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Robin Hood (1973 film)

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Robin Hood
File:Rboriginalposter.jpg
Directed byWolfgang Reitherman
Written byLarry Clemmons
Ken Anderson
Produced byWolfgang Reitherman
StarringBrian Bedford
Peter Ustinov
Phil Harris
Music byRoger Miller
Distributed byBuena Vista Pictures
Release dates
November 8, 1973
Running time
83 min.
LanguageEnglish
Budget$15,000,000

Robin Hood is an animated film produced by the Walt Disney Studios, first released in the United States on November 8, 1973. It is the twenty-first animated feature in the Disney animated features canon. It was the first feature which began production after Walt Disney's death, although some elements were taken from an earlier aborted production ("Reynard the Fox", see below) which Disney had been involved in.

Characters

Voices

A few of the voice-actors utilized in this production are British. However, the creators of the film made the unusual decision to cast quite a number of American character actors in the traditional medieval roles. Many of these individuals were veteran performers from Western-themed movies and television programs -- which meant that characters like Friar Tuck and the Sheriff of Nottingham have accents and mannerisms more associated with the rural southwestern United States than with England. This effect was further reinforced by the choice of country singer Roger Miller as the movie's songwriter and narrator.

Another curious element was the reunion of Phil Harris and Andy Devine, both of whom had been on The Jack Benny Program

Plot

Template:Spoiler The film recounts the traditional stories of Robin Hood with the characters cast as anthropomorphic animals.

Robin Hood, played as a fox, teams up with his band of outlaws including Little John (a bear), and Friar Tuck (a badger) to "rob the rich to feed the poor" of Nottingham which is being taxed into oblivion by Prince John (a weak, sniveling lion) and his followers Sir Hiss (a snake) and the Sheriff of Nottingham (a wolf). King Richard (a strong lion) had left for the crusades and Prince John took his place on the throne. While sneaking into an archery tournament held by Prince John, Robin Hood is nearly caught but manages too escape with his childhood sweetheart, Maid Marian (a fox). The two of them are joined in the forest with the rest of the outlaws and lots of other citizens who all have a wonderful time mocking the prince. When John finds out about this, he orders taxes to be increased even more, to the point of most of the citizens being jailed. Friar Tuck is even arrested when he tries to keep the Sheriff from taking money from the church's poor box. To scare Robin out of hiding, John plans to hang Friar Tuck. Fortunately, Robin gets wind of this ahead of time and manages to rescue the Friar as well as the other imprisoned people and steal back the prince's ill-gained gold. They all escape from the castle, except for Robin who is almost caught. He fights the prince on the top of the castle and falls into the moat where everyone assumes him to be dead. He then emerges alive. The movie ends with King Richard returning and everyone living happily ever after.

Reused Footage

Initially, the studio considered a movie about Reynard the Fox. However, due to Walt Disney's concern that Reynard was an unsuitable choice for a hero, Ken Anderson used many elements from it in Robin Hood.

As the film was made during Disney's financial slump and therefore allotted a small budget, the artists reused footage from previous animated features. This is most noticeable during the song-and-dance number, "The Phoney King of England"; the characters' movements strongly resemble those from The Jungle Book, The Aristocats, and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. In particular, the section where Little John and Lady Kluck dance together mirrors part of the song I Wanna Be Like You from The Jungle Book with Baloo and King Louie respectively, and Robin Hood and Maid Marion mirror the dancing movements of Thomas O'Malley and Duchess during the song "Everybody Wants to Be a Cat" from The Aristocats. The animation of Little John, the bear in Robin Hood, is nearly identical to that of Baloo in The Jungle Book. Both characters were voiced by actor Phil Harris. Maid Marian also dances the same moves as Snow White causing her to wear a petticoat instead of bloomers. The robe that Prince John wears, and the crown worn by the puppet version of him, are the same robe and crown the king wears in Bedknobs and Broomsticks. At the end of the movie, a sound clip of the church bells ringing in Cinderella was used for the wedding church bells. During the beginning of the film, Sir Hiss mesmerizes Prince John with his eyes. This was the same type of ability Kaa the snake had in Disney's 1967 film, The Jungle Book. This short scene also appears to be another re-use of older animation. Also there's one of the elephants in "Robin Hood" who uses his trunk like a trumpet then Lady Cluck grabs and grips the trunk, this is a gag similar of that in The Jungle Book. The eyes of the two mice that live in Friar Tuck's church look simalir to Roquefort's eyes from The Aristocats. Template:Spoilerend

Box office and reaction

At the time leading up to its release, "Robin Hood" had a bit of a burden to carry-many observers were treating it as a benchmark to determine whether or not the studio could carry on without the late Walt Disney, since this was the studio's first animated feature produced without his involvement. Since Disney had attached his name to all his previous films, it gave the impression among many that the studio was nothing without him. Had the film failed, this impression might have been cemented, and might have done serious damage to the studio's reputation. Luckily, Robin Hood was very successful upon its initial release, garnering around $9.5 million, the biggest Disney attraction at that time. Its 1982 re-release brought in even more income. Critical response was (and remains) somewhat mixed, with some complaining that the film lacked the grandeur of Disney's earlier efforts. Others commended it for its lively characters, witty dialogue, catchy songs, and overall fun atmosphere.

Release info

File:RobinHoodMostWanted.jpg
Video cover artwork of Robin Hood (Most Wanted Edition).

The movie was originally released in 1973, followed by a re-release in 1982. The film was released to videocassette in 1984, 1991 (the first two being in the Walt Disney Classics video line), 1994 and 1999 (these two were in the Disney Masterpiece Collection video line), staying in general release since 1991. In 2000, it was released on DVD in the Gold Classic Collection. On November 28, 2006, the movie was remastered as the "Most Wanted Edition" featuring a deleted scene/alternate ending, as well as a 16:9 matted transfer.

As one of the earliest Disney animated features to be released on home video, it is also one of the few to have been released on every home video format (except UMD): laserdisc, VHS, Beta tape, CED, and DVD. Portions of the film have also been sold on Super 8 reels. It has also been shown many times on The Disney Channel during the 80's and 90's.

Trivia

  • Peter Ustinov (one of the few British members of the cast) grew famous playing over-the-top villains. His campy, spoiled and thoroughly weak-willed portrayal of Prince John is an effective caricature of his own performance as the Roman emperor Nero in the epic film Quo Vadis (1951)
  • John endlessly sulks over his mother's preference for his brother -- a grudge marked by thumb-sucking and the reversion to an infantile state. At one point the behavior culminates in the complaint "Mother always did like Richard best." This is a sly reference to a classic comedy routine by the Smothers Brothers, in which Tom Smothers would bewail the maternal favoritism shown to Dick Smothers. ("Dick" is a common nickname for Richard.) In the play and film "The Lion in Winter," Richard is shown as being the favorite of their mother, Eleanor of Aquitaine, while John is the favored son of King Henry II.
  • The church bell on Friar Tuck's church is an actual bell, filmed and added in post-production.
  • Friar Tuck was originally envisioned as a pig, but was changed to a badger to avoid offending religious sensitivities.
  • Peter Ustinov lent his voice to both the original English-speaking Prince John and the Prince John in the German dubbed version of the movie.
  • Phil Harris's voice as Little John is almost, if not entirely, identical to the voice he used for the character Baloo in Disney's The Jungle Book (Both characters were bears and looked generally similar except for their color).
  • In the jailbreak scene, "God forgive Prince John" is written on the wall when Little John and Friar Tuck enter.
File:Robinhoodposter.jpg
1991 video cover artwork of Robin Hood (Classics version).
  • The "Alternate Ending" (the only deleted scene included in the "Most Wanted Edition" DVD) is a short retelling of the story's conclusion, using still images of colored concept art instead of animation. As Robin Hood leaps off of the castle and into the moat, he is wounded (presumably from one of the arrows shot into the water after him) and carried away to the church for safety. Prince John, enraged that he has once again been outwitted by Robin Hood, finds Little John leaving the church, and suspects the outlaw to be there as well. Sure enough, he finds Maid Marian tending to an unconscious Robin Hood, and draws a sword to kill them both. Before Prince John can strike, however, he is stopped by the appearence of his brother, King Richard, who is appalled to find his kingdom bleak and oppressed in his absence. Abiding his mother's wishes, King Richard decides he cannot banish Prince John from the kingdom, but does not pardon him from severe punishment. King Richard returns Nottingham to its former glory (before his leave for the crusade), and orders Friar Tuck to marry Robin Hood and Maid Marian.

Soundtrack Listing

  1. "Oo-de-lally" Written by Roger Miller Sung by Roger Miller
  2. "Not In Nottingham" Written by Roger Miller Sung by Roger Miller
  3. "Whistle-Stop" Written by Roger Miller Sung by Roger Miller
  4. "Love" Written by Floyd Huddleston and George Bruns Sung by Nancy Adams
  5. "The Phony King of England" Written by Johnny Mercer Sung by Phil Harris

"Whistle Stop" by Roger Miller was sampled and the pitch increased for use on The Hampster Dance website. This sample was later used by the Cuban Boys as part of their song "Cognoscenti Vs. Intelligentsia." A dance remix using the sample also became a popular hit on Radio Disney.

The music played in the background while Lady Kluck fights off Prince John's goons in an American football style manner is better known as Fight On, the fight song of the University of Southern California and On, Wisconsin, the fight song of the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

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