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On the day that the best Sheriff of Nottingham died, we also lost one of the best Robin Hoods in Brian Bedford, who passed away at the age of 80. This got us reminiscing about how Disney's 1973 adaptation of Robin Hood was bloody excellent.
From its classic tunes, brilliant voice cast and timeless fun, here are a few reasons why you should dust off this classic as soon as possible.
1. Its songs are excellent and catchy as hell
Robin Hood might not boast the musical quality of Disney classics such as The Lion King or The Jungle Book, but the few songs it does have are short, sweet and will have you humming them for hours. And that's a good thing.
Country king Roger Miller ('King of the Road') was hired to write and sing most of the tunes, and he also voices the bard rooster Alan-a-Dale who helps you through the story. There's the opening credits 'Whistle-Stop' (later sampled for that weird Hamster Dance thing, one of the world's first internet memes), the ultimate lazy summer song 'Ooh de Lally' and the Johnny Mercer-written 'Phony King of England' that's always great for a knees-up.
Even Mumford & Sons have covered the beautiful 'Not in Nottingham', and it was surprisingly great.
2. It has one of Disney's best voice lineups
Brian Bedford leant a brilliantly lazy swagger to Robin that made it almost acceptable to fancy a cartoon fox, while he was joined for a great bromance with Phil Harris as Little John, who you'll instantly recognize as Baloo the Bear from The Jungle Book. It's essentially the same character, but that's no bad thing.
Then there's British acting giant Peter Ustinov as the sniveling villain Prince John AND the brave King Richard, in a time long before massive stars lending their voices to animated movies became a regular occurrence. There's also western regular Andy Devine as Friar Tuck, lisping English comic Terry-Thomas as Sir Hiss, Tony winner Carole Shelley as Lady Kluck and croaky Pat Buttram as the Sheriff, who later popped up in Back to the Future III.
3. It totally got away with rehashing other Disney films
Because the film was shot on a tight budget, Disney artists cleverly used footage from previous films in certain sequences. The video above shows how a dance sequence is exactly the same from the one from Snow White, while it also nicks bits from The Jungle Book.
But you probably never noticed, and even if you did, who cares? They all work brilliantly and the animation is still fantastic. Plus, Michael Bay uses the exact same shots in his films and gets away with it, so why not Disney?
4. It is an underrated retelling of the Robin Hood legend
In a similar way in which The Muppet Christmas Carol is an excellent version of Charles Dickens's iconic novel, the Disney Robin Hood actually tells the classic story in a way that isn't patronizing, boring or too silly. And that's saying something considering it's from the viewpoint of singing roosters, foxes and bears.
It's a much more enjoyable and rewarding experience than watching Russell Crowe's dreary take in 2010, the BBC's TV version and most likely the Wachowskis' upcoming modern adaptation Hood. Give us Roger Miller anyday.
5. It's just a beautiful, heartwarming love story
Robin and Maid Marian are one of Disney's best ever romantic couples. They clearly dig each other from the outset and will stop at nothing to live happily ever after. There's no heart-wrenching breakup, squabbles or will-they-won't-they tension. They just ruddy love each other.
Featuring a genuinely beautiful little song titled simply 'Love', it helped teach young kids the meaning of romance in a subtle way that a lot of other films have struggled to do.
