21 – Robin Hood
After yesterday's disappointing entry I
was really dreading watching 1973's Robin Hood. This
was another movie I loved as a kid and I was really starting to doubt
my younger self's tastes. Luckily, It seems that I got it right every
now and then.
The
story obviously stars Robin Hood so how does he stack up? Well, he's
everything Robin Hood needs to be. He steals from the rich to give to
the poor, he's brave, he's charismatic and he's just as clever as
you'd expect from the prince of thieves. I really liked how the story
really showed him off too. You really get a good sense of who he is
and how he hates when people are treated unfairly. He frequently
shows off how clever he is and what a master of disguise he is.
Despite being strog and a good fighter he usually wins against his
foes using his mind instead. I really appreciated that side of his
character. It makes him more interesting.
Of
course, he couldn't do it without his merry men. Or in this case,
basically just Little John. Strangely, in this adaptation, Robin is
really only joined by his friend Little John. I don't really think
this was a bad choice, though. I really liked that the movie focused
on their friendship and didn't get things muddled up with more crazy
characters than they needed to (and they have definitely done that
before...). You can tell that Little John cares about Robin and warns
him when he thinks one of Robin's plans is too dangerous. He's always
quick to help Robin out and they can even be a bit competitive with
each other. John, in particular, gets some great scenes himself like
when he holds a knife up to Prince John and forces him to release
Robin after he's captured him.
Prince
John is the evil acting king that taxes the poor people to collect as
much money as he can. He has some pretty strange characteristics that
crop up every now and then. He is incredibly jealous of his brother
and king Richard that seems to stem from his mother's preference for
Richard. He tends to suck on his thumb and act strange whenever
someone mentions his mother. He's clearly a bit of an idiot and a
definite coward. Despite that he's still quite dangerous. Unlike
Edgar from The Aristocats, Prince
John is actually a big threat. He's stupid but he commands a great
army and hates Robin enough to really try to hunt him down.
Prince
John's assistant is Sir Hiss, a snake. Like Kaa from The
Jungle Book, Hiss has the power
to hypnotize people. Despite that, it really doesn't come into play
in the movie. It's simply explained that he used that power to
convince Richard to fight in the crusades. They really could have
used that power a bit more. He is, however, much smarter than Prince
John. He usually catches on to Robin Hood but seems to always fail to
warn Prince John.
Along
with Sir Hiss, the Sheriff of Nottingham is another lackey for Prince
John. He collects the taxes from the poor people and is quite cruel
about it. He clearly likes what he does. He's also really stupid, a
common theme with these enemies. The writers really didn't utilize
him as well as they could have. I would have liked to see him go toe
to toe with Robin and bit more and be a bit more serious. He's the
one who would have the most contact with Robin and they should have
had a few more scenes together.
Robin
doesn't quite stand alone with Little John, however. Maid Marian is
introduced fairly early on and they really try to establish her
character quickly. She is very friendly to children and it's
established that she knew Robin before she went off to London. I
really liked this. They don't have to waste time having them meet and
fall in love and go through that whole thing. That can really bog
down the movie if they don't do it right. And they definitely don't
do it right sometimes. As long as they have chemistry when they do
meet, then I'm fine with it. Luckily, they have a really great
relationship when they meet and, though they don't spend a ton of
screen time together, they seem to have great chemistry. The thing I
liked the most about her, though, is that they really tried to give
her some personality. She has her own moments of bravery and charisma
and it's great that she's not just a damsel in distress (though she
has some of those moments too). Again, she doesn't really get
utilized as much as she could have.
This
story also has it's fair share of side characters. The rooster,
Alan-a-Dale narrates the story. He doesn't really get too much screen
time so we don't really get to know him. He didn't impede the story
at all, though. Friar Tuck is another character we don't really get
to know very well. He is clearly friends with Robin and keeps hope
alive amongst the poor people. He has a great outburst later when
he's had enough from the Sheriff taxing people. A small family of
Bunnies and a turtle play a small role as well. They basically
represent the poor people that Robin saves and serve their purpose.
They don't impede the story either. Finally, there's Lady Kluck,
Marian's attendant who is a pretty funny character. She is very
friendly and is definitely on the side of Robin. She has a great
scene where she fights John's army but she is otherwise just there
for humor. I didn't mind her at all.
This
movie does some really great stuff with their characters. You get a
sense that they tried to work on their relationships and make them
feel a bit more natural. They definitely could have gone further but
it's a definite improvement from The
Aristocats.
The plot is a bit thin but because the characters are good, I find
myself not caring as much. There is definitely less style than The
Jungle Book and
the music isn't as good but it also doesn't waste nearly as much time
on stupid music sequences as The
Aristocats. I
don't mind when they do have funny scenes or music scenes because
they break up the action and I actually like the characters. On top
of that the action scenes are actually pretty good. They aren't
terribly ambitious but the last one, in particular, is actually
pretty exciting and tense. Overall, I think the story was really
helped by the fact that Robin
Hood itself
is just a great story. This adaptation didn't do much to expand on
that story but it's definitely a cute introduction to it.
Tomorrow,
another classic with some honey.
21
down. 32 to go.
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