Robin Hood

Dir: Wolfgang Reitherman

1973

***

Walt Disney's Robin Hood is a rather odd mix of merry old England and America's Deep South. Disney had wanted to make an adaption of the Reynard the Fox tales back in the 1930s and although there is still much of the original stories style within Robin Hood, it was thought Reynard himself would be a rather difficult character to sell as a hero to parents. Uncle Walt though the idea was brilliant but argued it would be too sophisticated. They tried again to incorporate Reynard the Fox in their 1950's Treasure Island and then in the 60s they decided a full adaptation was achievable but they changed their minds at the last minute and made The Sword in the Stone instead. Ken Anderson eventually convinced the studio to have a Reynard the Fox type character in a lightened version of Robin Hood but his idea of setting the film in America's Deep south was rejected (Anderson was art director on Song of the South and wanted to recapture it's spirit). However, most of the voice cast had already been hired and this is why many English voices are met with deep southern drawls. The animation is good, no one does sad baby bunny rabbit like Disney, but for me this film is all about the voice work. Brian Bedford was pretty good as Robin considering he was third choice behind Tommy Steele and Bernard Fox, he was joined by the brilliant Phil Harris who pretty much played a slightly different version of Baloo the Bear from Jungle Book. Director Wolfgang Reitherman decided to give the two more of a lead so that the film had more of a 'buddy' element about it, rather than include the merry band of men as Anderson did in the original draft. Roger Miller headed the southern voice cast and narrated the story via a Rooster, western legends Andy Devine and Pat Buttram played Friar Tuck and the Sheriff of Nottingham respectively and John Fiedler (Piglet) played a church mouse. The real pull however was from the voice pairing of the mighty Peter Ustinov as Prince John and Terry-Thomas as his servant and adviser Sir Hiss. The story was very tongue in cheek and reminiscent of the live action comedies of the time. Anderson was said to have cried when he saw what had been done to his original script, and it certainly isn't one of Disney's greatest achievements, but it's an enjoyable version of the Robin Hood story all the same.

The Jungle Book

Dir: Wolfgang Reitherman

1967

*****

After the release of 1963's The Sword in the Stone Disney illustrator Bill Peet convinced Uncle Walt that 'animals' was their strength and they should continue along this route, Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book being an obvious and opportunistic example. Walt agreed but decided to be far more hands on than he had been during the last couple of films as The Sword in the Stone really didn't do as well as was expected. Disney 'Disnified' Kipling's literary classic like it had with many a literary classic before, added music, dancing, new characters etc and steered quite far from the source material. This is something I usually detest about the Disney Company, however, I believe this is the rare exception where it both works and is exceptionable. Bill Peet was right, Disney were good at animals and they were also very good at songs too. The original Jungle Book was a series of stories, Disney took the all the best bits in my opinion and put them together rather well. The seriousness of the stories is completely lost but 60s Disney is all about the jazz. The songs are irresistibly catchy and remain a classic and are easily Disney's best to date. It was directed by one of Disney's original nine old men Wolfgang Reitherman and the main character of Mowgli was voiced by his young son Bruce. Its memorable characters were voiced by a group of Disney regulars who were all musicians, comics and actors and each is perfect in their role. Sebastian Cabot's deep and well-spoken accent was perfect for Bagheera, the Black Panther that takes Mowgli under his wing and Jazz singer and trumpeter Louis Prima played King Louie perfectly, breaking into the occasional scat along the way. Sterling Holloway's slippery lisp provided the perfect voice for the hypnotic python Kaa but it is Phil Harris' role as the lovable Baloo, who teaches Mowgli about the easy life, who really steals the show. Disney is known for its brilliant characters but no other film contains as many as memorable. You're probably humming one of the many songs as you read this review. It's a classic, impossible not to love and thanks to Disney's re-release habit it was the first film I, and many other who were born after the 60s, first saw in the cinema. What an experience it was. Disney was passionate about the film but sadly died during its production. His last may well have been his best and a fitting tribute.