Despite its status as one of Disney’s lesser animated classics their 1973 take on the Robin Hood legend had always been a childhood favourite. Yet even though it had been a good few years since my last visit to Sherwood forest it was amazing how fresh in the memory this film remained and how well it still holds up now viewing it through more cynical eyes.

Wolfgang Reitherman’s Robin Hood seems best known for its cheap production values rather than its exciting adventure, catchy tunes and memorable characters. Whilst it may famously recycle animation from the studio’s earlier movies (Reitherman’s own The Jungle Book being repurposed several times) as well as repeat sequences to save money it rarely impacts on…

For as long as I can remember I have loved this film with all my heart. I used to have a VHS tape with this and Sword in the Stone on that my dad taped off the telly that I watched religiously when I was little!

This film has such an unfair stigma attached to it, that because it was done on a budget with the reuse of other Disney film cells, that somehow detracts from how good it is. WELL THAT IS FUCKING STUPID. This film is great, original and funny. It is very well made, from how well anthropomorphised the characters are (making them totally believable despite the fact they are animals in medieval clothes) to the amazing…

An animated charmer from one of Disney's quieter decades, Wolfgang Reitherman's "Robin Hood" is a breezy, entertaining take on the famed English outlaw. Featuring a menagerie of foxes, bears, lions, snakes, rabbits, and turtles, the spritely adventure mixes folksy melodies and a lightweight narrative for solid, family-friendly enjoyment.

Less a plot-driven tale of the bow-wielding thief who steals from the rich to give to the poor than a series of disconnected story moments built on the character of Robin Hood, the film's narrative is paper thin. Still, with its engagingly imagined characters and its bursts of adventure, the tale works despite its flimsiness.

Taking place in layered world of countrysides and castles, the animation has a certain rawness that seems…

Film #39 of my 100 Day Disney Marathon (Day 38)
letterboxd.com/martinjacob49/list/100-day-disney-movie-marathon/

Isn't it sad that every time Hollywood tries to redo the Robin Hood story every decade or so, they always suck? If the Ridley Scott version wasn't bad enough, that Robin Hood: Origins movie doesn't look any better. It's probably because these recent versions take the fun and excitement and replace them with mellow, dark unpleasantness. Now don't get me wrong; I love me some realism in my action sequences, but it just doesn't work for cinematic adaptations of Robin Hood.

That's why I really miss the days when Robin Hood was cinematic escapism. Errol Flynn's version may be the definitive version, but my money goes for this Disney…

Nostalgia rocks, especially in seriously underrated Disney flicks like Robin Hood!

Are character movements and animation shots heavily recycled? Yes, but director Wolfgang Reitherman was proud of it, according to his animation buddy Floyd Norman, "Reuse was just Woolie’s thing. He never did it to save money. I really don’t think the “Old Guard” ever had any interest in saving money. I was never a big fan of reuse, but it wasn’t my place to tell these old guys what to do. One final thought. It never seemed to bother Walt, and I never heard him complain about reuse."

Are there bland characters? Yes especially Maid Marian! Severly underused, and somehow disappeared in the last third until the final scene!…