Robin Hood (1973)

Voices of: Brian Bedford, Monica Evans, Phil Harris, Peter Ustinov, Andy Devine, Pat Buttram, Roger Miller, Terry-Thomas
Directed by: Wolfgang Reitherman, David Hand (uncredited)
Rating: G
Genre: Animation, Adventure, Comedy
1973

Times Seen:
Tim: 2

Summary: Robin Hood steals from the rich and gives to the poor.

Review:

Tim: I know some people have claimed Robin Hood is a lesser Disney effort. I actually really enjoyed this movie. It takes the famous story of Robin Hood and it presents it with anthropomorphic animals in a format that's more easily digestible for younger viewers. I watched this movie with my five year-old son and I was thankful I was able to introduce him to the story of Robin Hood. I think this is an effective movie and one that has stood the test of time. Sure, it might not rank up with Disney's classics, but that doesn't take anything away from this thoroughly enjoyable movie.

The story will be familiar to anyone who knows the Robin Hood legend. That might be one small complaint against this film- it really doesn't add anything to the already-known story. Everything here is pretty straightforward. We have Prince John, Maid Marian, Little John, Friar Tuck. There's an archery tournament. There's a lot of focus on collecting taxes (taken to extreme lengths since this is movie aimed at children). It's the story we all know. I will admit that the movie is lacking a bit of the Disney magic. That's what prevents the film from reaching the heights of the Disney classics. Still, it's a competently made, entertaining film.

The animation style felt appropriate for the time period in which is depicted here. There's nothing inherently flashy about it. I enjoyed the color schemes and the depiction of the characters as animals. This film did a good job of portraying these characters as the right "spirit animals", if you will. The cunning Robin Hood is a fox (Marian is too, which makes sense to keep it in the same species). Little John is a big strong bear. Richard and John are lions. The Sheriff of Nottingham is a wolf. There's a slippery snake and rhinos as guards. It all works.

The music was quite good. It's interesting to me that the song "Love" was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song. I thought the song and the scene accompanying it was fine. It's a nice quiet moment in the film. However, it cannot hold a candle up to the catchy, incredible "Oo De Lally". I love this song so much. It's the song that opens the movie and it does a fantastic job of setting the tone for the entire film. It establishes our two main characters, the antagonists, and how the film will approach the subject matter. Side note- when my son was very little, the only thing that would quiet him down in the car was me singing. I got sick of singing the same few songs over and over, so I tried to find a new song that would be relatively easy to learn. I picked "Oo De Lally" and have sung it probably hundreds of times at this point. It's a great, great song.

The voice cast is strong. They made so many interesting choices, but they work. I liked Brian Bedford as Robin. It's not the voice I would have expected, but it fits this fox character. Peter Ustinov was excellent as Prince John. Phil Harris was excellent as Little John. I also have to give Pat Buttram so much credit for his voice work as the Sheriff of Nottingham. It kind of felt like the voice didn't fit the character, but he's so damn good that it doesn't matter. His voice is memorable and a bit mesmerizing and it was one of my favorite aspects of the entire film.

I find it interesting that opinion of this film has changed so much over the years. Upon its initial release, Robin Hood was well-received by critics. Opinion changed over the years and took a more critical view of the film. However, there are still some strong defenders of the film (and I'd include myself in those ranks). This is an effective, entertaining movie. My five year-old son was a big fan, and so am I.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: The Sword in the Stone