production budget of $5 million. Although some retrospective reviews have criticized the heavy use of animation recycled from previous Disney films, the film's reputation has grown positively over time. It has become a cult classic that inspired the adult furry fandom.
Plot
In Medieval England, minstrel Alan-a-Dale narrates the story about an heroic outlaw named Robin Hood. While crossing Sherwood Forest, Robin and his friend Little John narrowly escape capture by the Sheriff of Nottingham and his archers. They learn that the arrogant, greedy, and immature Prince John — who has usurped the throne from his brother King Richard after his aide-de-camp Sir Hiss hypnotized Richard into fighting in the Crusades — will be traveling through the forest. Disguised as fortunetellers, they rob the Royal caravan, embarrassing Prince John, who promises revenge.Robin and Little John distribute Prince John's wealth among the starving and overtaxed villagers of Nottingham. Robin also gives a hat and bow to young Skippy Rabbit for the latter's birthday. Trying out the bow, Skippy accidentally fires an arrow into the courtyard of Prince John's castle. While retrieving it, Skippy and his friends meet King Richard's niece Maid Marian and her lady-in-waiting Lady Kluck. Skippy's hat reminds Maid Marian of Robin Hood, and she reveals that they were childhood sweethearts. She wonders if Robin Hood still remembers her.
Meanwhile, Robin is thinking of Maid Marian at his and Little John's forest hideaway. Local priest Friar Tuck brings news that Prince John will be hosting an archery tournament; the grand prize will be a kiss from Maid Marian. Ignoring that it is a trap set by Prince John, Robin and Little John, disguised respectively as a Devonshire stork and the Duke of Chutney, infiltrate the competition, which Robin wins; however, Prince John sees through Robin's disguise and sentences him to death. Maid Marian pleads for Robin's life; while they proclaim their love for each other, Little John gets Robin released by threatening Prince John with a dagger in his back. Suddenly, the Sheriff of Nottingham intervenes, and Prince John again orders Robin's death. Robin, Little John, Maid Marian, and Lady Kluck fight Prince John's soldiers. During the fight, Robin proposes to Maid Marian, which she accepts. Robin, Maid Marian, Lady Kluck, and Little John escape.
Robin and Maid Marian share a romantic evening, which is disrupted by the partying of the Nottingham villagers. They sing a song, "The Phony King of England," that mocks Prince John's fraud and incompetence; the song becomes popular even among Prince John's own advisors. Prince John angrily triples the taxes on the villagers, all of whom are soon jailed when their money runs out. Visiting Friar Tuck's now-empty church, the Sheriff of Nottingham takes the last farthing from the poor box. When Friar Tuck finally snaps and begins assaulting the Sheriff in his rage, he is arrested for high treason. Prince John orders his execution as bait to trap Robin Hood.
The night before the execution, Robin and Little John break into the jail. They free the villagers, who make off with Prince John's wealth. Sir Hiss tries to stop the breakout by rousing the castle. The villagers escape, but Robin is trapped while rescuing Skippy's younger sister Tagalong. The Sheriff of Nottingham chases Robin with a lit torch, setting the castle on fire. Cornered, Robin evades Prince John's archers by diving from a turret into the moat. Sir Hiss, fed up with Prince John's constant abuse and failures, criticizes him for the plot, which resulted in his mother's castle being destroyed. Infuriated, Prince John chases Sir Hiss through the flames.
Some time later, King Richard returns from the Crusades. He pardons Robin Hood, forgives the villagers' taxes, and imprisons Prince John, Sir Hiss, and the Sheriff of Nottingham for their crimes. Robin and Maid Marian are married and ride off together, with Little John and Skippy in tow.
Voice cast
- Brian Bedford as Robin Hood, a talented archer and smart-aleck outlaw. He is portrayed as a red fox.
- Monica Evans as Maid Marian, the niece of King Richard and love interest of Robin Hood. She is portrayed as a red fox.
- Phil Harris as Little John, Robin Hood's loyal best friend. He is portrayed as a brown bear.
- Roger Miller as Alan-a-Dale, a minstrel who serves as the narrator of the film. He is portrayed as a rooster.
- Andy Devine as Friar Tuck, the priest of Nottingham. He is portrayed as a badger.
- Peter Ustinov as Prince John, the cowardly and ruthless Prince Regent of England and Maid Marian's uncle. Ustinov also voiced Prince John in the German version of the film. He is portrayed as a scrawny lion without a mane.
- *Ustinov also voices King Richard, John's older brother, the rightful King of England. Unlike John, Richard is depicted with a mane.
- Terry-Thomas as Sir Hiss, Prince John's advisor. Portrayed as a snake.
- Carole Shelley as Lady Kluck, the lady-in-waiting of Maid Marian. She is portrayed as a hen.
- Pat Buttram as the Sheriff of Nottingham. He is portrayed as a wolf.
- George Lindsey and Ken Curtis as Trigger and Nutsy, respectively, the Sheriff's guardsmen. They are portrayed as vultures.
- Billy Whitaker, Dana Laurita, Dori Whitaker, and Richie Sanders as Skippy, Sis, Tagalong, and Toby, respectively, local children of Nottingham who idolize Robin Hood. Skippy, Sis, and Tagalong are white rabbits while Toby is a tortoise.
- John Fiedler and Barbara Luddy as the Church of Nottingham's Sexton and his wife. They are portrayed as church mice.
- *Luddy also voices Mrs. Rabbit.
- Candy Candido as the Captain of the Royal Guard. He is portrayed as a crocodile.
- J. Pat O'Malley as Otto the blacksmith. He is portrayed as a bloodhound.
Production
I see swell possibilities in 'Reynard', but is it smart to make it? We have such a terrific kid audience... parents and kids together. That's the trouble – too sophisticated. We'll take a nosedive doing it with animals.For Treasure Island, Disney seriously considered three animated sections, each one of the Reynard tales, to be told by Long John Silver to Jim Hawkins as moral fables. Ultimately, the idea was nixed as Treasure Island became the studio's first fully live-action film. In the next decade, the studio decided to make Reynard the villain of a musical feature film based on Edmond Rostand's Chanticleer, but the production was scrapped in favor of The Sword in the Stone.
In October 1968, Ken Anderson went on a fishing trip with Disney Studios president Card Walker. There, Walker suggested that a classic tale should be the subject for the next animated film after The Aristocats. Anderson proposed the tale of Robin Hood, to which Walker responded enthusiastically. Back at the studio, Anderson relayed the idea during a story meeting on The Aristocats which was met with approval. In a follow-up meeting, with Wolfgang Reitherman, Bill Anderson, and Larry Clemmons, Ken Anderson was assigned the job to begin "exploratory animal character drawings". On his own, Anderson blended his ideas for the character Robin Hood by conceptualizing him as a slick fox that still used his skills to protect the community.
Additionally, Anderson wanted to set the film in the Deep South desiring to recapture the spirit of Song of the South. Anderson explained, "Basically I had a wonderful time on Song of the South, and I know that all of my friends in animation did. They loved the part I played and I loved the part they played... And so it was an attempt on my part to get the best of that sort of thing and get it going on again, bring it up-to-date." However, the Disney Studios executives had precautions because of the racial controversy surrounding Song of the South. Reitherman further overruled Anderson's creative suggestion by setting the film in its traditional English location as inspired by The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men. Clemmons came on board the project to write a story outline with dialogue that was later storyboarded by other artists.
As production went further along, Robin Allan stated in his book Walt Disney and Europe that "Ken Anderson wept when he saw how his character concepts had been processed into stereotypes for the animation on Robin Hood." According to Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston, one such casualty was the concept of making the Sheriff of Nottingham a goat as an artistic experiment to try different animals for a villain, only to be overruled by Reitherman who wanted to keep to the villainous stereotype of a wolf instead. Additionally, Anderson wanted to include the Merry Men into the film, which was again overridden by Reitherman because he wanted a "buddy picture" reminiscent of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Little John was the only Merry Man retained in the film, while Friar Tuck was put as a friend of Robin's who lived in Nottingham, and Alan-a-Dale was turned into the narrator.
Because of the time spent on developing several settings, and auditioning actors to voice the title character, production fell behind schedule. In order to meet its deadline, the animators had no other choice but to recycle several dance sequences from previous Disney animated films, including Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, The Jungle Book, and The Aristocats that are used in the "Phony King of England" scene.