Robin Hood (1973)
★★★ — Robin Hood (1973)
Wolfgang Reitherman directed this animated retelling as part of his long tenure overseeing Disney's feature animation output, having previously shepherded The Jungle Book (1967) and The Aristocats (1970) through production. It arrived during a financially cautious period for the studio, when Disney was still finding its footing after Walt's death in 1966, and the production famously recycled animation from earlier films (including sequences lifted almost directly from The Jungle Book and Snow White). Rather than adapting a single source, the film draws loosely on the centuries-old Robin Hood folk tradition, reimagining the entire cast as anthropomorphic animals. Released in November 1973, it performed solidly at the box office, taking over six times its modest budget.
Robin Hood (1973) is Disney at its most charmingly scrappy, a film that starts with infectious energy and a killer soundtrack, then gradually runs out of steam. Casting Robin as a sly fox (voiced with effortless cool by Brian Bedford) and his band of Merry Men as a menagerie of forest creatures was a stroke of genius, and the early scenes crackle with personality: Robin and Little John's trickster antics on the river, the archery tournament disguise, and that unforgettable opening ballad by Roger Miller ("Oo-de-lally!") set a breezy, folk-tale tone that's hard not to love. But as the film stretches toward its hour-and-a-half runtime, the seams show. The plot meanders, recycling gags and even animation sequences from earlier Disney features (The Aristocats, The Jungle Book). Prince John's tantrums grow repetitive, the Sheriff of Nottingham lacks real menace, and the third act sags under filler. It's the rare Disney film that feels long, not because it's ambitious, but because it's spinning its wheels. A pleasant, musically rich diversion that captures childhood nostalgia beautifully, but lacks the narrative tightness and emotional payoff of Disney's best. Like a half-remembered storybook: warm, whimsical, and ultimately slight.
Rating: ★★★ | Year: 1973 | Watched: 2026-03-21
Where to watch (UK)
Stream: Disney Plus
Rent: Rakuten TV
Buy: Apple TV Store · Rakuten TV · Amazon Video · Google Play Movies
Physical: Amazon UK
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Related on Movies With Macca
More from Wolfgang Reitherman: One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961) · The Aristocats (1970)
More from the 1970s: Fantastic Planet (1973) · Here and Elsewhere (1976) · Italianamerican (1974) · Punishment Park (1971)
More animation: Fantastic Planet (1973) · Alice in Wonderland (1951) · Mononoke the Movie: The Phantom in the Rain (2024) · Mononoke the Movie: Chapter II - The Ashes of Rage (2025)
More family: Alice in Wonderland (1951) · Wonder (2017) · Kirikou and the Wild Beasts (2005) · Anastasia (1997)
