Robin Hood (1973)

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.

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

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 Sherriff 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.

The film features many original songs, including "Whistle Stop" by Roger Miller. The song 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."

Box office
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.

Release info
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), 1994-1995 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 will be remastered as the "Most Wanted Editon" featuring a deleted scene/alternate ending, as well as the extras included in the Gold Classic Collection.



Trivia

 * 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.


 * 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.)


 * The church bell on Friar Tuck's church is an actual bell, filmed and added in post-production.


 * 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.


 * Friar Tuck was originally envisioned as a pig, but was changed to a badger to avoid offending religious sensitivities.


 * At the end of the movie, a sound clip of the church bells ringing in Cinderella was used for the wedding church bells.


 * 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.


 * The music heard in the opening credits would later become famous on the Internet as The Hampster Dance.


 * 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 On, Wisconsin, the fight song of the University of Wisconsin.


 * Robin Hood is popular in the furry fandom because it features an anthropomorphic (furry) cast. It is especially popular as Robin Hood and Maid Marion are foxes themselves, a very popular animal in the fandom.


 * 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.


 * 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 alike except color).



Characters

 * Robin Hood, a fox, voice: Brian Bedford
 * Maid Marian, a vixen, voice: Monica Evans
 * Little John, a bear, voice: Phil Harris
 * Prince John, a lion, voice: Peter Ustinov
 * Sheriff of Nottingham, a wolf, voice: Pat Buttram
 * Sir Hiss, a snake, voice: Terry-Thomas
 * Friar Tuck, a badger, voice: Andy Devine
 * Lady Kluck, a hen, voice: Carole Shelley
 * Alan-a-Dale, a rooster, voice: Roger Miller
 * Trigger & Nutsy, vultures, voices: George Lindsey and Ken Curtis, respectively
 * Sexton Mouse and Mother Mouse, mice, voice: John Fiedler and Barbara Luddy
 * Gorilla and Sahnti, owls voice: Phil Harris and Eva Gabor
 * Mother Rabbit and Slome, rabbits voice: Barbara Luddy and Gary Dubin