Why One Detail of Disneyās Robin Hood Bothers Me And Always Will
Hi, welcome to my Ted Talk, today we will be dealing with something that has bothered me about Disneyās Robin Hood since I was a kid and I still cannot get over to this very day.
And it all stems from THESE THREE PEOPLE:
Maid Marian, Prince John, and King Richard
Iām going to preface this entire thing by saying THIS version of Robin Hood is very very VERY different than the source material, much like all Disney animated films, but it wasnāt really DISNEY who did the big changesā¦ those just came over time with making things moreā¦ Iām just going to sayĀ ānormal for societyā, which is ultra double lame.
BUT thatās not the point, because that stuff happens everywhere and with everything, and if I started to complain about THAT weād be here all day, and Iām already going to take more of your time than needed to complain about something SUPER unimportant from a childrenās animated movie made in 1973.
So, in the movie the titular character, Robin Hood, is a fox.Ā Makes total sense, foxes are crafty, hard to catch, cunning, and known for getting into and out of situations that other animals would have difficulty with.Ā Take that and turn it into an anthropomorphic character and youād get someone who would easily be against the normal laws, not BAD, but would do BAD to do GOOD. Robin is a show off when he wants to be, and quiet when he has to be.
Heās a pretty perfect Robin Hood, especially in the case of animated kids movies, his characteristics just work SO WELL with his personification as a fox. GOOD STUFF, if I do say so myself!
Little John, meanwhile, is a bear. Not just any bear, but a big olā lovable brown bear. This plays on the idea of Little John being a cheeky nickname because Little John is a big, strong, and above all the calm, cool, and rationally smart one of the two. Robin may be clever, but John is the big picture guy. Pun intended.
These two designs and animal choices work SO well with each other, and itās because these two are so different yet they get along and honestly NEED one another that makes the differences so perfect.
ALAN-A-DALE IS A ROOSTER. BRILLIANT. I donāt even have to go into this, do I? What a GREAT call by making Alan-A-Dale a rooster.Ā Though, I feel a bit of his characteristics were also borrowed from Will Scarlet for the Disney version, but even that still fits everything. And, honestly, I donāt mind the blending of Alan and Will, it kinda works? Especially with the movie being as short as it is.
ROOSTER BARD. ROOSTER. BARD. So good, I mean cāmon. Itās perfection.
TheĀ Sheriff of Nottingham being a wolf isā¦ okay. Itās okay. I get it though, having the wolf hunt the fox. Haha. Cheeky. Cliche, but cheeky.
I really have nothing to say about him, heās justā¦okay. Dudeās a cop, so whatever. Not a fan of bootlickers, and the fact that theyāre dragging wolves in the mud by making a wolf into a cop isā¦ whatever. /Heās A Wolf Cop/
Personally, I donāt like Friar Tuck as a badger. It really doesnāt make sense to me, and I lowkey hate it that they totally missed so many opportunities. DOVE OF PEACE? LAMB OF GOD? Like FOR REAL, you coulda done something super cute like that, but NOoOoOoOoOoOā¦ heās a badger. And they kinda pick on him for half the movie, for no reason, and I donāt like that.
Still, Friar Tuck is cute, and a really fun character and they do some clever animation stuff with hisĀ ābadgerā-ness. Still a bit of a missed opportunity.
OKAY NOW THAT WEāVE GOT THESE OTHER BIG ONES OUT OF THE WAY, ITāS TIME FOR MY ACTUAL PROBLEM!
MAID FRICKIN MARIAN IS A FOX.
WHAT THE FRICKEN FRICKITY FRACK?!
ABSOLUTELY NOT! Disney did this JUST because they wanted Maid Marian and Robin Hood to be THE SAME ANIMAL, and thatās ABSOLUTE BUNK!
WHY? Well thereās two BIG reasons that is irks me!
First, the idea that they HAD to be together because they were the same animal or they were made to be the same animal so it wouldnāt beĀ āweirdā that they were together.
LAME! UNINSPIRED! BULLSHI-
*ehem* Nonsense. Nonsense.
And itās even MORE nonsense because of this little factā¦
PRINCE JOHN AND KING RICHARD ARE HER RELATIVES!
MAID MARIAN THE NIECE OF PRINCE JOHN AND KING RICHARD!
Okay, you could argue that Maid Marian was adopted, or that King Richard married a lovely fox woman and the fox womanās relative had a daughter and THAT was Maid Marian. And YES, that would make the situation plausibleā¦
This is MEDIEVAL ENGLAND and they are ROYALTY and that kinda stuff wouldnāt fly even IF King Richard is the King.
DISNEY ARE COWARDS FOR NOT HAVING A BIG LIONESS LADY DATE A TINY FOX MAN AND WE WERE ROBBED!
yousharknotpass
amandla
blakekathryn
gracieabrams
germansingergirl
theartofmadeline
