Robin Hood (November 8, 1973)

I was looking forward to watching this film because I enjoy movies and shows with a medieval setting (Sword in the Stone being one of my favorite disney movies because of this). But I was disappointed with Disney’s adaptation of the Robin Hood story. First and foremost, the characters are bland and unlikable. The titular Robin Hood is made out to be a suave, mysterious, hero but he just rubbed me the wrong way throughout the movie along with his Ballou knockoff friend, Little John. In fact, the whole movie reuses assets from previous Disney Animated films including, The Jungle Book and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Now this practice was not uncommon and was used in many classic, hand drawn Disney Animated films but it was particularly egregious in this film and pulled me out of the movie several times. The romance between Robin Hood and Maid Marian felt forced and sudden (despite the film’s admission that they fell in love prior to the events of the film). I prefer a film show rather than tell and it could have been interesting to see the romance between the two slowly blossom over the course of the film (and could have given Maid Marian more agency in the film instead of simply being a prize to be won or a damsel in distress). I understand Disney’s Robin Hood is a beloved film among many and is even regarded by some as one of the better Robin Hood adaptation. To my knowledge I have not seen any other versions of the story so I have no frame of reference and it could very well be the source material is shallow and uninteresting. But I want to believe that it is this movie that dumbs down the original story removing much of the action and intrigue in order to appeal to a younger audience. I do not think the film is worth watching and instead recommend watching other Disney classics or other Robin Hood variations.

Final Rating: 3/10