Robin Hood (1973 film)

Robin Hood
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Wolfgang Reitherman
Produced by Wolfgang Reitherman
Story by Larry Clemmons
Ken Anderson
Vance Gerry
Frank Thomas
Eric Cleworth
Julius Svendsen
David Michener
Based on The legend of Robin Hood
Starring
Narrated by Roger Miller
Music by George Bruns
Production
company
Distributed by Buena Vista Distribution
Release date
  • November 8, 1973 (1973-11-08)
Running time
 83 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Budget $5 million[1]
Box office $32 million[2]

Robin Hood is a 1973 American animated musical comedy-adventure film produced by Walt Disney Productions which was first released in the United States on November 8, 1973. As the twenty-first Disney animated feature film, 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 idea to adapt Robin Hood into an animated feature dated back to Walt Disney's interest in the tale of Reynard the Fox during production of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937). The idea was repeatedly shelved until writer and production designer Ken Anderson incorporated ideas from it in a pitch of the legend of Robin Hood using anthropomorphic animals rather than people during production of The Aristocats (1970). Due to casting changes and using experimental locations, production on the film fell behind schedule in which the animators had to recycle several dance sequences from previous Disney animated features in order to meet its deadline.

Robin Hood was released on November 8, 1973 where it was initially received with positive reviews from film critics who praised the voice cast, animation, and humor, but its reception became gradually mixed since its release. During its initial theatrical run, the film was a box office success. It also became the first Disney animated film to be released on home video.

Plot

Alan-a-Dale introduces the story of Robin Hood and Little John, two outlaws living in the Sherwood Forest, where they rob from the rich and give to the poor townsfolk of Nottingham, despite the efforts of the Sheriff of Nottingham to stop them. Meanwhile, Prince John and his assistant Sir Hiss arrive in Nottingham on a tour of the kingdom. Knowing the royal coach is laden with riches, Robin and Little John rob Prince John by disguising themselves as fortune tellers. The embarrassed Prince John then puts a bounty on their heads and makes the Sheriff his personal tax collector, who takes pleasure in collecting funds from the townsfolk, including hidden money from the crippled blacksmith Otto and a single farthing from a young rabbit, Skippy, who had just received it as a birthday present. However, Robin Hood, disguised as a beggar, sneaks in and gives back some money to the family, as well as his hat and a bow to Skippy in honor of his birthday.

Skippy, his two sisters, and Skippy's friend Toby test out the bow, but Skippy fires an arrow into the grounds of Maid Marian's castle. The children sneak inside, meeting Maid Marian and her attendant Lady Kluck. Skippy "rescues" Marian from Lady Kluck, who pretends to be a pompous Prince John. Later, when she is alone with Kluck, Maid Marian reveals she and Robin were childhood sweethearts, but they have not seen one another for years; Kluck consoles her not to give up on her love for Robin. Meanwhile, Friar Tuck visits Robin and Little John, explaining that Prince John is hosting an archery tournament, and the winner will receive a kiss from Maid Marian. Robin decides to participate in the tournament disguised as a stork whilst Little John disguises himself as the Duke of Chutney to get near Prince John. Robin wins the tournament, but Prince John exposes him and has him arrested for execution despite Maid Marian's pleas. Little John threatens Prince John in order to release Robin, which leads to a fight between Prince John's soldiers and the townsfolk, all of whom escape to Sherwood Forest.

As Robin and Maid Marian fall in love again, the townsfolk have a troubadour festival spoofing Prince John, describing him as the "Phony King of England", and the song soon becomes popular with John's soldiers. Enraged by the insult, Prince John triples the taxes, imprisoning most of the townsfolk who cannot pay. A paltry coin gets deposited into the poor box at Friar Tuck's church, which gets seized by the Sheriff. Enraged that government has meddled in his church, Friar Tuck lashes out at the Sheriff, for which he is quickly arrested. Prince John orders Friar Tuck hung, knowing Robin Hood will come out of hiding to rescue his friend and give the potential for Robin to be caught.

Robin and Little John learn of the plot and sneak in during the night, with Little John managing to free all of the prisoners whilst Robin steals Prince John's taxes, but Sir Hiss awakens to find Robin fleeing. Chaos follows as Robin and the others try to escape to Sherwood Forest. The Sheriff corners Robin after he is forced to return to rescue Tagalong, Skippy's little sister. During the chase, Prince John's castle catches fire and Robin jumps into the moat, where he is seemingly skewered by the soldiers' arrows. Little John and Skippy fear Robin is lost, but he surfaces safely after using a reed as a breathing tube. Later, King Richard returns to England, placing his brother, Sir Hiss and the Sheriff under arrest and allows his niece Maid Marian to marry Robin Hood.

Cast

Production

"As director of story and character concepts, I knew right off that sly Robin Hood must be a fox. From there it was logical that Maid Marian should be a pretty vixen. Little John, legendarily known for his size, was easily a big overgrown bear. Friar Tuck is great as a badger, but he was also great as a pig, as I had originally planned. Then I thought the symbol of a pig might be offensive to the Church, so we changed him. Richard the Lion-hearted, of course, had to be a regal, proud, strong lion; and his pathetic cousin [historically, and in the movie, his brother] Prince John, the weak villain, also had to be a lion, but we made him scrawny and childish. I originally thought of a snake as a member of the poor townspeople but one of the other men here suggested that a snake would be perfect as a slithering consort [Sir Hiss] to mean Prince John."

Ken Anderson[3]

Around the time of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1937, Walt Disney became interested in adapting the twelfth-century legend of Reynard the Fox.[3] However, the project languished due to Walt's concern that Reynard was an unsuitable choice for a hero.[4] In a meeting held on February 12, 1938, Disney commented "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."[5] For Treasure Island (1950), Walt 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 would become the studio's first fully live-action film. Over the years, the studio decided to make Reynard the villain of a musical feature film named Chanticleer and Reynard (based on Edmond Rostand's Chanticleer), but the production was scrapped in the early 1960s in favor of The Sword in the Stone (1963).[3]

While The Aristocats (1970) was in production, Ken Anderson began exploring possibilities for the next film. Studio executives favored a "classic" tale as the subject for the next film, in which Anderson suggested the tale of Robin Hood, which was received enthusiastically.[6] He blended his ideas of Robin Hood by incorporating that the fox character could be slick but still use his skills to protect the community.[7] Additionally, Anderson wanted to set the film in the Deep South desiring to recapture the spirit of Song of the South (1946). However, the executives were wary of the reputation of Song of the South, which was followed by Wolfgang Reitherman's decision to set the film in its traditional English location inspired by The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men (1952).[8] Veteran writer Larry Clemmons came on board the project by writing a script with dialogue that was later storyboarded by other writers.[7]

As production went further along, Robin Allan wrote 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."[9] 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.[10] 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 (1969),[11] so Little John was the only Merry Man who remained 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 Robin Hood, production fell behind schedule.[8] In order to meet its deadline, the animators decided to recycle dance sequences from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), The Jungle Book (1967), and The Aristocats (1970).[12]

Casting

By October 1970, most of the voice actors were confirmed, with the exception of Tommy Steele cast in the title role.[13] Steele himself was chosen because of his performance in The Happiest Millionaire (1967) while Peter Ustinov was cast because Walt Disney had enjoyed his presence on the set of Blackbeard's Ghost (1968) during one of his last visits to the studios before his death. However, Steele was unable to make his character sound more heroic,[8] and his replacement came down to final two candidates which were Bernard Fox and Brian Bedford,[14] with the latter being chosen. Meanwhile, Louis Prima was so angered at not being considered for a role that he personally paid the recording expenses for the subsequent album, Let's "Hear" it For Robin Hood, which he sold to Disneyland Records.[15]

Release

The film premiered at the Radio City Music Hall on November 9, 1973.[16] The film was re-released on March 26, 1982. It was released on VHS, CED, Betamax, and Laserdisc on December 4, 1984 becoming the first installment of the Walt Disney Classics home video label.[17] Disney had thought the idea of releasing any of its animated classics (known as the "untouchables") might threaten future theatrical reissue revenue. However, Robin Hood was viewed as the first choice since it was not held in such high esteem as some of the other titles, and was less likely to get another theatrical release as its 1982 reissue proved to be disappointing.[18] It was later re-released becoming the first 1991 (as part of Walt Disney Classics Collection), 1994, and 1998 (as part of the Walt Disney Masterpiece Collection). It was first released on UK VHS in 1987 followed by a 1989 re-issue. It was re-released in 1992.

In January 2000, Walt Disney Home Video launched the Gold Classic Collection, with Robin Hood re-issued on VHS and DVD on July 4, 2000.[19] The DVD contained the film in its 1.33:1 aspect ratio, and was accompanied with special features including a trivia game and the cartoon short "Ye Olden Days".[20] The remastered "Most Wanted Edition" DVD ("Special Edition" in the UK) was released in 2006 and featured a deleted scene/alternate ending, as well as a 16:9 matted transfer to represent its original theatrical screen ratio. On August 6, 2013, the film was released as the 40th Anniversary Edition on a Blu-ray/DVD/Digital Copy combo pack.

Reception

Critical reaction

Judith Crist, reviewing the film in the New York magazine, said it was "nicely tongue-in-cheek without insult to the intelligence of either child or adult." She also stated that it "has class – in the fine cast that gives both voice and personality to the characters, in the bright and brisk dialogue, in its overall concept."[21] Vincent Canby of The New York Times wrote that it "should ... be a good deal of fun for toddlers whose minds have not yet shriveled into orthodoxy" and he called the visual style "charmingly conventional".[22] Dave Billington of The Montreal Gazette wrote "As a film, Robin Hood marks a come-back of sorts for the Disney people. Ever since the old maestro died, the cartoon features have shown distressing signs of a drop in quality, both in art work and in voice characterization. But the blending of appealing cartoon animals with perfect voices for the part makes Robin Hood an excellent evening out for the whole family."[23]

Also writing in the New York magazine, Ruth Gilbert called it "a sweet, funny, slam-bang, good-hearted Walt Disney feature cartoon with a fine cast" and wrote it was "a feast for the eyes for kiddies and Disney nostalgics."[24] Jay Cocks of Time gave the film a mixed review writing "Even at its best, Robin Hood is only mildly diverting. There is not a single moment of the hilarity or deep, eerie fear that the Disney people used to be able to conjure up, or of the sort of visual invention that made the early features so memorable. Robin Hood's basic problem is that it is rather too pretty and good natured."[25] Awarding the film four stars out of five, Ian Nathan, in a contemporary review for Empire, praised the vocal performances of Peter Ustinov and Terry-Thomas acknowledging "while this is hardly the most dazzling of animated features, it has that cut-corner feel that seem to hold sway in the '70s (mainly because Disney were cutting corners), the characters spark to life, and the story remains as rock steady as ever."[26]

Decades since the film's release, the film was heavily noted for the recycled scenes of animation.[27] The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported that the film received a 52% approval rating with an average rating of 5.4/10 based on 25 reviews. The website's consensus states that "One of the weaker Disney adaptations, Robin Hood is cute and colorful but lacks the majesty and excitement of the studio's earlier efforts."[28]

Box office

On its initial release, Robin Hood grossed $9 million in the United States.[29] However, it has been reported that the film grossed $35 million during its initial release.[30][31]

Awards and honors

The song "Love" was nominated for Best Original Song at the 46th Academy Awards but lost to "The Way We Were" from the film of the same name.

The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists:

Soundtrack

Robin Hood
Studio album by Various artists
Released 1973
Recorded 1972–73
Genre Classical, Soundtrack, Classic pop
Label Disneyland Records
  1. "Whistle-Stop" written and sung by Roger Miller
  2. "Oo-De-Lally" written and sung by Roger Miller
  3. "Love" written by Floyd Huddleston and George Bruns and sung by Nancy Adams
  4. "The Phony King of England" written by Johnny Mercer and sung by Phil Harris
  5. "The Phony King of England Reprise" sung by Terry-Thomas and Pat Buttram
  6. "Not in Nottingham" written and sung by Roger Miller
  7. "Love"/"Oo-De-Lally Reprise" sung by Chorus

The music played in the background while Lady Kluck fights off Prince John's soldiers in an American football manner, following the archery tournament, is an arrangement of "Fight On" and "On, Wisconsin", the respective fight songs of the University of Southern California and the University of Wisconsin.

A record of the film was made at the time of its release in 1973, which included its songs, score, narration, and dialogue. Both "Oo-De-Lally" and "Love" appear on the CD collection, Classic Disney: 60 Years of Musical Magic. The full soundtrack of the film was released to the general public on August 4, 2017 as part of the Walt Disney Records: The Legacy Collection series on compact disc and digital, and was a timed exclusive to the 2017 D23 Expo.[32]

The song "Love" is featured in the 2009 feature film Fantastic Mr. Fox.[33] The song "Whistle-Stop" was sped up and used in the Hampster Dance, one of the earliest internet memes,[34] and later used at normal speed in the Super Bowl XLVIII commercial for T-Mobile.[35] The song "Oo De Lally" is featured in a 2015 commercial for Android which shows animals of different species playing together.[36]

Live-action remake

In December 2014, it was announced that Disney had bought a spec script for a live-action film titled Nottingham & Hood with hopes that it would spawn a new film franchise. The tone is said to be similar to the Pirates of the Caribbean film series.[37]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Huddy, John (November 7, 1973). "Disney Coming Out with "Robin Hood"". Toledo Blade. Retrieved August 11, 2016.
  2. ↑ "Robin Hood, Box Office Information". The Numbers. Retrieved January 17, 2012.
  3. 1 2 3 Grant 1998, p. 290.
  4. ↑ Harty, Kevin (2012). "Walt in Sherwood, or the Sheriff of Disneyland: Disney and the film legend of Robin Hood.". The Disney Middle Ages: A Fairy-Tale and Fantasy Past. The New Middle Ages (2012 ed.). Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-0230340077. eds. Tison Pugh, Susan Aronstein
  5. ↑ Solomon, Charles (November 9, 1995). The Disney That Never Was. Hyperion Books. p. 81. ISBN 978-0786860371.
  6. ↑ Finch, Christopher. "The Making of Robin Hood". The Art of Walt Disney: From Mickey Mouse to the Magic Kingdom (1st ed.). Harry N. Abrams. pp. 319–32. ISBN 978-0810990074.
  7. 1 2 Simpson, Wade (May 27, 2009). "Taking Another Look at Robin Hood". Mouse Planet. Retrieved August 11, 2016.
  8. 1 2 3 Hill, Jim (March 17, 2005). "Why For?". Jim Hill Media. Retrieved August 11, 2016.
  9. ↑ Robin, Allan (1999). Walt Disney and Europe. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press. p. 253. ISBN 0-253-21353-3.
  10. ↑ Thomas, Frank; Johnston, Ollie (1981). Disney Animation: The Illusion of Life. Abbeville Press. p. 344. ISBN 978-0786860708.
  11. ↑ Koenig 1997, pp. 149–50.
  12. ↑ Maltin, Leonard (1987). Of Mice and Magic: A History of American Animated Cartoons. New American Library. p. 76. ISBN 0-452-25993-2.
  13. ↑ "Animals Portray Parts in Disney's "Robin Hood"". Toledo Blade. October 18, 1970. Retrieved August 11, 2016.
  14. ↑ Milt Kahl. Milt in Dallas. YouTube. Google. Retrieved August 11, 2016.
  15. ↑ Koenig 1997, p. 152.
  16. ↑ "Bear Facts". The Village Voice. November 1, 1973. Retrieved August 11, 2016.
  17. ↑ Collins, Glenn (February 17, 1985). "New Cassettes: From Disney To Mussorgsky's 'Boris'". The New York Times. Retrieved August 11, 2016.
  18. ↑ Ryan, Desmond (December 4, 1984). "Disney classic on video?". Ottawa Citizen. Retrieved August 11, 2016.
  19. ↑ "Walt Disney Home Video Debuts the "Gold Classic Collection"". The Laughing Place. Retrieved August 11, 2016.
  20. ↑ "Robin Hood  — Disney Gold Collection". Disney.go.com. Archived from the original on August 15, 2000. Retrieved August 11, 2016.
  21. ↑ Crist, Judith (November 12, 1973). "Calling the Blind Man's Bluff". New York. Vol. 6 no. 46. pp. 90–1. ISSN 0028-7369.
  22. ↑ Canby, Vincent (November 9, 1973). "Screen: 'Robin Hood':Animals and Birds Star in Disney Version The Program". The New York Times. Retrieved August 11, 2016.
  23. ↑ Billington, Dave (December 22, 1973). "Sir Hiss is the show-stealer in Walt Disney's 'Robin Hood'". The Montreal Gazette. Retrieved October 11, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  24. ↑ Gilbert, Ruth (November 26, 1973). "Movies Around Town". New York. Vol. 6 no. 8. p. 13. ISSN 0028-7369. Retrieved May 31, 2017.
  25. ↑ Cocks, Jay (December 3, 1973). "Cinema". Time. Vol. 102 no. 23. p. 78. ISSN 0040-781X. Retrieved October 11, 2018.
  26. ↑ Nathan, Ian (31 July 2006). "Robin Hood 1973 Review". Empire. Retrieved 11 October 2018.
  27. ↑ Acuna, Kirsten (May 15, 2015). "How Disney reuses the same footage in different films". Business Insider. Retrieved October 11, 2018.
  28. ↑ "Robin Hood (1973)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved August 11, 2016.
  29. ↑ Robb, Brian (December 9, 2014). A Brief History of Walt Disney. Running Press. ISBN 978-0762454754. Retrieved July 6, 2017.
  30. ↑ Chase, Chris (June 23, 1991). "Robin Hood Adds Up To a Thief for the Ages". The New York Times. Retrieved July 6, 2017.
  31. ↑ Spain, Tom (May 9, 1991). "Robin Hood's Classic Debut". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 6, 2017.
  32. ↑ "Dove Cameron, Sofia Carson, Jordan Fisher, Auli'i Cravalho, and Oscar®-Winning Composer Michael Giacchino to Meet Fans at the Disney Music Emporium During D23 Expo 2017, July 14–16" (Press release). PR Newswire. Burbank, California. May 23, 2017. Retrieved August 22, 2017.
  33. ↑ "Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)". IMDb.
  34. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2008). Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008. Record Research, Inc. p. 180. ISBN 0-89820-177-2.
  35. ↑ We Killed the Long-Term Contract – T-Mobile on YouTube
  36. ↑ Android: Friends Furever on YouTube
  37. ↑ Fleming Jr., Mike (December 4, 2014). "Robin Hood Now A Race As Disney Acquires Spec 'Nottingham & Hood'". Deadline Hollywood.

Bibliography

  • Grant, John (April 30, 1998). The Encyclopedia of Walt Disney's Animated Characters: From Mickey Mouse to Hercules. Disney Editions. ISBN 978-0-7868-6336-5.
  • Koenig, David (1997). Mouse Under Glass: Secrets of Disney Animation & Theme Parks. Irvine, California: Bonaventure Press. ISBN 978-0964060517.
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