Review #897: 'Robin Hood' (1973)

Robin Hood rarely features on many people's favourite Disney movies, and there's a good reason why. Disney's original concept was an adaptation of Reynard the Fox, a collection of allegorical fables from Europe. The deceptive fox was seen as an amoral leading figure for their squeaky-clean and child-friendly output, so the plan was abolished in favour of adapting a more familiar folk-tale, Robin Hood and his Merry Men. This sudden change of plan causes Robin Hood to feel almost like an afterthought, written in such a hurry that the plot seems to shift around without focus, and characters feel like abandoned first draft's of the classic Disney heroes and villains.

With King Richard away fighting his crusade, the kingdom is left in the hands of his thumb-sucking, mommy's-boy younger brother Prince John (Peter Ustinov). Our narrator Allan-a-Dale (Roger Miller) informs us that the poor are being bled dry by the astronomical taxes set by the Sheriff of Nottingham (Pat Buttram), and rely on the exploits of local hero Robin Hood (Brian Bedford) and his companion Little John (Phil Harris), who routinely steal from the rich to give to the poor. Robin enters into an archery tournament dressed as a stork in the hope of winning the heart of old flame Maid Marian (Monica Evans), under the watchful eye of Prince John and his hypnotic sidekick Sir Hiss (Terry-Thomas), who want Robin's head.

Despite the mediocrity of the final film, Robin Hood is certainly bolstered by the impressive array of vocal talent. Bedford provides the charming twang of an English gent and Terry-Thomas is suitably and simultaneously reptilian and hilarious, but Peter Ustinov walks away with the film - his whiny rich-boy Prince John is one the greatest characters Disney have ever created. The presence of such quality British talent makes it strange that a lot of the cast sound like cowboys who have somehow wandered into a distinctly English setting. Some sequences are recycled directly from Disney classics such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarves (1937) and The Jungle Book (1967), and some characters are even borrowed and simply re-named. It's an up-and-down experience, where the plot occasionally wanders and lingers without any sense of narrative, but when Bedford, Thomas and Ustinov share a scene, that familiar Disney magic re-emerges.


Directed by: Wolfgang Reitherman
Voices: Brian Bedford, Peter Ustinov, Terry-Thomas, Phil Harris, Monica Evans
Country: USA

Rating: ***

Tom Gillespie