Therefore, it's pretty understandable that when I saw Disney's Robin Hood for the first time, I fell in love. On top of all the cool sword play and archery, there was a lot of great humor, fun characters, and Robin Hood was a frickin' fox! What wasn't there to love.
Well, I'm older now, and I like to think my tastes have refined a bit. Sword fights aren't as exciting to me anymore unless the combatants are rolling in a giant wheel or fighting on a planet made entirely of lava. So when Robin Hood came out on Blu-Ray a while ago, I was excited to get it, but a bit nervous as to whether it would still hold up for me.
Luckily, it did! At the time the Blu-Ray came out, my wife was watching a few kids and they absolutely ate Robin Hood up. We ended up watching it several times and got a bit burnt out on it and it has sat on my shelf ever since.
Recently, a podcast that I listen to, the Por Favor Podcast, chose Robin Hood as its monthly "Por Favor Date Night" movie. While I was unable to participate in the "Date Night" live tweeting event, I was inspired to re-watch the film for this review.
Once again, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it, even while watching it critically. First off, let me say, I love this animation style. The scratchy, late-60's-early-70's Disney look (the Frank-and-Ollie Look, as I like to call it, though I don't know how accurate that is) is what "Disney" looks like to me and is by far my favorite of their styles. You can see the pencil marks where these master animators had drawn which gives a very textured feel to each scene. However, that texture takes nothing away from the fluidity of each scene. Characters move so naturally, so believably, which is more impressive since the main character is a fox who walks on his back legs.
The voice work in Robin Hood is excellent. Each actor's ability to convey so much of their character's personality is just so impressive to me. They incorporate so much, from what animal the character is, to what kind of upbringing they had, to what their individual goals are. All in a voice!
And the music! Oh, the music of Robin Hood is so much fun! It isn't exactly the Sherman brothers or even more pop-style stuff like we hear today, but rather a catchy, folky style that burrows into your ear. It will sit with you all day, giving you find memories of Robin Hood, Little John, and all the other great characters.
Now, this movie is by no means perfect. I think it's weakness shows in the story. Robin Hood doesn't have one particular legend. Instead, he lives on in a series of smaller tales. For years, authors--most notably Howard Pyle--have tried to make a definitive, linear story for Robin, with varying success. This film feels very disjointed with Robin and his Merry Men moving quickly from one adventure to the next with little to no transition and little in the way of a story arc. In the end they rely on the return of King Richard to quickly wrap the story up as quickly and cleanly as possible.
But really, I don't think people are watching the film for a beautiful story arc. I think they watch it for the excitement, the action, maybe even the romance of it all, so if the overall story is weak, that's ultimately ok.
As I have gushed from the beginning, I think Robin Hood is a ton of fun from beginning to end and if you love swashbuckling adventure, you should check it out.
When it comes to presence in the theme parks, Robin Hood is lacking. Occasionally you will see some of the characters walking around for meet-and-greets, but that's about it. What I think would be cool would be if once a year, for a special event, Disney did a Renaissance fair of some kind in Fantasy Land. You could have outdoor performance pieces reenacting scenes from their medieval movies; set up kiosks selling pork shanks, turkey legs, and other hearty grub with that type of feel; or demonstrations of horseback riding or archery. All of the medieval characters, whether they be from Robin Hood, Sword in the Stone, or Snow White, could be available to meet. They could even stage a jousting tournament. It could be fun, different, and draw people into the parks.
If you are interested in listening to my friends Gary and Mike on the Por Favor Podcast, you can find their website below:
http://www.porfavorpodcast.com
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