Robin Hood
Director: Wolfgang Reitherman
Cast: Brian Bedford, Monica Evans, Phil Harris, Peter Ustinov, Pat Buttram, Terry Thomas, Roger Miller, Carole Shelley, Andy Devine, George Lindsey, Ken Curtis, Barbara Luddy, Dana Laurita, Billy Whitaker, J. Pat O’Malley, Candy Candido, John Fiedler
A clever reimagining of Howard Pyle’s story by the same name, Disney’s twenty-first animated film, Robin Hood, follows the swashbuckling hero of Sherwood Forest and his valiant sidekick, Little John, as they embark on one daring adventure after another to outwit the greedy Prince John and allow Robin to win the heart of the beautiful Maid Marian.
Hope is a powerful theme in this film, and nowhere does hope shine like a beacon in the face of darkness and a terrible storm, than in the character of Robin Hood (Brian Bradford) and how this handsome outlaw’s mantra of helping the poor folks of Nottingham by robbing the rich to feed the poor helps keep their hope alive, as the citizens of Nottingham are taxed to death by the cruel and tyrannical Prince John.
When Prince John and his trusty liege, Sir Hiss, arrive in Nottingham to collect the taxes from the poor people who live there, Robin Hood, along with his trusty pal, Little John, stage a coup to rob Prince John’s carriage, and take his treasure to help the poor souls in Nottingham. They succeed in this endeavor, and we see the wealth being redistributed to those who needed it most. An old dog named Otto had a broken leg and he was behind at his work. Despite being bedridden with a broken leg, Otto bravely hobbles around, doing his best to work, but while Friar Tuck’s compassion for the old-timer is sincere, the Sheriff’s compassion is peppered with icy sarcasm and his “comfort care” is a manipulative act to find what little money Otto does have, and he pockets every, last farthing, even causing Otto pain to find the last coin. While the vile and heartless Sheriff of Nottingham forces Otto to pay his taxes, we see Friar Tuck bringing Otto hope from Robin Hood… a small bag of coins, from Robin Hood, to help the old-timer in his moment of desperate need, and he also helps Otto hide the money and encourages the old dog to rest when the Sheriff is tormenting him.
When Skippy’s family is celebrating his seventh birthday, the cruel Sheriff interrupts the celebration and steals Skippy’s birthday present that his family had scrimped and saved to give to him… a single farthing (which in today’s currency is worth less than a penny), thus ruining the little bunny’s birthday and crushing his hope with a cruel swipe of his hand, snatching the farthing for Prince John. He then uses the farthing he stole from a child to steal three more coins from a poor, blind beggar who wandered into the house. After the Sheriff leaves, the kind Mother Rabbit offers the poor man a seat, but the beggar turns out to be Robin Hood in disguise, come to wish Skippy a Happy Birthday and make sure that the day truly was a happy one for the little bunny. He praises Skippy for being so good and taking care of his mother and younger siblings, and then, he cheers Skippy up by gifting the lad a keen Robin Hood bow, and his own hat, so Skippy looks the part of the handsome and heroic archer. He also gives Mother Rabbit a bag of gold, and tells her to keep her chin up, promising her that soon, there will be happiness again in Nottingham. Mother Rabbit is a single, widowed parent, with fourteen children that she must mother alone, and yet, despite being taxed to death by Prince John, Mother Rabbit still manages to keep her children happy and well-clothed and well-fed, because the children are playful and exuberant, and she even manages to save a farthing for her son’s birthday gift, and have a pretty bow for her daughter and a rattle and a dolly to comfort her baby. She still has a smile on her face as she watches her children enjoying her son’s birthday celebration. We see this mom, who has so very little to give, and so many mouths to feed, offering a poor, blind beggar a place to rest in her home, and she is thankful when Robin Hood cheers her son up and makes his birthday a happy one after all. And even when she and her children are imprisoned by Prince John, we still see their hope shining, because Mother Rabbit is feeding her children (and I am sure going hungry, herself, to ensure they are all fed) and Skippy is sleeping with his bow and arrow clutched in his hand, obviously ready to protect his mother and his sisters, should he need to, from the evil tyrants that are tormenting his family.
Another ray of hope comes in the form of Friar Tuck. He offers hope to Robin Hood when he tells Robin that Maid Marian would be most disappointed if Robin Hood did not come to the archery tournament, because she plans to give a kiss to the winner. When Prince John is taxing the very heart and soul out of the poor people of Nottingham, Friar Tuck offers the people comfort and hope by ringing the church bell. When Friar Tuck is imprisoned and sentenced to death by hanging, after the vile Sheriff of Nottingham steals the mice’s last farthing from the poor box, for taxes, this is the last straw for Robin Hood. Not only do Robin and Little John enact a coup to break into the prison to free Friar Tuck, before he faces the gallows at dawn, they are also determined to free the rest of the prisoners, as well, down to the smallest child, and get them all safely away. While Little John and Friar Tuck are freeing the prisoners, Robin Hood sets about reclaiming every farthing of the money that Prince John has stolen from them in taxes, and he restores both the money and hope to the poor people of Nottingham.
Love is another powerful theme in this film, and it is highlighted in the characters of Robin Hood and Maid Marion.
Their love seemed impossible because Maid Marion was a lady and Robin Hood was an outlaw, being hunted by Prince John, and as a result, the two were driven apart. When Maid Marion meets the children after Skippy sneaks into her private garden, searching for his lost arrow, she shows the children the tree where Robin Hood carved their initials and confessed that she and Robin used to be childhood sweethearts before she left for London. She wonders if Robin Hood has forgotten about her, but loyal Skippy assures the beautiful lady that Robin Hood would storm the castle and battle Prince John to win the heart of beautiful Maid Marion, before he sweeps her off to his home in Sherwood Forest and he seals this promise to love her forever with a kiss… which he does, with Maid Marian, once he has bested Lady Cluck, who is playing Prince John. While Marian daydreams of her handsome hero, her dearest hope being that he still loves her, she worries that he has forgotten about her because she has been away for so long, living in London. Lady Cluck assures Marion that someday soon, her uncle, the noble King Richard, would have an outlaw for an in-law, when Robin finally married her. While he daydreams about a life with Marion, Robin concedes that their love seems hopeless, because he is an outlaw, and she is a beautiful, high-born lady of quality… but a fragile ember hope is sparked when Friar Tuck tells Robin Hood that Prince John has decreed there will be a championship archery tournament at the castle the following day, and Maid Marion will be very disappointed if Robin Hood does not come to the tournament to win her kiss. When the good Friar Tuck tells Robin that Maid Marion plans to give a kiss to the winner, his smitten heart is determined to be the winner, and he tells them that this will be his greatest performance yet. When they arrive at the tournament grounds, Robin and Little John see Maid Marion with Lady Cluck, and overhear her wondering how she will recognize her love in his disguise. Robin presents Maid Marion with a flower and offers to win the tournament for her, and Marion realizes that this is Robin Hood, himself. When he wins the tournament, Marion is holding his token of love, and when his identity is revealed to all, Maid Marian pleads to Prince John to save Robin’s life, because she loves him. When Prince John asks if the prisoner returned her love, Robin assures Marian that he loves her more than life itself. He immediately proposes to her, and he gives her a beautiful flower engagement ring when they share a moonlight walk in the forest, ending at Robin’s secret hideout in the forest, where the others are waiting to celebrate their engagement.
Although Prince John tries to crush the small ember of hope that the people are clinging to, we see that fragile flame of hope burn bright and endure, even in this cold, dank prison. We see Mother Rabbit feeding her children, sharing the food with all of them out of one bowl. We see Skippy, still holding fast to his gifts from Robin Hood, standing guard over his family. We see Skippy’s sisters snuggling together to keep warm as they try to sleep. We see the prisoners sharing the sparse crumbs of food between themselves, rather than being selfish and hoarding it, and the animals taking care of poor, old Otto, who still has a broken leg. They offered him a comfortable corner, with hay to rest on, and soup to nourish him, and an old coat covering him, to keep him warm. The old Owl is using his own blanket to keep his shivering wife warm in the cold cell.
Also, I have an explanation for what Skippy meant at the end, when he said, "Robin Hood's going to have kids...so somebody's got to keep their eye on things." If you notice, Skippy comes from an exceptionally large family. His mother is widowed, and he has thirteen siblings, in total, including the two sisters who are always with him. That is a great deal of responsibility, especially when you are raising them alone, with little money. I am sure Skippy, being the man of the family now that his father is gone, has made it his life's purpose to watch over his siblings and take care of them and his mother. We see proof of this in the prison, when we see Skippy armed with his bow and arrow, sleeping above his sisters to protect them. And I am sure the dire situation inflicted on them by the greedy and tyrannical Prince John is only increasing this young man's burden of worry. Robin Hood took that worry away from Skippy and restored hope and joy back to his family. Now, Skippy wants to do the same for Robin Hood's kids, and help look after them, now that King Richard has returned and overthrown his tyrannical brother, and he knows his mom and siblings will be taken care of and she won't be struggling anymore to survive with her children alone. And this is just a honeymoon. I am sure Robin and Maid Marion will return to Nottingham, and live with King Richard in his castle, with Little John and Lady Cluck, and Skippy will be reunited with his family. Robin will make Skippy his squire in the future… or, better still, make Skippy one of his Merry Men. Skippy has certainly proven himself worthy of the honor. He is brave, devoted, caring, loyal, and a particularly good little bunny. The farthing that she had scrimped and saved to give her son for his birthday is worth one/fourth of a penny in our money. That is literally next to nothing… which makes his family’s humble gift, and Robin's gift, all the more precious, because his family literally gave him all they had, and she wanted her son to have a bit of joy on his birthday, and the Sheriff ruined the celebration by stealing the coin, and her son was crying. Robin Hood arrived just in time to save the birthday for Skippy and cheer him up and give Mother Rabbit much-needed hope and encouragement. That is why she was crying when she said goodbye to Robin. She deeply appreciated Robin Hood’s support. And Robin Hood bravely risks his own life to break them out of jail, when Mother Rabbit realizes her baby has been forgotten as they are fleeing into the forest. He went back to get the little one, and he got her safely to Little John before he got trapped behind the portcullis and did the last battle before he escaped into the moat. That makes him truly heroic. And ever-loyal Little John was waiting at the portcullis to take the baby from Robin and he and Skippy are waiting at the edge of the forest, watching Robin fight his way to freedom. You could hear the heartbreaking anguish in his voice when he thought Robin was dead.... a perfect foil to Prince John's malicious glee....and his relief when he realizes his friend is OK. They throw in one more snub for PJ and off they go.
I would not call this movie cheap. It may not have quite the polished and stunningly gorgeous animation like, say, The Lion King or Beauty and the Beast, and certain scenes are copied over from other Disney movies, but you also see highly creative animation, as well. Like Sir Hiss using his body like he is crossing his arms when he is pouting when Prince John says he will be walking to Nottingham. When Little John is in disguise at the tournament and he is schmoozing up to Prince John, we see PJ preening at his flattery and Sir Hiss getting all jealous. And if you really pay attention to the scenes, and listen to the words, you see a very heartfelt and beautiful story playing out. You see little of the two together in the film, until the very end of the movie, but the backstory we get from both Robin and the lovely Maid Marion paints an extremely sweet and romantic love story and you feel the warmth of their love for each other. You feel her anguish when Prince John reveals Robin Hood, and Marion is pleading for Prince John to spare Robin's life and when he returns her love, you see that the words are deeply heartfelt and sincere. It is infinitely better than the cheap films that Disney is spewing nowadays (i.e., Wish, and the majority of the live action Disney remakes). Those movies are cheap. whereas Robin Hood is a priceless jewel by comparison. And the villains are hilarious...especially Prince John and Sir Hiss playing off with each other. These are excellent reasons why Disney’s Robin Hood is a worthy addition to the Disney canon.
© 2025 Keriane Kellogg. All rights reserved.
Director: Wolfgang Reitherman
Cast: Brian Bedford, Monica Evans, Phil Harris, Peter Ustinov, Pat Buttram, Terry Thomas, Roger Miller, Carole Shelley, Andy Devine, George Lindsey, Ken Curtis, Barbara Luddy, Dana Laurita, Billy Whitaker, J. Pat O’Malley, Candy Candido, John Fiedler
A clever reimagining of Howard Pyle’s story by the same name, Disney’s twenty-first animated film, Robin Hood, follows the swashbuckling hero of Sherwood Forest and his valiant sidekick, Little John, as they embark on one daring adventure after another to outwit the greedy Prince John and allow Robin to win the heart of the beautiful Maid Marian.
Hope is a powerful theme in this film, and nowhere does hope shine like a beacon in the face of darkness and a terrible storm, than in the character of Robin Hood (Brian Bradford) and how this handsome outlaw’s mantra of helping the poor folks of Nottingham by robbing the rich to feed the poor helps keep their hope alive, as the citizens of Nottingham are taxed to death by the cruel and tyrannical Prince John.
When Prince John and his trusty liege, Sir Hiss, arrive in Nottingham to collect the taxes from the poor people who live there, Robin Hood, along with his trusty pal, Little John, stage a coup to rob Prince John’s carriage, and take his treasure to help the poor souls in Nottingham. They succeed in this endeavor, and we see the wealth being redistributed to those who needed it most. An old dog named Otto had a broken leg and he was behind at his work. Despite being bedridden with a broken leg, Otto bravely hobbles around, doing his best to work, but while Friar Tuck’s compassion for the old-timer is sincere, the Sheriff’s compassion is peppered with icy sarcasm and his “comfort care” is a manipulative act to find what little money Otto does have, and he pockets every, last farthing, even causing Otto pain to find the last coin. While the vile and heartless Sheriff of Nottingham forces Otto to pay his taxes, we see Friar Tuck bringing Otto hope from Robin Hood… a small bag of coins, from Robin Hood, to help the old-timer in his moment of desperate need, and he also helps Otto hide the money and encourages the old dog to rest when the Sheriff is tormenting him.
When Skippy’s family is celebrating his seventh birthday, the cruel Sheriff interrupts the celebration and steals Skippy’s birthday present that his family had scrimped and saved to give to him… a single farthing (which in today’s currency is worth less than a penny), thus ruining the little bunny’s birthday and crushing his hope with a cruel swipe of his hand, snatching the farthing for Prince John. He then uses the farthing he stole from a child to steal three more coins from a poor, blind beggar who wandered into the house. After the Sheriff leaves, the kind Mother Rabbit offers the poor man a seat, but the beggar turns out to be Robin Hood in disguise, come to wish Skippy a Happy Birthday and make sure that the day truly was a happy one for the little bunny. He praises Skippy for being so good and taking care of his mother and younger siblings, and then, he cheers Skippy up by gifting the lad a keen Robin Hood bow, and his own hat, so Skippy looks the part of the handsome and heroic archer. He also gives Mother Rabbit a bag of gold, and tells her to keep her chin up, promising her that soon, there will be happiness again in Nottingham. Mother Rabbit is a single, widowed parent, with fourteen children that she must mother alone, and yet, despite being taxed to death by Prince John, Mother Rabbit still manages to keep her children happy and well-clothed and well-fed, because the children are playful and exuberant, and she even manages to save a farthing for her son’s birthday gift, and have a pretty bow for her daughter and a rattle and a dolly to comfort her baby. She still has a smile on her face as she watches her children enjoying her son’s birthday celebration. We see this mom, who has so very little to give, and so many mouths to feed, offering a poor, blind beggar a place to rest in her home, and she is thankful when Robin Hood cheers her son up and makes his birthday a happy one after all. And even when she and her children are imprisoned by Prince John, we still see their hope shining, because Mother Rabbit is feeding her children (and I am sure going hungry, herself, to ensure they are all fed) and Skippy is sleeping with his bow and arrow clutched in his hand, obviously ready to protect his mother and his sisters, should he need to, from the evil tyrants that are tormenting his family.
Another ray of hope comes in the form of Friar Tuck. He offers hope to Robin Hood when he tells Robin that Maid Marian would be most disappointed if Robin Hood did not come to the archery tournament, because she plans to give a kiss to the winner. When Prince John is taxing the very heart and soul out of the poor people of Nottingham, Friar Tuck offers the people comfort and hope by ringing the church bell. When Friar Tuck is imprisoned and sentenced to death by hanging, after the vile Sheriff of Nottingham steals the mice’s last farthing from the poor box, for taxes, this is the last straw for Robin Hood. Not only do Robin and Little John enact a coup to break into the prison to free Friar Tuck, before he faces the gallows at dawn, they are also determined to free the rest of the prisoners, as well, down to the smallest child, and get them all safely away. While Little John and Friar Tuck are freeing the prisoners, Robin Hood sets about reclaiming every farthing of the money that Prince John has stolen from them in taxes, and he restores both the money and hope to the poor people of Nottingham.
Love is another powerful theme in this film, and it is highlighted in the characters of Robin Hood and Maid Marion.
Their love seemed impossible because Maid Marion was a lady and Robin Hood was an outlaw, being hunted by Prince John, and as a result, the two were driven apart. When Maid Marion meets the children after Skippy sneaks into her private garden, searching for his lost arrow, she shows the children the tree where Robin Hood carved their initials and confessed that she and Robin used to be childhood sweethearts before she left for London. She wonders if Robin Hood has forgotten about her, but loyal Skippy assures the beautiful lady that Robin Hood would storm the castle and battle Prince John to win the heart of beautiful Maid Marion, before he sweeps her off to his home in Sherwood Forest and he seals this promise to love her forever with a kiss… which he does, with Maid Marian, once he has bested Lady Cluck, who is playing Prince John. While Marian daydreams of her handsome hero, her dearest hope being that he still loves her, she worries that he has forgotten about her because she has been away for so long, living in London. Lady Cluck assures Marion that someday soon, her uncle, the noble King Richard, would have an outlaw for an in-law, when Robin finally married her. While he daydreams about a life with Marion, Robin concedes that their love seems hopeless, because he is an outlaw, and she is a beautiful, high-born lady of quality… but a fragile ember hope is sparked when Friar Tuck tells Robin Hood that Prince John has decreed there will be a championship archery tournament at the castle the following day, and Maid Marion will be very disappointed if Robin Hood does not come to the tournament to win her kiss. When the good Friar Tuck tells Robin that Maid Marion plans to give a kiss to the winner, his smitten heart is determined to be the winner, and he tells them that this will be his greatest performance yet. When they arrive at the tournament grounds, Robin and Little John see Maid Marion with Lady Cluck, and overhear her wondering how she will recognize her love in his disguise. Robin presents Maid Marion with a flower and offers to win the tournament for her, and Marion realizes that this is Robin Hood, himself. When he wins the tournament, Marion is holding his token of love, and when his identity is revealed to all, Maid Marian pleads to Prince John to save Robin’s life, because she loves him. When Prince John asks if the prisoner returned her love, Robin assures Marian that he loves her more than life itself. He immediately proposes to her, and he gives her a beautiful flower engagement ring when they share a moonlight walk in the forest, ending at Robin’s secret hideout in the forest, where the others are waiting to celebrate their engagement.
Although Prince John tries to crush the small ember of hope that the people are clinging to, we see that fragile flame of hope burn bright and endure, even in this cold, dank prison. We see Mother Rabbit feeding her children, sharing the food with all of them out of one bowl. We see Skippy, still holding fast to his gifts from Robin Hood, standing guard over his family. We see Skippy’s sisters snuggling together to keep warm as they try to sleep. We see the prisoners sharing the sparse crumbs of food between themselves, rather than being selfish and hoarding it, and the animals taking care of poor, old Otto, who still has a broken leg. They offered him a comfortable corner, with hay to rest on, and soup to nourish him, and an old coat covering him, to keep him warm. The old Owl is using his own blanket to keep his shivering wife warm in the cold cell.
Also, I have an explanation for what Skippy meant at the end, when he said, "Robin Hood's going to have kids...so somebody's got to keep their eye on things." If you notice, Skippy comes from an exceptionally large family. His mother is widowed, and he has thirteen siblings, in total, including the two sisters who are always with him. That is a great deal of responsibility, especially when you are raising them alone, with little money. I am sure Skippy, being the man of the family now that his father is gone, has made it his life's purpose to watch over his siblings and take care of them and his mother. We see proof of this in the prison, when we see Skippy armed with his bow and arrow, sleeping above his sisters to protect them. And I am sure the dire situation inflicted on them by the greedy and tyrannical Prince John is only increasing this young man's burden of worry. Robin Hood took that worry away from Skippy and restored hope and joy back to his family. Now, Skippy wants to do the same for Robin Hood's kids, and help look after them, now that King Richard has returned and overthrown his tyrannical brother, and he knows his mom and siblings will be taken care of and she won't be struggling anymore to survive with her children alone. And this is just a honeymoon. I am sure Robin and Maid Marion will return to Nottingham, and live with King Richard in his castle, with Little John and Lady Cluck, and Skippy will be reunited with his family. Robin will make Skippy his squire in the future… or, better still, make Skippy one of his Merry Men. Skippy has certainly proven himself worthy of the honor. He is brave, devoted, caring, loyal, and a particularly good little bunny. The farthing that she had scrimped and saved to give her son for his birthday is worth one/fourth of a penny in our money. That is literally next to nothing… which makes his family’s humble gift, and Robin's gift, all the more precious, because his family literally gave him all they had, and she wanted her son to have a bit of joy on his birthday, and the Sheriff ruined the celebration by stealing the coin, and her son was crying. Robin Hood arrived just in time to save the birthday for Skippy and cheer him up and give Mother Rabbit much-needed hope and encouragement. That is why she was crying when she said goodbye to Robin. She deeply appreciated Robin Hood’s support. And Robin Hood bravely risks his own life to break them out of jail, when Mother Rabbit realizes her baby has been forgotten as they are fleeing into the forest. He went back to get the little one, and he got her safely to Little John before he got trapped behind the portcullis and did the last battle before he escaped into the moat. That makes him truly heroic. And ever-loyal Little John was waiting at the portcullis to take the baby from Robin and he and Skippy are waiting at the edge of the forest, watching Robin fight his way to freedom. You could hear the heartbreaking anguish in his voice when he thought Robin was dead.... a perfect foil to Prince John's malicious glee....and his relief when he realizes his friend is OK. They throw in one more snub for PJ and off they go.
I would not call this movie cheap. It may not have quite the polished and stunningly gorgeous animation like, say, The Lion King or Beauty and the Beast, and certain scenes are copied over from other Disney movies, but you also see highly creative animation, as well. Like Sir Hiss using his body like he is crossing his arms when he is pouting when Prince John says he will be walking to Nottingham. When Little John is in disguise at the tournament and he is schmoozing up to Prince John, we see PJ preening at his flattery and Sir Hiss getting all jealous. And if you really pay attention to the scenes, and listen to the words, you see a very heartfelt and beautiful story playing out. You see little of the two together in the film, until the very end of the movie, but the backstory we get from both Robin and the lovely Maid Marion paints an extremely sweet and romantic love story and you feel the warmth of their love for each other. You feel her anguish when Prince John reveals Robin Hood, and Marion is pleading for Prince John to spare Robin's life and when he returns her love, you see that the words are deeply heartfelt and sincere. It is infinitely better than the cheap films that Disney is spewing nowadays (i.e., Wish, and the majority of the live action Disney remakes). Those movies are cheap. whereas Robin Hood is a priceless jewel by comparison. And the villains are hilarious...especially Prince John and Sir Hiss playing off with each other. These are excellent reasons why Disney’s Robin Hood is a worthy addition to the Disney canon.
© 2025 Keriane Kellogg. All rights reserved.