Robin Hood

“Y’know, there’s been a heap of legends and tall tales about Robin Hood. All different too. Well, we folks in the animal kingdom have our own version. It’s the story of what really happened in Sherwood Forest.” Disney’s 1973 Robin Hood is an interesting film as it seems to be both well-loved and often forgotten at the same time. This is one of my favourite Disney films and I find it charming and entertaining. However, similar to most films from the Bronze Age, it does not always get much love from Disney.

Premiered on: November 8, 1973 at Radio City Music Hall in New York City

Directed by: Wolfgang Reitherman

Produced by: Wolfgang Reitherman

Based on: The Legend of Robin Hood

Sequels: none

Cast:

Brian Bedford – Robin Hood
Monica Evans – Maid Marian
Phil Harris – Little John
Roger Miller – Alan-a-Dale
Andy Devine – Friar Tuck
Peter Ustinov – Prince John / King Richard
Terry-Thomas – Sir Hiss
Carole Shelley – Lady Kluck
Pat Buttram – The Sheriff
George Lindsey – Trigger
Ken Curtis – Nutsy
John Fiedler – Father Sexton
Barbara Luddy – Mother Church Mouse / Mother Rabbit
Candy Candido – Captain of the Guards
J. Pat O’Malley – Otto
Dori Whitaker – Tagalong
Billy Whitaker – Skippy
Dana Laurita – Sis

Directing Animators:

Frank Thomas
Milt Kahl
John Lounsbery
Ollie Johnston

Music by:

George Bruns
Roger Miller
Floyd Huddleston
Johnny Mercer

Songs:

“Whistle Stop”
“Oo-de-Lally”
“Love”
“The Phoney King of England”
“Not in Nottingham”

Academy Awards: Best Song – “Love” (nomination)

The Story:

Robin Hood opens with a classic storybook opening with a page that reads “Long ago, good King Richard of England, departed for the holy land on a great crusade. During his absence, Prince John his greedy and treacherous brother, usurped the crown.” And on the next page it reads “Robin Hood was the people’s only hope. He robbed from the rich to feed the poor.” This page shows the rooster Alan-a-Dale, who then comes to life and starts to narrate the story. He says that there have always been many legends about Robin Hood, but only one comes from the animal kingdom.

The opening credits start and the song “Whistle Stop” plays. The credits begin with the voice cast and they credit the actor as well as the name of the character and what species of animal the character is; for example “Prince John, a Lion. Voice by Peter Ustinov.” Then the voice cast credits lead into the rest of the credits. The characters are all marching around the pages of the book while the credits are rolling.

After the credits, Alan-a-Dale introduces himself as a minstrel. He says that he is like a folksinger and his job is to tell it like it is. He starts to sing “Oo-de-Lally” and the scene show Robin Hood and Little John walking through a forest. The lyrics to the song represent what the characters are actually doing such as jumping fences, dodging trees, and trying to get away from the Sheriff of Nottingham.

After the song, Little John pulls an arrow out of his shirt that he got from running away from the Sheriff. He tells Robin Hood that they are taking too many chances but Robin doesn’t agree, despite the arrow in his own hat. Little John wonders if they are the good guys or the bad guys because they rob from the rich. Robin corrects him in saying that they only borrow and only from those that can afford it. Little John comments that they must be in debt then! Then they hear a trumpet sound.

An entire royal entourage is marching down the road. There is are guards, a marching band, a treasure chest, and a carriage carrying Prince John and Sir Hiss. The two are counting taxes and Prince John says that they “rob the poor to feed the rich!” Prince John asks where their next stop is and Sir Hiss looks at the map and says that it is Nottingham. Prince John puts his crown on but it is much too big. The loyal Sir Hiss goes on and on about how great the crown looks and how it is a perfect fit. He accidentally mentions King Richard’s name and Prince John reacts in anger. They then talk about how Sir Hiss hypnotized King Richard and they sent him off on a crazy crusade, much to the sorrow of the queen mother. Prince John then gets very sad about talking about his mommy and he starts to suck his thumb. Sir Hiss does not like the sound of the thumb sucking so he starts to hypnotize Prince John, but the prince stops the snake in time.

In the forest nearby, Robin Hood and Little John are quickly dressing up as female fortune tellers. Little John thinks that the procession is a circus with all the hoopla but Robin tells him that it is the Royal Carriage with Prince John himself! Little John refuses to rob royalty and starts to walk away but Robin convinces him of this great chance.

The pair wave at the carriage from the side of the road and catch the eye of Prince John. The prince wants his fortune read but Sir Hiss warns him that they might be bandits. But Prince John thinks that the idea of female bandits is nonsense. He tells Robin Hood and Little John that they may kiss the royal hands and as they do, they steal the jewels from his rings. Sir Hiss witnesses this and tries to warn Prince John, but the lion will not listen to him. He ties Sir Hiss in a knot and stuffs him in a basket.

Robin Hood is in the carriage and tells Prince John to close his eyes and concentrate. He calls on for the spirits from the mists of time and Little John dangles a glass ball of fireflies into the carriage. Prince John opens his eyes and falls for it; he thinks that the fireflies are floating spirits. Robin then says that he sees a face with a crown on their noble brow. The face is handsome and regal, and Robin completely flatters Prince John while trying to steal some gold in the process. From the basket Sir Hiss smacks Robin’s hand away from the gold. Robin tries again and this time is able to grab a bag of gold while still flattering Prince John. Little John grabs the gold from Robin outside and then steals the solid gold hubcaps. Little John then heads to the treasure chest being carried by four guards and he stabs a hole in the bottom to pour out the coins into his dress. He sashays away but then runs right into Robin who is coming out of the carriage. Robin has completely robbed Prince John, including his royal robe. Robin and Little John gather all of the treasures and run away. Prince John commands his guards to follow but as they take off, the wheels of the carriage fall apart and Prince John lands in the mud. Sir Hiss appears to say that he tried to warn Prince John and Prince John breaks a mirror over Sir Hiss’s head. Sir Hiss then tells Prince John that he has broken his mother’s mirror and Prince John once again cries for his mommy.

The next scene opens on a reward poster for the capture of Robin Hood. Alan-a-Dale is peeking out from behind the tree that the poster is on. He narrates that even though there was a huge reward for Robin Hood, no one would turn him in. And then Alan-a-Dale says that bad news is coming as the Sheriff walks through town. There were many taxes in Nottingham so the people were very poor. The Sheriff spies Friar Tuck and knows that he is out doing good. Friar Tuck walks into the blacksmith’s shop and gives Otto the blacksmith some coins from Robin Hood. The Sheriff knocks on the door and hears Friar Tuck tell Otto to hurry and hide the coins. The Sheriff comes in and tells Otto that he is behind in his taxes. Otto asks for more time because he has a leg in a cast but the Sheriff does not listen. He hears the coins jingling in Otto’s cast and offers the blacksmith a hand with his leg. He puts Otto’s leg up and dumps the coins out for himself. Friar Tuck is very mad at the Sheriff, who does not care and leaves the blacksmith’s shop.

The next scene is of a rabbit house. Inside are many rabbit children singing “Happy Birthday” to Skippy. The Sheriff barges in and tells Skippy to open up his present. The child opens it and there is a single coin inside. The Sheriff takes if and Mother Rabbit is very mad because they all saved to give that one coin. The Sheriff simply tells Skippy that Prince John wishes him a Happy Birthday and turns to leave as the boy starts to cry. Robin Hood comes in and is dressed as a blind beggar. He is asking for alms for the poor and the Sheriff drops the coin in to pretend to help out, but that causes the other coins to bounce out and the Sheriff takes them. The Sheriff leaves and Mother Rabbit takes pity on the beggar, who reveals himself to be Robin Hood! He gives Skippy his hat, bow, and arrow. Robin also gives Mother Rabbit a small bag of coins and tells her to keep her chin up. Someday there will be happiness again in Nottingham.

Skippy, Sis, Tagalong, and Toby the turtle run through the town. They all want to try the bow and arrow but Skippy says that he will shoot it first. He does and it ends up flying right over the castle wall and right into Prince John’s backyard. Skippy is brave and goes to get his arrow through the gate. But first he makes Toby take an oath not to tattle.

Maid Marian and Lady Kluck are playing badminton in the yard of the castle. They are laughing and having a great time. Skippy sees them as he is looking for his arrow. He goes to grab his arrow at the same time Maid Marian goes to grab her birdie which landed near the arrow. Skippy is terrified that she will tell Prince John but Maid Marian and Lady Kluck assure him that he is fine. They say that Skippy reminds them of Robin Hood! Skippy is very pleased at the comparison. Tagalong then sneezes, causing Maid Marion and Lady Kluck to notice the other children. Maid Marian invites them in and the children recognise her and say that their mother says she is very nice. They ask Marian if she is going to marry Robin Hood and if they have kissed. Marian shows them that Robin had carved their initials on a tree but then says that she thinks Robin has forgotten all about her. Skippy doesn’t think that Robin Hood could have forgotten her; Robin will fight off the guards, rescue her, and take her to Sherwood Forest! Lady Kluck then pretends to be Prince John and Skippy pretends to be Robin Hood and they fight! Robin “stabs” Prince John and rescues Maid Marian. She gives Skippy a kiss on the cheek and the other children laugh.

Inside the castle, Maid Marian is looking out of her window and day dreaming about Robin Hood. She starts to dance around her room while Lady Kluck knits and says that young love is a grand thing. Marian wonders if Robin knows how much she still loves him. Lady Kluck is sure that he does and that someday soon, Marian’s uncle will have an outlaw for an in-law. Maid Marian has Robin Hood’s reward poster hidden in a cupboard and she stares dreamily at it. Lady Kluck tells her that absence makes the heart grow fonder. But Marian worries that it might make it more forgetful and wonders if he has forgotten all about her.

The scene changes to Sherwood Forest where Robin Hood is day dreaming and burning the stew. Little John is hanging up the laundry and then comes to rescue their lunch. He teases Robin that the fox was dreaming about someone with long eyelashes and sweet perfume. Robin tells Little John how much he loves Maid Marian and Little John tells Robin to just marry her already. Robin does not think that it is that simple. He does not think that it will work because she is of high class and he is an outlaw. Friar Tuck then appears and tells Robin he will someday be a big hero! He then tells Robin and Little John about the championship archery tournament that will be happening the next day. Maid Marian will be there and will be giving the winner a kiss. Robin is very excited but Little John warns him that the tournament will be crawling with soldiers. Robin is not bothered by this and says “faint heart never won fair lady!”

The next scene is of elephants trumpeting at the archery tournament. The guards are all marching around and Prince John and Sir Hiss are talking about how today is going to be the day that they will capture Robin Hood!

Maid Marian and Lady Kluck are at the tournament and Marian is wondering how she will recognize Robin. Lady Kluck assures Marian that he will let her know somehow because he is full of surprises. Robin is hiding in the forest behind them and is excited that Marian is there. Little John warns him to be careful and Robin says not to worry because his disguise would fool his own mother. Little John says that they just need to fool old bushel britches and points to the Sheriff walking by. To prove his point, Robin goes right up to the Sheriff in his stork disguise. He shakes the Sheriff’s hand, and the Sheriff does not recognize Robin. Little John then appears in his Duke disguise and goes up to Prince John. He absolutely flatters Prince John and gives him the nickname P.J. and P.J. loves it! He wants Sir Hiss to put P.J. on his luggage. Sir Hiss is very suspicious of Little John. Little John then introduces himself as Sir Reginald, Duke of Chutney. He is invited by Prince John to sit down and he does, right on top of Sir Hiss. Sir Hiss is not happy about this and is even more upset when Sir Reginald calls him “Buster.” Both Prince John and Sir Reginald laugh at Sir Hiss, and then Prince John tells the snake to get out there and keep his eyes open for “you know who.” Sir Hiss is offended that he is being dismissed and he takes off. Alan-a-Dale and Friar Tuck notice Sir Hiss and think he is up to something so they follow him around the tournament grounds.

The archers get ready to begin. Sir Hiss has gotten himself into a balloon and is using it to float around to keep an eye out. Maid Marian and Lady Kluck sit in the royal box with Prince John. In his stork disguise, Robin Hood goes up to Maid Marian and bows to her. She then can see in his eyes that he is actually Robin Hood.

The tournament of the golden arrow has begun and Robin is beating the Sheriff. Robin talks on and on about how great he is and the Sheriff comments that he must be as good as Robin Hood then. Robin says that he is not that good, as he shoots another bullseye. This catches the eye of Prince John and Sir Hiss sneaks up on Robin and realizes who he is through the disguise. The snake flies off in his balloon to tell Prince John but then Alan-a-Dale and Friar Tuck shoot an arrow to pop the balloon and Sir Hiss falls. Alan-a-Dale and Friar Tuck catch him and stuff him in a barrel of ale.

It is then down to the final contestants: the Sheriff of Nottingham (who receives many boos) and the spindle legged stork (who receives many cheers). Prince John notices that Maid Marian favours “the gangly youth” and she quickly tells Prince John that she finds the stork amusing. It is then the final shoot out and the target is moved back 30 paces. Nutsy the vulture is underneath the target and before he moves it back, the Sheriff reminds him that he knows what he needs to do. Then when the Sheriff shoots his arrow, Nutsy jumps up to make sure the Sheriff gets a bullseye. It is then Robin’s turn. He shoots his arrow but the Sheriff nudges him to throw off his aim. Robin quickly shoots another arrow to correct the first one and it lands right in the bullseye and splits the Sheriff’s arrow. The entire crowd loudly cheers!

Prince John then nods to the captain of the guards, who whispers the plan to the other guards. Robin goes up to the royal box and Maid Marian presents him with the golden arrow. Robin shakes Prince John’s hand and then the prince takes a sword to dub him the winner. Instead, Prince John tears off the disguse with the sword and dubs Robin the loser. He tells the guards to seize Robin and they tie the fox up. Prince John sentences Robin to immediate death and Maid Marian begs Prince John to spare the outlaw’s life. She says that she loves him and Robin declares his love as well. But Prince John says that Robin Hood must die because he is a traitor to the crown. Robin says that the crown belongs to King Richard and the crowd starts to cheer “Long live King Richard!” Prince John then throws a fit saying that he is the king and the executioner appears and marches towards Robin Hood. Prince John suddenly yells for the executioner to stop! Little John has a knife to Prince John’s back and is threatening him. Prince John tells the Sheriff to untie the prisoner. Everyone cheers as Robin Hood and Maid Marian are reunited. The Sheriff suspects that something funny is going on and he finds Little John behind the royal box with the knife still at Prince John’s back. Little John then lets go of the prince to fight the Sheriff and Prince John immediately yells to kill Robin Hood! The guards fight Robin Hood and Little John as Prince John runs away, terrified of the fight. Lady Kluck joins in the fight and stabs the guards with the golden arrow. Robin rescues Maid Marian from being chased by guards and he proposes to her on the spot! Robin continues to fight as the plan their honeymoon and their lives together. Even Skippy gets in on the action and he shoots Prince John with a stick arrow. The fight simulates a football game and Lady Kluck is dominating! Everyone is able to escape from the guards and into the forest.

Prince John is yelling for Sir Hiss and then finds him in the barrel of ale. Sir Hiss is completely drunk and tells “P.J.” that the stork is really Robin Hood! Prince John is so irritated that he ties Sir Hiss up into many knots.

In Sherwood Forest that night, Maid Marian and Robin Hood stroll around with the fireflies to the song “Love.” Robin gives Marian a flower ring and brings her to the hideaway camp. Little John, Friar Tuck, and many other folks from Nottingham throw them a surprise party. Little John leads them in the song “The Phony King of England” and everyone has a great time making fun of Prince John.

At Prince John’s castle, the Sheriff comes in and is also singing “The Phoney King of England.” Sir Hiss is counting the taxes and laughs at the lyrics. He decides to sing as well but notices that Prince John has overheard them. Sir Hiss tries to correct this by changing the lyrics to flatter Prince John but the Sheriff tells him that he has it all wrong. The Sheriff sings the correct lyrics and Prince John yells at the both! The Sheriff tells Prince John that everyone around town is singing it and the song is a big hit. Prince John decides to double, no triple, the taxes because of it!

It is raining very hard on the town and Alan-a-Dale is narrating about how Prince John has made good on his threat and how he has taxed the heart and soul out of the people of Nottingham. If the folks could not pay the taxes, they went to jail. The scene zooms in on the jail where Alan-a-Dale is as well. He starts to sing “Not in Nottingham.” The scene shows that almost everyone is in jail and they are all starving and very sad.

The scene then moves to the church where Friar Tuck is ringing the bell. Father Sexton is playing the organ and they talk about how no one is able to come to the church service and how the bell ringing might keep their hopes alive. Mother Church Mouse complains about how Prince John is taxing everyone and Friar Tuck looks into their poor box, only to find it empty. Mother Church Mouse goes into their mouse hole and takes out their last farthing to donate. They had been saving it, even though it was not much. Friar Tuck puts it in the poor box. Then the Sheriff comes in and takes that coin. This pushes Friar Tuck over the edge and he starts to yell and push the Sheriff right out of the church. He then hits the Sheriff with a stick out in the yard. The Sheriff attacks back with his sword and Nutsy and Trigger swoop down to help. The Sheriff then arrests Friar Tuck for high treason and there is a reprise of “Not in Nottingham” playing.

In Prince John’s room in the castle, the prince is sulking and staring angrily at nothing. Sir Hiss tries to cheer him up by counting the taxes and by telling him that Friar Tuck is in jail. Prince John screams that it is Robin Hood he wants in jail! But this gives him an idea; he is going to use Friar Tuck as bait to trap Robin Hood. He is going to lead Friar Tuck to the gallows because Robin will then come to rescue the friar and they can catch him.

The Sheriff, Nutsy, and Trigger are building the gallows. Nutsy wants to give the trap door a test. He pulls the lever which results in the Sheriff getting stuck in the hole. Robin Hood appears in his beggars disguise and he finds out that they are planning on hanging Friar Tuck. Nutsy accidentally lets Robin know that it might even be a double hanging with Robin Hood! Robin tells the Sheriff that he is too crafty for Robin Hood to throw him off suspicion. Trigger is still suspicious though as Robin leaves.

Little John is hiding behind the castle wall and he and Robin plan a jailbreak for that night because it will be their only chance. Robin and Little John climb up a ladder to sneak into the castle courtyard. There are many guards around and the Sheriff is asleep outside of the jail door. Nutsy yells “one o’clock and all is well!” even though it is actually three o’clock. This wakes the Sheriff up and Trigger says to the Sheriff that he still thinks something like a jailbreak is going to happen any minute. Little John kidnaps Nutsy and Robin then reappears in Nutsy’s uniform. The Sheriff falls for the disguise and Robin tells the Sheriff to sit back down and close his eyes. Robin hums the Sheriff back to sleep and steals the jail keys. He unlocks the door and hands the keys to Little John, who heads into the jail to free everyone. Robin heads to the royal treasury. Little John rescues Friar Tuck first and then they save the other folks.

Robin sneaks into Prince John’s room where all the treasure is. He sends an arrow with a rope attached down to the jail and Little John shoots the arrow back to create a pulley line. Robin sends bags of coins down the rope and everyone sneaks out of the jail with their bags of money. One of the bags on the line starts to rip and the falling coins wake up the Sheriff. Little John quickly grabs him and reappears in the Sheriff’s uniform to catch Trigger by surprise.

Dawn starts to break and the clock chimes morning. Robin Hood has one bag left and it is under Prince John’s arm. He is able to get it but then Sir Hiss wakes up. Robin jumps on the line to swing down but Sir Hiss bites the rope and warps his tail around Prince John’s foot. The pair go flying out of the balcony as the last of the folks break free from jail with the coins. The guards charge at them but it is too late. They end up charging at Prince John and there is a big chase out of the castle. All of the Nottingham residences are loaded into a wagon with Little John pulling and Friar Tuck pushing. They head off to Sherwood Forest. But Tagalong was left behind and Robin goes to rescue the little rabbit. The castle gates close before he can make it through so he passes Tagalong through the gate to Little John. Robin tells Little John to go and not to worry about him. He climbs to the top of the castle with lots of narrow escapes from the guards. The Sheriff chases Robin Hood with a fire torch and ends up lighting the castle on fire. Robin falls down into the castle moat. Little John and Skippy look out for him but cannot find the hero. Finally he appears, having survived by breathing through a hollow reed.

Prince John is very upset about losing Robin Hood, his treasure, and what has happened to his mother’s castle. He chases Sir Hiss around in rage.

In the next scene, Alan-a-Dale says that King Richard has returned and has straightened everything out. The reward posters now have a pardon over them and Prince John, Sir Hiss, and the Sheriff are working in the royal rock pile. The church bells ring and a wedding has taken place between Robin Hood and Maid Marian. The crowd cheers and King Richard appears as well. He makes the joke that he now has an outlaw for an in-law. Robin and Marian get into a carriage that has a “Just Married” sign on the back. Skippy decides to come along in the front with Little John, who is driving dressed in his Sir Reginald outfit. Maid Marian throws her flowers and Sis catches them, much to the dismay of Tagalong. The happy couple ride off into the sunset as a chorus sings “Oo-de-Lally.”

Trivia:

• The Sheriff was originally going to be a goat and Friar Tuck was going to be a pig.
• Robin Hood is the first Disney animated film to have no human characters. Bambi has no human characters on screen, but humans are still a part of the story.
• There are two different reward posters for the capture of Robin Hood. One offers £1000 and the other offers 10 000 ingots.
• During the fight sequence after the archery tournament, university fight songs were used to make the scene feel even more like a football game. The two songs used were “Fight On” from the University of Southern California and “On, Wisconsin” from the University of Wisconsin.
• This is Disney’s second full-length feature adaptation of Robin Hood. The first was the live-action film The Story of Robin Hood and his Merrie Men (1952).
• An alternative ending had Robin being struck by an arrow and taken to the church for safety. Maid Marian was there to take care of the wound. Prince John appeared to try and kill them both but King Richard then appeared to save the day.
• Since the time of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Disney was trying to make a story about Reynard the Fox. This fable was about a trickster fox who had more villain than hero qualities, thus making it difficult to get a story off the ground for Disney. Decades later, once the final decision was made to not continue with the story, some of the ideas were mixed in with the Robin Hood script.
• The infamous “The Hamsterdance Song” is only a sped up version of “Whistle Stop.”
• Prince John was originally going to be a tiger but since he was brothers with King Richard the Lionheart, it made more sense for him to be a lion. This could explain why he does not have a mane since the animation was kept the same, just without stripes. Another reason could be because he is suppose to be young and cowardly.
• Sir Hiss was given a gap between his front teeth to reflect Terry-Thomas’ teeth. This allowed his fork tongue to stick out while he talked for comedic effect.
• Little John is the only member of the Merry Men featured because Wolfgang Reitherman wanted a buddy film. Little John has a role that is almost equal to Robin Hood’s.

Representation in the Disney Parks: 

There is very little representation of Robin Hood in the Disney Parks. The characters Robin Hood, Little John, Friar Tuck, and Prince John are extremely rare to find, especially in the U.S. Parks. They can sometimes be found in Disneyland Paris and Tokyo Disneyland.

In Fantasyland in the Magic Kingdom there is a quick service restaurant called The Friar’s Nook.

Check out the other films of Disney’s Bronze Age:

The Aristocats (1970)
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977)
The Rescuers (1977)
The Fox and the Hound (1981)
The Black Cauldron (1985)
The Great Mouse Detective (1986)
Oliver and Company (1988)