Or, as some would have it, the 'Dark Ages' of Disney.
It was the 1970's. Walt Disney was dead.
Until 1966, Disney was the personal project of one man. Walt Disney.
Now Walt was dead, and all the legendary animators who had worked with Walt for like 30 years or more were left to carry on without their leader.
And boy, did they come through for us.
For it was at this time that the Nine Old Men, the legendary lead animators under Walt, began training the next generation of animators- the legendary generation that would go on to include the likes of Don Bluth, and would include the animators behind the legendary Disney renaissance.
This was the beginning of the great school of animators which would produce, through about the mid-90s, legendary animator after legendary animator- the legends behind both phases of the legendary Disney Rennaissance, including the Second Disney Rennaissance of the Tangled-Frozen era, led by legendary animators brought back from the age of Mulan and Tarzan in the 90s.
This was the beginning of that- the legendary generation of new animators being trained by Disney's Nine Old Men, the legends who had worked with Walt all those years, that would include among the young legends coming up the likes of Don Bluth, Ron Clements, and John Musker, the latter two being the legendary animators who, along with lyricist and assistant filmmaker Howard Ashman, would begin the Disney Renaissance, leading the way for an entire generation- or two- of legendary animators, from The Little Mermaid to Tangled, Frozen, and Encanto.
This began in the mid-1970's, as those legendary animators who had worked with Walt all those years, the legendary Nine Old Men, began recruiting and training the next generation of animators.
And as they did, they were also working on the first animated movie that they made without any input from Walt.
And that was our first legendary forgotten classic. Disney's Robin Hood.
It was produced on a budget. So many cost-cutting corners had to be cut.
The cost-cutting tactics in that movie are infamous.
But in return, all those legendary animators got to pour all their efforts into gorgeous backgrounds, incredible atmosphere, and incredible character design- and still not test the by-now limited resources of Disney some 5 years or more after Walt's death.
Every Disney movie from this movie through The Fox and The Hound has just the most stunningly gorgeous atmosphere and backgrounds!
May I add that two movies from this period- The Rescuers and the live-action Escape from Witch Mountain- understand children (their intended main audience) just so, so stunningly well! These were two movies that understood us!
And in every Disney animated movie from this entire period, those gorgeous backgrounds and atmosphere, and character design. Including in our current subject, the wonderful Robin Hood.
The wonderful backgrounds, atmosphere (quite different atmosphere from The Rescuers, at least as wonderful), and in this movie above all, the wonderful character design that also characterizes this entire era.
Add to this a good writing effort with absolutely wonderful writing in the detail of each scene, and you have the foundations for a classic.
Then you can add in the best part of this movie.
Its incredible voice cast, led by the legendary Roger Miller, who, by the way, is responsible for much of the wonderful music.
Roger Miller, the man responsible for such legendary hits as King of the Road and Dang Me, is one of those incredible natural talents that people like me are simply blown away by.
The entire effort of the movie crystallizes around him, his performance, his atmosphere, and his wonderful songs- that and the incredible backgrounds, character design, and atmosphere by those legendary animators.
You add the wonderful Brian Bedford as Robin Hood, the marvelous Phil Harris as Little John, and the absolutely wonderful Carole Shelley as Lady Cluck, leading a generally wonderful all around voice cast- even the little, minor characters are wonderfully voiced- and you have magic, simply magic.
Some of the finest, most enjoyable bits of folksy comedy Disney ever did, wonderfully memorable characters, and above all, that wonderful casual, folksy down-home atmosphere in the movie.
Above all, though, this movie has two things in spades: emotional sincerity and compassion.
No cynical CSI-movie here.
Emotional sincerity and compassion.
Including, along with the laughs, two of the finest big cry moments in movie history- big cries filled with compassion and emotional sincerity and all the healing of a good cry when it's only a movie, and the movie goes on to have a happy ending.
And it is these things, as well as the characters, the fun, and the wonderful casual, folksy, down-home atmosphere that make this movie one of the finest ever made.
And an antidote to all the jaded CSI cynicism of the modern age.
And all that emotional sincerity and compassion comes out in the second forgotten classic of that age.
The one that probably does not need much defending. Just a spotlight to highlight it.
The Fox and The Hound.
A movie that understands adulthood as well as The Rescuers understands children.
As long as there are people like the widow who takes care of Todd, there is never a lack of hope and joy in adulthood.
(Let us not forget that this movie begins with a happy ending for an orphaned fox cub! (and for a hound puppy, for that matter!))
The two legendary forgotten classics of the Middle ages of Disney animation.
For your consideration.
God loves you! Try to enjoy life, and don't be afraid of a big, healing cry!
Sincerely,
David S. Annderson
P.S. Let's not forget that tragedy that comes in The Fox and The Hound because the two humans in the movie, though neighbors, don't communicate! I'm sure that the widow would have been glad to have a friend in Amos, but he just don't want any part in society! And all the tragedy in the movie comes from that! A little communications between him and the widow, and the fox and the hound could have lived as friends their whole lives!