Toon Talk: Robin Hood DVD
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(c) Disney

ROBIN HOOD: THE CAST

Robin Hood featured an all-star cast of Disney voice favorites:

Pat Buttram (the Sheriff of Nottingham), best known for his stint on Green Acres, was also heard in The Aristocats, The Rescuers, The Fox and the Hound, Who Framed Roger Rabbit and A Goofy Movie, his final film role.
The distinctive voice of Candy Candido (Crocodile Captain) can also be heard in Peter Pan, Sleeping Beauty and The Great Mouse Detective.
Monica Evans (Maid Marian) and Carole Shelley (Lady Kluck) originated the roles of the Pigeon sisters in the Broadway production of The Odd Couple, recreating them for the classic film and television versions of the Neil Simon play. Similarly, they also voiced the Gabble sisters in The Aristocats. Shelley also voiced one of the Fates in Hercules and co-starred in Jungle 2 Jungle with Tim Allen.
Beloved western character actor Andy Devine (Friar Tuck) also appeared in the Disney television productions of Ride a Northbound Horse and Smoke.
The late great John Fiedler (Sexton) was the only voice for Piglet in the many adventures of Winnie the Pooh through the years; he was also heard in The Rescuers, The Fox and the Hound and The Emperor's New Groove.
Phil Harris' Little John completed his trio of rascally animated heroes, following The Jungle Book's Baloo and The Aristocats' Thomas O'Malley.
George Lindsey (Trigger) will always be remembered as Goober on The Andy Griffith Show; he also voiced characters in The Aristocats and The Rescuers and co-starred in Bristle Face, Snowball Express, Charlie and the Angel and Treasure of Matecumbe.
Barbara Luddy (Mother Rabbit) also voiced such beloved characters as Lady in Lady and the Tramp, Merryweather in Sleeping Beauty and Kanga in the original Winnie the Pooh shorts.
J. Pat O'Malley (Otto) voiced several Disney characters throughout the years, including Cyril in The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad, the Tweedles in Alice in Wonderland, Jasper in 101 Dalmatians, and Colonel Hathi in The Jungle Book. He also starred as Perkins, the butler-out-of-water, in the Spin and Marty serials on the original Mickey Mouse Club.
Two time Oscar-winner Peter Ustinov voiced both Prince John and King Richard in this Hood; he also starred in Blackbeard's Ghost and Treasure of Matecumbe.

What the film cannot escape is an overall feeling of cheapness. Surely, director Wolfgang Reitherman and his animators didn't think that the pre-video audiences of the 1970's would notice an abundant reliance on "reused" animation, but there it is for us digital-aged viewers to freeze frame and scrutinize. Most glaringly apparent in the "Phony King of England" number, sharp-eyed Disney fans will recognize Maid Marian's dance as Snow White's and the Merry Men band as Scat Cat and company from The Aristocats. There's even some "Jungle (Book) love" going on with Little John and Lady Kluck here. And it doesn't stop there; there are several moments when the film even "cannibalizes" itself, for example reusing the Sheriff's gangly walk on several occasions.

To be fair though, one can't be entirely too judgmental on this subject for the film was from a time when the animation unit was struggling to survive. And certainly, it doesn't detract those who may be a little less obsessive about their Disney knowledge (ahem). Even with its faults, this Robin Hood still scores a bulls-eye as a rollicking romp through the Middle Ages.

As with this year's earlier re-release of The Fox and the Hound, not a lot of effort was put into the bonus content. In addition to the "Fast Play" feature and a "Disney Song Selection" (with sing-along lyrics onscreen of selected songs, including the Oscar-nominated love balled titled ... "Love"), the new bonuses include a deleted "alternate ending" (seen in storyboard format and depicting a church-set confrontation between Prince John and ... Maid Marian?) and two set-top "Merry Games" (the "Archery Trivia Challenge", wherein your "knowledge and speed" of Sherwood Forest trivia "sharpens your aim", and "Rescue Maid Marian", which is tougher then it looks). The bonus short is the appropriately-themed Ye Olden Days, a black and white Mickey Mouse short co-starring Minnie and Goofy (still billed as "Dippy Dawg"). The one stand-out is the "Robin Hood Art Gallery", available in two viewing options. Skip the staid stills and go straight for the video option; with its informative narration and continuous movement, it serves as an adequate - if definitely "poor man's" version of - a "making of" feature. Pictures include concept art (when the characters were still - shock! - human), early character designs (such as Little John as an elephant and Friar Tuck as a bulldog) and abandoned ideas, such as missing Merry Man Will Scarlett.

Toon Talk Rating: C

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Toon Talk: Robin Hood DVDPage 2 of 3

Toon Talk: Robin Hood DVD
Page 2 of 3