I loved this movie, so many laughs in my childhood. I still quote lines from it all the time. I didn't have a crush but definitely shipped Robin and Marian together.
"Long live King Richard!" That part was always awesome. Robin willing to face death if it means showing Prince John that he'll never be king like Richard.
It was widely believed at one time that a snakes prey became so full of fear that they couldn't move, as if they were hypnotized and that is how a snake could get so close to their prey before striking. Disney took that folklore and made it into an actual ability, that's why their snakes can hypnotize others.
That's not all. I read the Jungle Book, and in it, Kaa basically had the ability to hypnotise and get command over his prey, making them walk right to him. I can imagine a lot of fiction involving snakes having hypnotising abilities drew inspiration from that, if it wasn't already a common myth by the time that book came out.
We need more Robin Hood esque climaxes. Where the hero can't catch a break, the bad guys are throwing everything at him, and every single step to solve one problem adds two more, and yet he can still manage to find a way out
Regarding the animation / line art style: this is the xerox era. In order to save money, instead of inking the lines from the cleaned up rough drawings by hand, they used this fancy new xerox photocopy technique, which wasn’t as smooth and left some traces of the rougher drawing passes. Walt Disney hated it. I personally dig this style, it feels much more dynamic imho.
Sketches are beautiful in of themselves. I’m glad the films produced in that era of Disney ended up looking the way they do. Adds a lot of personality, and dynamic like you said
@@MrTbk1701 But according to some of the old animators. It did not really cut costs. In fact it was the opposite. It was more expensive tracking down the old art from the archives. Then the cost of restoring them. In the end it would have been cheaper to make all new animation.
Peter Ustinov who voiced Prince John was not only an amazing actor. But he had an incredible life and was a brilliant storyteller. I think someone once called him an Interviewer's dream. He is so wonderful in this completly chewing scenery.
If I'm not mistaken, then Disney had a catalog of all previously animated motions from their previous movies. And the animators used many animations from the catalog to save time and effort. That's why Lady Marian dances exactly like Snow White, Robin and Marian dance together like they do in Aristrocats, Little John dances like Baloo, Hiss hypnotizes like Kaa, etc.
I have heard in an interview, that the catalogue was so immense, that looking for a particular animation to trace in a new movie took just as much time and effort as animating new material. But sometimes it was done, because other animators did it, like a trend, creating Easter eggs.
"Just any money you earned gets taken." The Sherriff is supposed to starkly represent the evil greed of Prince John on the English throne, but all I could think about was the moment I learned that the IRS expects you to report *profits made from a YARD SALE* on your federal tax return.
I love this film, one of my childhood favorites! Robin Hood may not be one of the highest quality Disney films, but it is still very entertaining with its collection of characters and the amount of comedy coming from them. I also like the music as well as it has stuck with me to this day.
I had the album of this movie (like an audio book) when I was a kid and fell asleep to it every night. 40 years later and I still cannot make it to the end of the movie watching with my kids. They hate watching with me cause of all the snoring.
As a young kid, Sir Hiss was my favorite character, just because I thought he was the funniest. My very first fan art was of him saying "snakes don't walk, they slither."
I know the names of the actors who did the voices for the characters wouldn't mean anything to you guys, but in that day most of them were well known, and it was cool that they would want to take part in this.
This movie was the first animated feature made entirely without Walt Disney. (He died before The Jungle Book and The Aristocats came out but was involved in the production of them.) Due to budget and deadline reasons, there is some recycled animation from past films and similarities to some character designs. It's part of what some dub the "Dark Age" or "Bronze Age" of Disney Animation before the Renaissance period with The Little Mermaid. Before they went back to that fairytale-musical formula, the studio did some interesting experiments with different kinds of stories (some of them a bit darker!).
Even during the Renaissance period they used recycled animation at least once. I know they did it with Beauty and the Beast's dance at the very end of the movie. They reused animation from Sleeping Beauty.
Robin Hood walked so that Nick Wilde could run lol og hustlers right there. Also, I love how these reactions give me a chance to revisit some of my favorite disney animated films.
Can we stop and appreciate how John and Robin cook and do the laundry, apron and all? Jajajaja those two are soooo cool, I loved this movie as a kid, and at 29 I appreciate bronze era Disney more than modern ones! They are so precious.
Same! One of the first movies my family had on VHS and I loved it so much more than the other Disney movies. I loved the action, the climax, the sense of danger, and the music. The only other video that came close was the fight between Phillip and Maleficent in Sleeping Beauty.
100% My brother and I watched this soooo much as a kid, that many years later, even having not seen the movie in I don't know how long (before this reaction), I *always* remembered the lyrics to that song!
Glad I’m not the only one who watches this movie with a big dumb smile on their face Also now realizing “mommy” refers to Eleanor of Aquitaine, in case you were wondering, she did in a fact prefer Richard. Apparently he died in her arms after being wounded which is pretty depressing
My high school animation teacher made us watch this. If we could pick out at least 70 animation mistakes he’d bring in donuts the next day. It was easy. I love this movie but I’ve never seen so many characters in a big production like this.
This film is my dad's favorite Disney film. His rule for my neices and nephews is that each of them have to watch the film with him at least once before they're age six.
I sometimes have a feeling that nick wilde could possibly be robin's descendant. I know it sounds like a silly theory but i can't help but think about it 😗
It’s funny to think that the first song, Whistle Stop(the title credits song) became the catchy sped up tune known as the Hamster Dance. I was genuinely surprised when I made that connection.😁
Yes, so the foxy Robin Hood came at the time after Jungle Book and after Walt's death. The company was very lost without the commanding lead of Walt's vision. They reused/traced the rough drafts from scenes from Snow White, Jungle Book, and Aristocats. They also hired voice actors they knew for similar character like Baloo for Little John (Phil Harris). As an animator, I actually like the xerox animation because I used to study the rough lines showing through the paint cells to learn how to animate better and i generally like the dirtiness of the hand drawn animation as it really feels extra handmade and connects you better to the 9 Old Men, animation's legends, instead of today's super clean and polished 3d animations (which are still excellent but sort of less impressive).
For the record, Oo-de-lally is a term popularized during the 1950s meaning "yay" or "yippee." Those vultures look like the same character models for the ones in The Jungle Book since you were mentioning them recycling models for this movie or The Jungle Book.
Roger Miller went on to write *Big River* (1985), a Broadway musical based on *Huckleberry Finn,* which won seven Tony Awards including Best Musical and Best Score.
There’s a deleted scene ending I REALLY wish they used. Robin Hood is seriously wounded and Lil John brings him to the church to rest as Maid Marian tends to him. And Prince John and Sir Hiss try and kill him in his sleep while Lil John is out getting treatment for him. Maid Marian refuses to let Prince John get close as he tries to stab Robin Hood personally only to be interrupted by King Richard who stops him and demands his crown back. Saying he should kill John, but that would make mother upset. So he spares them and leaves both Prince John AND Sir Hiss sucking their thumbs. Would’ve let Maid Marian take part in the final act. And better resolved things. Also the dancing scene in this movie is copied RIGHT out of The Jungle Book, and I believe Aristocats did the same thing. Not all of it, but Lady Cluck and Lil John’s dance is identical. For hand drawn animations, that is ridiculously impressive and also WAY harder to do.
Would've been cool to get more Maid Marian, she and Robin had very satisfying chemistry. The climax we got was epic, but we probably could've tweaked a few things to keep the energy up and just led into the church scene.
I have that storyboard animation on a special-edition disk set, which is where I assume you saw it. I think they junked it because having Prince John setting out to personally stab the wounded Robin Hood to death was just too dark.
Fun fact: there was an alternate ending where Robin Hood was wounded during the escape, and as he's laying in bed recovering, Prince John shows up to kill him in person, only to be stopped by King Richard. They changed it when they realized that it was too out-of-character for Prince John, being the coward that he is.
Disney’s Robin Hood is strangely popular with 80s and 90s kids, I don’t know..there’s just something about this one that everyone loves. I think it’s because the characters are so great. Some info about this particular animation period…The Jungle Book was that last Disney film that Walt Disney himself was involved with before he passed away in 1966, and for the next two decades animators were left to do it on their own. This era was known as the “Dark Age of Disney” and ran from 1970 to 1988. During this time period, Disney suffered from Walt’s Death and was not turning out as quality films as before. They did not have the funds for new animations, having to reuse movements from previous works. The “Phony King of England” scene in the forest took so many animation frames from Jungle Book and Snow White. You’ll also see reused animations in more to come :)
I think it is partly because for all of its shortcoming, the movie does a great job to create tension without being terrifying, making it a perfect kids movie which is still enjoyable for adults. Just the way the whole tournament is set up, where you know perfectly well that Robin will eventually walk into a trap, or the scene with the prison break, which first involves a lot of sneaking around before all the hell breaks loose. Modern Disney movies are just lacking this kind of patience, everything has to be big and impressive, but the more subtle story telling is often lost due to it.
I hope you guys are planning to watch the sword in the stone after! A really underrated Disney classic that rarely get's hyped but a must all the same. Specially if one is into the Arthurian legends. Oh and also you guys should watch Taran and the Black cauldron which features imo one of Disney's most terrifying villains.
The scruffy Line work is a result of disney using Xerography, the process of essentially photocopying the pencil tests straight into animation cel's, removing the need for hand inking. In time they improved this. Eventually they would use the CAPS system, to fully digitally paint the frames. This was first used in the very last shot of the Little Mermaid, and the Rescuers Down Under was the first to fully utilize the CAPS system. Would love to see reactions to some more Don Bluth movies like An American Tail, Land before time, Secrets of Nimh.
I live 10 minutes from Sherwood Forest, we used to go there all the time as kids and grew up with Robin Hood stories and they meant so much to me. I’m trying to do the same with my own kids now. This film brings back so many happy memories ❤️
I highly recommend the movie Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971)! It's a live-action film that's got a lot of similar animation style to this one. Starring the illustrious Angela Lansbury and David Tomlinson (Mr. Banks from the original Mary Poppins).
If that seems a little confusing, it's because like *Mary Poppins* (1964), *Bedknobs and Broomsticks* (1971) contains sequences that combine live action and animation.
Disney used to reuse a lot of animations for different projects back then. I'm not far into this video yet, but you'll notice in Robin Hood... the scene where Marian is dancing in Sherwood Forest with the animals is the same sequence when Snow White was dancing with the Dwarfs. And when Clucky is dancing with Little John, it's the same animation for King Louie and Baloo. When Mowgli is tackled by the wolves out of love, the same sequence is used in the The Sword and The Stone. The ballroom scenes in Sleeping Beauty and Beauty and the Beast are the same, as well as a few other minor animations. Much of it is subtle but they're still fascinating little facts.
I think you guys would really enjoy watching The Last Unicorn (1982). The voice cast in phenomenal and the animators were all hired by Studio Ghibli after this. You can really see how the art style evolved.
A neat thing Disney did was to indicate which class each character is by what animal they are, with the Anglo-Saxons being local British animals (wolves, foxes, dogs, chickens, mice, badgers, etc.) and the Normans being exotic foreign animals (lions, rhinos, elephants, vultures. etc.).
One of my favorite things about these sketchier art styles are right out of a book. That's why I don't have a problem with the art. A lot of people don't like the look.
This was one of my favorite movies as a kid. As an adult I’m impressed at how different the overall plot is from most Robin Hood movies, but they still hit some classic scenes (like the archery contest) and nailed the right tone. It shouldn’t work, treating Robin Hood’s England as if it were the American South, yet it works. The voices are great, the sounds are great, the backgrounds are great, the comedy is funny. It’s nostalgic for sure, but I do enjoy this movie and admire it. Fun fact: Wes Anderson’s “Fantastic Mr. Fox” references this movie explicitly, and is a great movie itself. You guys should see it.
When I was 4-5 years old this was my favorite movie! We had a VHS of it and my parents tell me I'd make them rewind it and watch it over and over again. Also, yeah 5yo me definitely had a crush on Robin Hood
There's actually a fun little bit of trivia hidden in this movie for history buffs. The mother of Richard and John was Eleanore of Aquitane, who was probably one of the most powerfull and brilliant women to ever live. And she consistently and repeatedly kept maneuvering Richard to be the king of England over John, and didn't really ever hire her disdain for him (she knew he would be a weak king). That's why Prince John in the movie has such mommy issues.
9:05 For those who don't know, a farthing is one-quarter of a pence (penny - yeah, the old set of English monetary denominations were weird; 12 pence to a shilling, 20 shilling to a pound). So, yeah - the smallest denomination of money.
Still my favorite Disney movie. I watched it back-to-back so many times I nearly wore out the tape. Now, whenever I watch it, I can't stop myself from saying the lines along with the characters.
My dad and I always bond over this movie and the Disney classic Bambi, my dad grew up with Andy Devine and his show Andy’s Gang. Whenever given the opportunity I always watch it.
I love how they did the opening credits for this movie and 101 Dalmatians. It made the credits fun to watch. The other opening credits in Disney movies (I'm thinking more Lady and the Tramp vibes) were so slow and seemed to go on forever when I was a kid. The ones for this movie are so entertaining though.
I’m really glad you guys saw Disney’s Robin Hood and your reaction to the movie was spot on, I really enjoyed it and sing you guys watching Robin Hood.
Walt died in the middle of Jungle Book and his format was to make movies for everybody, and after his death the company began formatting their movies just for kids. Which is funny because Walt once said "your dead if you only aim for kids", this is known as the dark age (after jungle book, before the little mermaid). For me this was evident in Robin Hood, and they actually said in the dvd feature that originally Robin Hood was going to be animated with humans, but they thought it would appeal more to kids if they did animals, quote Walt "you gotta appeal to the adults since children have no money". I think that was the reason they struggled so much during that period.
When they were steaking gold at the end this was a conversation between my parents Mom:"How much is he going to take?" Dad:"As much as he can get away with.".
Robin Hood was before Jungle Book. Jungle Book was the last movie Disney made before he died and the "dark age" of the animation studio happened. They reused animation from Robin Hood as well as others like Sword in the Stone.
This was the first movie I was ever taken to the movie theater to see when I was a toddler. It still has a special place in my heart. The character actors came from the stage and cinema way back in the day. So unique and wonderful. Thanks for reacting to this Disney classic.
i SOB everytime the mice give they last coin to the friar... having been in that situation... there is nothing more heart warming+breaking as someone sharing what little they have
The reason the animation looks that way is because in the 60s and 70s, Disney switched from having the animation cells inked by hand to being Xeroxed instead. It was a way of getting more of the hands drawn look that the animators wanted.
From the director: the original design for the evil sheriff was of a goat, but it was later decided not "intimidating enough" and went back to default bad guy wolf
I was 8 years old when this came out and I am still in love with it. I still sing along. I think I have the original cassette somewhere from the audio book.
More than once in this period they did reuse sequences from previous films, overlaying the older animation drawings, adapting them to the new characters. The narrator was Roger Miller, better known as a singer than an actor. Prince John was voiced by Peter Ustinov. Usually Disney signed name actors for three picture deals, in Ustinov's case, it was four, "Robin Hood" being the only animated film. The other three were "Blackbeard's Ghost", "One Of Our Dinosaurs Is Missing" and "The Treasure Of Matecumbe". The animators sometimes had fun incorporating physical traits of the voice actors into their characters. In this case giving Sir Hiss Terry Thomas's distinctive tooth gap and Friar Tuck Andy Devine's bushy eyebrows.
For the people in the back, the church was arguably more powerful than the crown and you did NOT do what the Sheriff did. So Prince John threatening to hang a friar was a big deal:
Thanks guys! I've ever actually watched this movie, but you have made me want to, especially with all the laughter. I look after my father, who has dementia, and most days it's really hard. Your videos are something I really look forward to and enjoy. It feels like I'm watching with you and that I'm not so alone. Thank you so much and God bless you both. Xx
I LOVE THIS MOVIE!!! Nowadays, my nostalgia for this movie is enhanced by recognizing other details! For instance, noticing all of the "borrowed" animations from Snow White (Maid Marian's dancing) and the Jungle Book (Hiss, Little John & Lady Cluck dancing). Also the talent, the vultures are played by George Lindsey (Goober Pyle from "The Andy Griffith Show") and Ken Curtis (Festus Haggen from "Gunsmoke"), while the Sherriff of Nottingham is played by Pat Buttram (the salesman from "Green Acres").
Another one of my childhood favorites, and I've watched so much of it, I can quote parts of it. Fond memories and still can't watch it without giggling.
I adore this film so much! I lost count how many times I watched this as a kid. I was super excited to see your reaction to this one as I personally think that it's an underrated gem. I cried so much as a child when it looked like Robin had been killed, no matter how many times I saw it I think as a kid I thought maybe this time will be different, maybe this time he won't make it and would cry again! I also completely agree with you guys about the voice acting in this one (despite how many returning voices we have). I so wish I was able to whistle so that that I could whistle along with the opening song! Me and my brother still just randomly shout Oo-de-lally on a fairly regular basis thanks to this. 😁 Also this film has so much re-used animation, just like James said. Just off the top of my head, the sequence of Little John, Robin & Marion running from the collapsing tower with stones falling around them, is the same animation in places as the sequence of Baloo, Bagheera and Mowgli running from the collapsing temple in The Jungle Book. Marion's dancing that you commented on during the Phony King of England song is re-used animation of Snow White dancing with the dwarfs. Also with the mouse in the church, her feisty body shake ready to take on anyone, is the same as Merryweather in Sleeping Beauty. I'm sure there's more, but those are the ones I remember off the top of my head. And none of that stops me from enjoying the film at all, in fact it is my second favourite Disney film ever (after The Jungle Book). And yes... I definitely had a crush on Robin as a kid! 😂
There's a Disney History blog called "Passport to Dreams Old & New", that did a deep dive review of this film back in 2014 that is well worth the read. (It's in a post titled "The Age of Not Believing: Week Ten" which was part of a series reviewing the films in years after Walt's passing.) It covers not only how the plot and music choices turn the Robin Hood story into more of an American Western that just happens to be set in England with bows and crossbows instead of six shooters, but also how the film was one of the major instigating factors in the modern furry fandom.
fun fact: The animation of the dance Maid Marian did in the forest during the cheeky song about Prince John was the same of Snow White's when the dwarves were singing.
Thinking about it actually this is pre-reformation so no it’s not Jon who is in charge of the church it’s the pope, in fact if he did this then the crown would be under fire from the church who live outside the hierarchy of power and can hold the king to ransom.
Pat buttram plays the sheriff he had a classic tv show called green acres where he plays almost the same character only slightly less money hungry and his voice can be heard in alot of Disney classics
This was a favorite VHS 📼 to watch in the 80s loved all the characters and laughs. Same with Bedknobs and Broomsticks, Pete’s Dragon, Old Yeller and That Darn Cat.
Hope they do a review of the original Pete's Dragon. For all of its issues, it still has the best soundtrack of any Disney movie IMO. Very heartwarming stuff, and so different from the new version.
Yeees, one of my childhood favorite! I really like how well the animals they chose matched each character because of their (the animals) characteristics. I also loved this rougher drawing style, if I think about it my most of my faves Disney movies have a similar style. And can we talk about how dark this movie is despite its comedic moments? I love it! Thank you for reacting, so glad you liked it!
4:20 Disney actually did this a lot with their older movies! They have compilations of recycled animation side by side and I think would be a super interesting reaction. For example most of the dance scene in Sherwood is all recycled.
As a child one of my most cherished belongings was the abbreviated audio of this movie on vinyl LP.. Although I haven't given it a spin in decades, every song is engraved into my heart and mind.
Who else had crushes on these characters as kids?? Lol
They were very charismatic what else can I say 😂🤷🏾♀️
I loved this movie, so many laughs in my childhood. I still quote lines from it all the time. I didn't have a crush but definitely shipped Robin and Marian together.
🙋♀️
I mean, this movie is one that is frequently blamed for helping to start furries and it's not hard to see why
Not sure on crushes but I did like Robin but I think I just liked how he was helping the poor.
“Traitor to the crown?! That crown belongs to King Richard!” That line gives me chills every single time
"Long live King Richard!" That part was always awesome. Robin willing to face death if it means showing Prince John that he'll never be king like Richard.
who thinks Mrs Hen be exellant as a quarterback on a soccer field
"GET OUT OF MY CHURCH!" does the same bravery chills Friar Tuck was so brave to do it ❤
@@kakakzarra9450 American football you mean.
#longlivekingrichard
It was widely believed at one time that a snakes prey became so full of fear that they couldn't move, as if they were hypnotized and that is how a snake could get so close to their prey before striking. Disney took that folklore and made it into an actual ability, that's why their snakes can hypnotize others.
That explains a lot, but it’s not gonna change the important rule I’ve written down for Disney logics… NEVER look into the eyes of a snake!
That's not all. I read the Jungle Book, and in it, Kaa basically had the ability to hypnotise and get command over his prey, making them walk right to him. I can imagine a lot of fiction involving snakes having hypnotising abilities drew inspiration from that, if it wasn't already a common myth by the time that book came out.
"He stole like a penny" Actually it was a farthing, one quarter of a penny. Yes, that's how petty the Sheriff is.
A QUARTER OF A PENNY???
Are you KIDDING ME???💢🤦♂️
I'm sorry, but Peter Ustinov as Prince John might just be one of the most iconic Disney performances ever!
Johnny Depp as Jack Sparrow
I agree, very memorable. I didn't realise till just now that he is also the voice of King Richard at the end.
His Dick Cavett interviews are sublime.
He did the voice in the English and the German version.
He also voiced king Richard at the end of Robin Hood.
We need more Robin Hood esque climaxes. Where the hero can't catch a break, the bad guys are throwing everything at him, and every single step to solve one problem adds two more, and yet he can still manage to find a way out
Honestly, Mad Max Fury Road has that kind of vibe in most of its fight/chase sequences. ❤️
Lady Cluck is the MVP 😂😂😂 the scene where she plays rugby with the guards makes me die every single time
she was always my favorite
That fight song that played was def an old am. football style song. So I think it was meant to be football
"YOU EEL IN SNAKE'S CLOTHING!"
I'm so glad I'm not the only one who finds that line hilarious!
Regarding the animation / line art style: this is the xerox era. In order to save money, instead of inking the lines from the cleaned up rough drawings by hand, they used this fancy new xerox photocopy technique, which wasn’t as smooth and left some traces of the rougher drawing passes. Walt Disney hated it. I personally dig this style, it feels much more dynamic imho.
Sketches are beautiful in of themselves. I’m glad the films produced in that era of Disney ended up looking the way they do. Adds a lot of personality, and dynamic like you said
The problem this created was the reuse of animation for half a dozen movies.
@@brucechmiel7964 yes thank you for saying that. I was gonna. They had to cut expenses during this time and used it a lot.
@@MrTbk1701 But according to some of the old animators. It did not really cut costs. In fact it was the opposite. It was more expensive tracking down the old art from the archives. Then the cost of restoring them. In the end it would have been cheaper to make all new animation.
@@brucechmiel7964 good to know I always heard it the other way. Then do you know why they did it that?
My personal favorite as a kid, followed closely by “The Sword In The Stone”.
I leaned how to fake a Scottish accent from imitating Lady Cluck.
I also love Sword in the Stone!
Yes! Another childhood classic, watching them always made me feel like a kid again and never get old.
Peter Ustinov who voiced Prince John was not only an amazing actor. But he had an incredible life and was a brilliant storyteller. I think someone once called him an Interviewer's dream.
He is so wonderful in this completly chewing scenery.
If I'm not mistaken, then Disney had a catalog of all previously animated motions from their previous movies. And the animators used many animations from the catalog to save time and effort. That's why Lady Marian dances exactly like Snow White, Robin and Marian dance together like they do in Aristrocats, Little John dances like Baloo, Hiss hypnotizes like Kaa, etc.
I have heard in an interview, that the catalogue was so immense, that looking for a particular animation to trace in a new movie took just as much time and effort as animating new material. But sometimes it was done, because other animators did it, like a trend, creating Easter eggs.
"Just any money you earned gets taken." The Sherriff is supposed to starkly represent the evil greed of Prince John on the English throne, but all I could think about was the moment I learned that the IRS expects you to report *profits made from a YARD SALE* on your federal tax return.
I love this film, one of my childhood favorites! Robin Hood may not be one of the highest quality Disney films, but it is still very entertaining with its collection of characters and the amount of comedy coming from them. I also like the music as well as it has stuck with me to this day.
Me too.
I had the album of this movie (like an audio book) when I was a kid and fell asleep to it every night.
40 years later and I still cannot make it to the end of the movie watching with my kids. They hate watching with me cause of all the snoring.
This was my favourite as a kid my dad loved it too but then they made brave and that became our favourite.
As a young kid, Sir Hiss was my favorite character, just because I thought he was the funniest. My very first fan art was of him saying "snakes don't walk, they slither."
“You’re lookin’ like a short king, and not the good kind” i died
LMAO!! Gotta have love for my short kings
shout out Tiny Meat Gang ...the godfathers 🙌🏼
I know the names of the actors who did the voices for the characters wouldn't mean anything to you guys, but in that day most of them were well known, and it was cool that they would want to take part in this.
I cannot tell you how many times I've gotten these songs stuck in my head. They're so good.
This movie was the first animated feature made entirely without Walt Disney. (He died before The Jungle Book and The Aristocats came out but was involved in the production of them.) Due to budget and deadline reasons, there is some recycled animation from past films and similarities to some character designs. It's part of what some dub the "Dark Age" or "Bronze Age" of Disney Animation before the Renaissance period with The Little Mermaid. Before they went back to that fairytale-musical formula, the studio did some interesting experiments with different kinds of stories (some of them a bit darker!).
Even during the Renaissance period they used recycled animation at least once.
I know they did it with Beauty and the Beast's dance at the very end of the movie.
They reused animation from Sleeping Beauty.
The music in Aristocats is peak Jazz.
Robin Hood walked so that Nick Wilde could run lol og hustlers right there. Also, I love how these reactions give me a chance to revisit some of my favorite disney animated films.
Can we stop and appreciate how John and Robin cook and do the laundry, apron and all? Jajajaja those two are soooo cool, I loved this movie as a kid, and at 29 I appreciate bronze era Disney more than modern ones! They are so precious.
Saw this a kid back in the early 80's when so many movies were starting to be put out on VHS for rent. This was my all time fav' Disney classic film
this was rereleased in cinemas in 83 where i first saw it. still my favourite
Same! One of the first movies my family had on VHS and I loved it so much more than the other Disney movies. I loved the action, the climax, the sense of danger, and the music. The only other video that came close was the fight between Phillip and Maleficent in Sleeping Beauty.
The most memorable thing about this one as a kid was the rooster's song. Oo-de-la-lee Oo-de-la-lee Golly what a day!
100% My brother and I watched this soooo much as a kid, that many years later, even having not seen the movie in I don't know how long (before this reaction), I *always* remembered the lyrics to that song!
Glad I’m not the only one who watches this movie with a big dumb smile on their face
Also now realizing “mommy” refers to Eleanor of Aquitaine, in case you were wondering, she did in a fact prefer Richard. Apparently he died in her arms after being wounded which is pretty depressing
Ahh reminds me of how much I love The Lion in Winter!
My high school animation teacher made us watch this. If we could pick out at least 70 animation mistakes he’d bring in donuts the next day. It was easy. I love this movie but I’ve never seen so many characters in a big production like this.
Yeah
This film is my dad's favorite Disney film. His rule for my neices and nephews is that each of them have to watch the film with him at least once before they're age six.
Although it was short, I always enjoyed the sword fight between Robin and the Alligator Captain. It seemed like the only fight Robin struggled with.
Barbara Luddy, who voiced Lady in "Lady and the Tramp", voiced the Rabbit mother in this movie.
Now that you've seen this and Zootopia, then it might please you that Nick Wilde's design was based on Robin Hood here.
The movie was created as an equivalent to Robin Hood,
I sometimes have a feeling that nick wilde could possibly be robin's descendant. I know it sounds like a silly theory but i can't help but think about it 😗
It’s funny to think that the first song, Whistle Stop(the title credits song) became the catchy sped up tune known as the Hamster Dance. I was genuinely surprised when I made that connection.😁
Yes, so the foxy Robin Hood came at the time after Jungle Book and after Walt's death. The company was very lost without the commanding lead of Walt's vision. They reused/traced the rough drafts from scenes from Snow White, Jungle Book, and Aristocats. They also hired voice actors they knew for similar character like Baloo for Little John (Phil Harris). As an animator, I actually like the xerox animation because I used to study the rough lines showing through the paint cells to learn how to animate better and i generally like the dirtiness of the hand drawn animation as it really feels extra handmade and connects you better to the 9 Old Men, animation's legends, instead of today's super clean and polished 3d animations (which are still excellent but sort of less impressive).
I don’t think I could hold a mug from age 4-12 without doing “alms for the poor?” Lol
Congrats on being able to stop, lol. I still can't!
i STILL do it....and randomly.
and i fn LOVE it
For the record, Oo-de-lally is a term popularized during the 1950s meaning "yay" or "yippee." Those vultures look like the same character models for the ones in The Jungle Book since you were mentioning them recycling models for this movie or The Jungle Book.
Oh that is true!!
@@whitenoisereacts and Phil harris is a bear again. They didn't even try and hide it lol
The whistle-stop song lives rent free in my head 24-7. I constantly catch myself humming or whistling it without thinking about it.
This was my favorite movie as a child. The great Roger Miller wrote and sang the songs in this movie. I love his character the rooster.
Roger Miller went on to write *Big River* (1985), a Broadway musical based on *Huckleberry Finn,* which won seven Tony Awards including Best Musical and Best Score.
My favorite of the old school Disney movies. Great soundtrack, great animation, great dialogue. A masterpiece.
There’s a deleted scene ending I REALLY wish they used. Robin Hood is seriously wounded and Lil John brings him to the church to rest as Maid Marian tends to him. And Prince John and Sir Hiss try and kill him in his sleep while Lil John is out getting treatment for him. Maid Marian refuses to let Prince John get close as he tries to stab Robin Hood personally only to be interrupted by King Richard who stops him and demands his crown back. Saying he should kill John, but that would make mother upset. So he spares them and leaves both Prince John AND Sir Hiss sucking their thumbs.
Would’ve let Maid Marian take part in the final act. And better resolved things.
Also the dancing scene in this movie is copied RIGHT out of The Jungle Book, and I believe Aristocats did the same thing. Not all of it, but Lady Cluck and Lil John’s dance is identical. For hand drawn animations, that is ridiculously impressive and also WAY harder to do.
There's also a bit of Snow White in the dancing scene.
Would've been cool to get more Maid Marian, she and Robin had very satisfying chemistry. The climax we got was epic, but we probably could've tweaked a few things to keep the energy up and just led into the church scene.
I have that storyboard animation on a special-edition disk set, which is where I assume you saw it. I think they junked it because having Prince John setting out to personally stab the wounded Robin Hood to death was just too dark.
Fun fact: there was an alternate ending where Robin Hood was wounded during the escape, and as he's laying in bed recovering, Prince John shows up to kill him in person, only to be stopped by King Richard. They changed it when they realized that it was too out-of-character for Prince John, being the coward that he is.
Disney’s Robin Hood is strangely popular with 80s and 90s kids, I don’t know..there’s just something about this one that everyone loves. I think it’s because the characters are so great.
Some info about this particular animation period…The Jungle Book was that last Disney film that Walt Disney himself was involved with before he passed away in 1966, and for the next two decades animators were left to do it on their own. This era was known as the “Dark Age of Disney” and ran from 1970 to 1988. During this time period, Disney suffered from Walt’s Death and was not turning out as quality films as before. They did not have the funds for new animations, having to reuse movements from previous works.
The “Phony King of England” scene in the forest took so many animation frames from Jungle Book and Snow White. You’ll also see reused animations in more to come :)
I think it is partly because for all of its shortcoming, the movie does a great job to create tension without being terrifying, making it a perfect kids movie which is still enjoyable for adults. Just the way the whole tournament is set up, where you know perfectly well that Robin will eventually walk into a trap, or the scene with the prison break, which first involves a lot of sneaking around before all the hell breaks loose. Modern Disney movies are just lacking this kind of patience, everything has to be big and impressive, but the more subtle story telling is often lost due to it.
Born in 82 so I can attest to that. It was on TV all the time as well which certainly helped its popularity
Born in the 90s, and I can confirm!
I hope you guys are planning to watch the sword in the stone after! A really underrated Disney classic that rarely get's hyped but a must all the same. Specially if one is into the Arthurian legends. Oh and also you guys should watch Taran and the Black cauldron which features imo one of Disney's most terrifying villains.
As well as The Great Mouse Detective.
Sword in the Stone, so good!
The scruffy Line work is a result of disney using Xerography, the process of essentially photocopying the pencil tests straight into animation cel's, removing the need for hand inking. In time they improved this. Eventually they would use the CAPS system, to fully digitally paint the frames. This was first used in the very last shot of the Little Mermaid, and the Rescuers Down Under was the first to fully utilize the CAPS system. Would love to see reactions to some more Don Bluth movies like An American Tail, Land before time, Secrets of Nimh.
The cg bros
I live 10 minutes from Sherwood Forest, we used to go there all the time as kids and grew up with Robin Hood stories and they meant so much to me. I’m trying to do the same with my own kids now. This film brings back so many happy memories ❤️
I'm so envious of your living so close to Sherwood Forest! I hope to go there one day!
I highly recommend the movie Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971)! It's a live-action film that's got a lot of similar animation style to this one. Starring the illustrious Angela Lansbury and David Tomlinson (Mr. Banks from the original Mary Poppins).
If that seems a little confusing, it's because like *Mary Poppins* (1964), *Bedknobs and Broomsticks* (1971) contains sequences that combine live action and animation.
@@oliverbrownlow5615 Thanks for helping me clarify.
I love original Pete s Dragon as well
@@Ringking-ws7bz Great soundtrack!
Disney used to reuse a lot of animations for different projects back then. I'm not far into this video yet, but you'll notice in Robin Hood... the scene where Marian is dancing in Sherwood Forest with the animals is the same sequence when Snow White was dancing with the Dwarfs. And when Clucky is dancing with Little John, it's the same animation for King Louie and Baloo. When Mowgli is tackled by the wolves out of love, the same sequence is used in the The Sword and The Stone. The ballroom scenes in Sleeping Beauty and Beauty and the Beast are the same, as well as a few other minor animations. Much of it is subtle but they're still fascinating little facts.
I think for beauty and the beast it was done more out of respect. When Robin Hood came out it was more about cost issues.
34:54 the little bunny looks so annoyed skdsjfksd
This is still my favorite of all the classic Disney movies. I love the love story of Robin and Marian
The furry soldiers are indeed wolves, as is the sheriff. The sheriff's just fatter.
I think you guys would really enjoy watching The Last Unicorn (1982). The voice cast in phenomenal and the animators were all hired by Studio Ghibli after this. You can really see how the art style evolved.
A neat thing Disney did was to indicate which class each character is by what animal they are, with the Anglo-Saxons being local British animals (wolves, foxes, dogs, chickens, mice, badgers, etc.) and the Normans being exotic foreign animals (lions, rhinos, elephants, vultures. etc.).
Actually the archers are wolves. It's the sheriff who is unusual large and obese.
One of my favorite things about these sketchier art styles are right out of a book. That's why I don't have a problem with the art. A lot of people don't like the look.
This was one of my favorite movies as a kid. As an adult I’m impressed at how different the overall plot is from most Robin Hood movies, but they still hit some classic scenes (like the archery contest) and nailed the right tone. It shouldn’t work, treating Robin Hood’s England as if it were the American South, yet it works. The voices are great, the sounds are great, the backgrounds are great, the comedy is funny. It’s nostalgic for sure, but I do enjoy this movie and admire it.
Fun fact: Wes Anderson’s “Fantastic Mr. Fox” references this movie explicitly, and is a great movie itself. You guys should see it.
what’s kinda neat is many of the animated characters actually LOOK like the actors that voiced them
My first and favorite Disney movie! That whistling tune never fails to put a smile on my face, it's so iconic!
Yes! Another childhood classic that never gets old. You will recognize several voice actors from other Disney movies. 🥰
When I was 4-5 years old this was my favorite movie! We had a VHS of it and my parents tell me I'd make them rewind it and watch it over and over again. Also, yeah 5yo me definitely had a crush on Robin Hood
There's actually a fun little bit of trivia hidden in this movie for history buffs. The mother of Richard and John was Eleanore of Aquitane, who was probably one of the most powerfull and brilliant women to ever live. And she consistently and repeatedly kept maneuvering Richard to be the king of England over John, and didn't really ever hire her disdain for him (she knew he would be a weak king). That's why Prince John in the movie has such mommy issues.
9:05 For those who don't know, a farthing is one-quarter of a pence (penny - yeah, the old set of English monetary denominations were weird; 12 pence to a shilling, 20 shilling to a pound). So, yeah - the smallest denomination of money.
This movie is a classic, was a big inspiration for the directors of Zootopia to create the animal designs for the film.
Phil Harris does the voice of Little John. He also did Baloo in The Jungle Book, and O'Malley in the Aristocats.
Still my favorite Disney movie. I watched it back-to-back so many times I nearly wore out the tape. Now, whenever I watch it, I can't stop myself from saying the lines along with the characters.
09:35 "It is I, LeClerc." - Jack Haig
27:13 You have no idea; that would've been grounds for excommunication.
My dad and I always bond over this movie and the Disney classic Bambi, my dad grew up with Andy Devine and his show Andy’s Gang. Whenever given the opportunity I always watch it.
I love how they did the opening credits for this movie and 101 Dalmatians. It made the credits fun to watch. The other opening credits in Disney movies (I'm thinking more Lady and the Tramp vibes) were so slow and seemed to go on forever when I was a kid. The ones for this movie are so entertaining though.
I’m really glad you guys saw Disney’s Robin Hood and your reaction to the movie was spot on, I really enjoyed it and sing you guys watching Robin Hood.
Walt died in the middle of Jungle Book and his format was to make movies for everybody, and after his death the company began formatting their movies just for kids. Which is funny because Walt once said "your dead if you only aim for kids", this is known as the dark age (after jungle book, before the little mermaid). For me this was evident in Robin Hood, and they actually said in the dvd feature that originally Robin Hood was going to be animated with humans, but they thought it would appeal more to kids if they did animals, quote Walt "you gotta appeal to the adults since children have no money". I think that was the reason they struggled so much during that period.
When they were steaking gold at the end this was a conversation between my parents
Mom:"How much is he going to take?"
Dad:"As much as he can get away with.".
Robin Hood was before Jungle Book. Jungle Book was the last movie Disney made before he died and the "dark age" of the animation studio happened. They reused animation from Robin Hood as well as others like Sword in the Stone.
The voice of Little John was also the voice of Baloo in The Jungle Book.
And Thomas O Maley from Aristocats
i looooooove this movie, my favorite version of robin hood! i watched so much as a kid
This was the first movie I was ever taken to the movie theater to see when I was a toddler. It still has a special place in my heart. The character actors came from the stage and cinema way back in the day. So unique and wonderful. Thanks for reacting to this Disney classic.
Haha, I'm glad you reacted to this. My favorite Disney movie, and Lady Kluck is one of the most fun characters of all time!
i SOB everytime the mice give they last coin to the friar... having been in that situation... there is nothing more heart warming+breaking as someone sharing what little they have
This was my favorite movie as a kid. Used to whistle that tune everywhere . Thanks for the reaction!
I have not seen this film in a long time! I remember watching this in school when I was younger.
The reason the animation looks that way is because in the 60s and 70s, Disney switched from having the animation cells inked by hand to being Xeroxed instead. It was a way of getting more of the hands drawn look that the animators wanted.
Omg this was a frequent dinner movie for my family when I was a kid. My parents still quote it to this day, they love king John 😂
From the director: the original design for the evil sheriff was of a goat, but it was later decided not "intimidating enough" and went back to default bad guy wolf
I was 8 years old when this came out and I am still in love with it. I still sing along. I think I have the original cassette somewhere from the audio book.
More than once in this period they did reuse sequences from previous films, overlaying the older animation drawings, adapting them to the new characters. The narrator was Roger Miller, better known as a singer than an actor. Prince John was voiced by Peter Ustinov. Usually Disney signed name actors for three picture deals, in Ustinov's case, it was four, "Robin Hood" being the only animated film. The other three were "Blackbeard's Ghost", "One Of Our Dinosaurs Is Missing" and "The Treasure Of Matecumbe". The animators sometimes had fun incorporating physical traits of the voice actors into their characters. In this case giving Sir Hiss Terry Thomas's distinctive tooth gap and Friar Tuck Andy Devine's bushy eyebrows.
For the people in the back, the church was arguably more powerful than the crown and you did NOT do what the Sheriff did. So Prince John threatening to hang a friar was a big deal:
Thanks guys! I've ever actually watched this movie, but you have made me want to, especially with all the laughter.
I look after my father, who has dementia, and most days it's really hard. Your videos are something I really look forward to and enjoy. It feels like I'm watching with you and that I'm not so alone. Thank you so much and God bless you both. Xx
I LOVE THIS MOVIE!!!
Nowadays, my nostalgia for this movie is enhanced by recognizing other details! For instance, noticing all of the "borrowed" animations from Snow White (Maid Marian's dancing) and the Jungle Book (Hiss, Little John & Lady Cluck dancing). Also the talent, the vultures are played by George Lindsey (Goober Pyle from "The Andy Griffith Show") and Ken Curtis (Festus Haggen from "Gunsmoke"), while the Sherriff of Nottingham is played by Pat Buttram (the salesman from "Green Acres").
Another one of my childhood favorites, and I've watched so much of it, I can quote parts of it. Fond memories and still can't watch it without giggling.
I adore this film so much! I lost count how many times I watched this as a kid. I was super excited to see your reaction to this one as I personally think that it's an underrated gem.
I cried so much as a child when it looked like Robin had been killed, no matter how many times I saw it I think as a kid I thought maybe this time will be different, maybe this time he won't make it and would cry again! I also completely agree with you guys about the voice acting in this one (despite how many returning voices we have). I so wish I was able to whistle so that that I could whistle along with the opening song!
Me and my brother still just randomly shout Oo-de-lally on a fairly regular basis thanks to this. 😁
Also this film has so much re-used animation, just like James said.
Just off the top of my head, the sequence of Little John, Robin & Marion running from the collapsing tower with stones falling around them, is the same animation in places as the sequence of Baloo, Bagheera and Mowgli running from the collapsing temple in The Jungle Book. Marion's dancing that you commented on during the Phony King of England song is re-used animation of Snow White dancing with the dwarfs. Also with the mouse in the church, her feisty body shake ready to take on anyone, is the same as Merryweather in Sleeping Beauty. I'm sure there's more, but those are the ones I remember off the top of my head. And none of that stops me from enjoying the film at all, in fact it is my second favourite Disney film ever (after The Jungle Book).
And yes... I definitely had a crush on Robin as a kid! 😂
There's a Disney History blog called "Passport to Dreams Old & New", that did a deep dive review of this film back in 2014 that is well worth the read. (It's in a post titled "The Age of Not Believing: Week Ten" which was part of a series reviewing the films in years after Walt's passing.) It covers not only how the plot and music choices turn the Robin Hood story into more of an American Western that just happens to be set in England with bows and crossbows instead of six shooters, but also how the film was one of the major instigating factors in the modern furry fandom.
fun fact: The animation of the dance Maid Marian did in the forest during the cheeky song about Prince John was the same of Snow White's when the dwarves were singing.
27:15 John is actually in charge of the church so that money was already his
Thinking about it actually this is pre-reformation so no it’s not Jon who is in charge of the church it’s the pope, in fact if he did this then the crown would be under fire from the church who live outside the hierarchy of power and can hold the king to ransom.
Not in the 13th century… unless I’m missing something in pre-dissolution religious politics
Well nobody ever said that the Sheriff was smart 🤣
Actually Robin Hood did, but he probably didn’t mean it.🤓
This was one of my favourite movies as a kid. We used to watch it all the time
Pat buttram plays the sheriff he had a classic tv show called green acres where he plays almost the same character only slightly less money hungry and his voice can be heard in alot of Disney classics
This was a favorite VHS 📼 to watch in the 80s loved all the characters and laughs. Same with Bedknobs and Broomsticks, Pete’s Dragon, Old Yeller and That Darn Cat.
Hope they do a review of the original Pete's Dragon. For all of its issues, it still has the best soundtrack of any Disney movie IMO. Very heartwarming stuff, and so different from the new version.
Yeees, one of my childhood favorite! I really like how well the animals they chose matched each character because of their (the animals) characteristics. I also loved this rougher drawing style, if I think about it my most of my faves Disney movies have a similar style. And can we talk about how dark this movie is despite its comedic moments? I love it! Thank you for reacting, so glad you liked it!
Of course!!
4:20 Disney actually did this a lot with their older movies! They have compilations of recycled animation side by side and I think would be a super interesting reaction. For example most of the dance scene in Sherwood is all recycled.
I love the theory that this is in the same world as Zootopia and how Nick is descended from Robbin hood and Judy is descended from the bunny family.
Man this brought back childhood memories.
As a child one of my most cherished belongings was the abbreviated audio of this movie on vinyl LP.. Although I haven't given it a spin in decades, every song is engraved into my heart and mind.
The song during the opening credits is called "Whistle Stop" by Roger Miller
This is still my all-time favorite Disney movie. I'm middle-aged now and I still love watching this movie as much as I did when I saw it as a kid.
First time seeing this since childhood. It was one of my favorites!