Robin Hood / Disney - TV Tropes
Anachronism Stew :
Arguably averted in the case of the voices. The accents are not far off of what it was like in Merry England. The reason being is that what the world considers to be an American accent is really the original British accent, with Southern drawl being another import to the New World, and the modern English accent first appeared in the 1860's. If anything, the American accents are more accurate than the English accents. Still, intent counts, and many of the voices were filled from the Disney Studio's stable of Western Movie actors, particularly the Sheriff and his men, who attempted to play the roles off as a corrupt sheriff and his deputies from the Old West or Deep South.
Although Friar Tuck comes from the original legend, his presence during the reign of Richard I makes no sense, as the first Mendicant order was not founded until 1209, a full decade after the Lionheart's death.
The rabbits sing "Happy Birthday to You" - which was written in the late 19th century in Louisville, Kentucky - to Skippy. The film takes place in the 12th century. America hadn't even been discovered yet.
While in the ale barrel, Sir Hiss sings "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow" (although he says "for I'm a jolly good fellow"). Again, that song hadn't been written yet— it was written in 1709.
In their first scene, Maid Marian and Lady Kluck are playing badminton, which was invented in the 18th century.
Nottingham Castle has a scaffold gallows, even though it was invented by the Scot Deacon William Brodie in 1787.
The (American) football segment when the game was invented in 1869 (rugby can be traced back to the 1400s, which is still after the events of the film). To take it further, "On, Wisconsin!" plays in the background, which was written in 1909 (originally written for archrival Minnesota and adapted). Granted, no one's actually playing football, it's just part of the preceding battle sequence.
Our hero is a cunning fox and his Love Interest a vixen.
The animators were open to playing with the trope at the concept stage, such as making the Sheriff a goat, but the director couldn't be bothered to deviate from stereotypes and overruled them.
Archer Archetype : He's Robin Hood; what do you expect?
Arson, Murder, and Admiration : When Prince John reacts to "The Phony King of England" becoming a hit even among his subordinates:
Prince John: They'll be singing a different tune! Double the taxes! TRIPLE the taxes! SQUEEZE every last drop out of these INSOLENT... [suddenly takes on an eerily pleasant tone] musical peasants.
Artistic License ï¿½ Gun Safety : Trigger keeps pointing Old Betsy at the Sheriff. It also has a tendency to randomly discharge even when the safety is on. Eventually the Sheriff gets smart about this and insists that Trigger walk ahead of him when he's carrying the crossbow.
Artistic License ï¿½ History : To be expected considering the Robin Hood genre.
Lore commonly puts the outlaw as a contemporary of John and Richard rather than (probably) Edward I. However, consider the following:
Just to reiterate, John was not taxing the poor of England just so he could swim around in mountains of gold coins; though he was definitely attempting to seize the throne, he had no authority to raise revenues from any but his own possessions (of which Nottingham was one).
The film does not mention Richard's captivity and ransom, but the money for that was raised by a special collection largely overseen by Eleanor of Aquitaine, Richard and John's mother.
Richard didn't imprison John or the Sheriff of Nottingham (though the sheriff did lose his job) when he got back; in fact, John eventually became king, the first after the Norman Conquest (possibly) to speak English fluently.
Furthermore, it was Richard who bankrupted England - not that he even cared for the place anyway - and aside from his spending, his ransom didn't help either, which was about the equivalent of the country's GDP for a year.
The Church was very powerful in the 12th Century and would have made a serious fuss over the Sheriff helping himself to the contents of the church poor box. Especially since the Crown had no authority to collect taxes on church income at all at that point in history - that was one of the many issues that the Church and Crown argued over until Henry VIII broke from Rome in the 16th century. Similarly, the question of whether a civil authority such as the Sheriff could arrest a clergyman at all was a major political hot topic, much less having a priest executed by the order of a secular authority. Prince John should have known that, after the major political mess caused by the death of Archbishop Thomas Becket during his father's reign. Sir Hiss definitely knows and is shocked that Prince John would hang a "man of the Church".
The line "too late to be known as John the First" in "The Villain Sucks" Song is strange, since he is (so far) the only King John of England. Presumably it's because at the time, he was not yet officially the king — being the younger brother (i.e. born "too late"), he had no right to call himself John the Anythingth.
Ass in a Lion Skin : Robin, a fox, disguises himself as "the spindle-legged stork from Devonshire" and as Nutsy, a vulture.
Attack! Attack... Retreat! Retreat! : When the rhino soldiers he'd ordered to attack the jail come charging right at Prince John.
Babies Ever After : Discussed when Robin proposes to Marian.
Robin: We'll have six children...
Marian: Six? Oh, a dozen at least.note They are foxes, who produce litters in reality, and that many kids wasn't unusual for human families in that time period either.
Skippy tags along on the wedding coach, saying that "Robin Hood's gonna have kids. Somebody has to keep their eye on things."
Badass Preacher : Friar Tuck ("GET OUTTA MY CHURCH!!!"). He delivered a righteous beating on the Sheriff for stealing from the Poor Box.
Balloonacy : Sir Hiss sticks his head inside a balloon, then exhales more air from his lungs into it, causing it to ascend. Then he uses his tail as a propellor to fly around and spy on Robin Hood. He is somehow able to seal the balloon around his neck, and avoid suffocation, and use regular air to make both the balloon and himself float. Balloonacy on so many levels.
Barefoot Cartoon Animal : A few of the characters, most notably Lady Kluck, Alan-a-Dale, the church mice, and the rabbit family (for whom this trope might overlap with Barefoot Poverty ).
Batman Gambit : How Prince John fooled Robin Hood to take part of the archery tournament. Knowing that he's in love in Marian, he announces that the winner of the tournament shall get a kiss from Marian as a first prize, knowing that Robin wouldn't refuse to take that opportunity. The tournament was just a trap to snare Robin Hood in, based on who was the unnatural superior archer. He didn't actually see through Robin Hood's "stork" disguise, but considering that the stork was somehow much better at archery than most of the others, he didn't really need to; by process of elimination, Prince John figured out that, therefore, the stork must be Robin Hood.
Battle Amongst the Flames : Robin Hood has to fence off the Sheriff and his torch after said torch sets curtains on fire and immediately spreads to burn the tower around them. Robin jumps back through the burning curtains to escape the Sheriff, who somehow gets out since he's seen at the end of the film.
Beary Funny : Little John is a downplayed example; he's Robin's straight man.
Berserk Button :
Mentioning King Richard in front of Prince John. Mentioning his mother is probably okay, as it just causes him to bluescreen and start sucking his thumb.
For Friar Tuck, dismissing his 'sermons' is one thing, but outright disrespecting him, a man of the church, by telling him that his 'preachiness' is gonna soon land him in a hangman's noose while stealing out of the poor box is another thing entirely.
Beware the Nice Ones :
It's not a good idea to steal from the poor in front of Friar Tuck. It's an even worse idea to take from the poor box in his own church while he's watching, especially if you threaten to hang him afterwards. He won't take it well. At all.
Little John is generally a happy-go-lucky kind of guy until Robin's in trouble. He'll threaten lives if it means saving his buddy.
Beware the Silly Ones : Prince John can be very comical, but if you mock him badly enough, he will not let you get away with it.
"DOUBLE THE TAXES! TRIPLE THE TAXES! SQUEEZE EVERY LAST DROP OUT OF THOSE INSOLENT...musical...peasants"
Big Bad : Prince John is the source of the story's conflict. Robin's hiding out, his inability to marry Marian, the heavy taxes, it's all him.
Big Brother Instinct : Robin Hood towards Skippy and the other kids. He goes to their birthday with gifts and everything.
King Richard is seen by his subjects as the paragon of The Good King . He fixes everything when he comes back.
Robin Hood himself is this during King Richard's absence.
Bilingual Bonus : Multiple characters use the French language, notably Prince John. This would seem highly unusual in a Robin Hood story (and a Disney story which takes place in England), except that French was the language of nobility from the 11th to 14th centuries (Norman Conquest to Renaissance), making it perfectly reasonable that many of the upper-class characters (and possibly a few lower class) would know how to speak both French and English.
"Blackmail" Is Such an Ugly Word : When Little John questions the morality of robbing the rich to feed the poor:
Robin: "Rob"? (Tuts) That's a naughty word. We never rob! We just... sort of "borrow" a bit from those who can afford it.
John: "Borrow"? Heh. Boy, are we in debt.
Body Horror : It's only there for a second, but during the first big fight scene, this
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happens to Lady Kluck.
Boisterous Bruiser : Both Little John and Lady Kluck are fierce party animals.
...But He Sounds Handsome : During the archery tournament, Robin, disguised as a stork, praises himself and taunts the Sheriff of Nottingham about his failure catching him. He also claims Robin is a better archer than he is, while landing a perfect bullseye.
Dead Hat Shot :
When Robin fleeing a volley of arrows in the castle moat, only his hat emerges from the water at first. See Disney Death for more.
There is also a near miss in the first scene that gets Played for Laughs ; an arrow comes within inches of Robin's head and impales his hat instead.
Little John: Take a look at your hat. That's not a candle on a cake.
Robin Hood: Hullo. This one almost had my name on it, didn't it?
Deadly Dodging : Robin uses this tactic against the mook archers, causing them to hit each other. Of course, they don't actually hit each other with arrows. They just get pinned to walls through the collars or somesuch.
Defiant to the End : As Prince John prepares to sentence Robin as a "traitor to the Crown," Robin yells back, "That crown belongs to King Richard! LONG LIVE KING RICHARD!" When the townspeople join in, Prince John becomes infuriated.
Prince John: ENOUGH!! I am King, KING, King!! Ach! OFF with his HEAD!!
Department of Redundancy Department : "I sentence you to sudden, instant, and even immediate death!"
Deus ex Machina : The original planned ending, which can be seen in storyboard format on the DVD but was never animated; Robin Hood would have been wounded during the climatic escape from Nottingham Castle and dragged to a church to recover by Maid Marian and Little John. Prince John and Sir Hiss would have tracked Robin Hood down, but before Prince John could push Marian aside and stab the fox to death, King Richard would have returned at last and, having caught him red-handed, essentially shouted him into dropping the dagger, sitting down in a corner and surrendering.
Digital Destruction : While most Disney films avoid using the DVNR process, the Most Wanted Edition DVD release of the film was an exception to the rule. While Disney is usually careful even when using the infamous process, the issue was that the film was made when Disney was using Xeroxing in place of hand inked cels, and the itchy, hairy lines combined with a restoration process that is specifically designed to remove things it detects as scratches and dirt was a recipe for trouble. There are many obvious instances of linework and art erasing throughout this release. Its most noticeable in the opening when Robin is having chit chat with Little John and during the archery scenes, where the artwork of the arrows is frequently eaten away at into nothing due to DVNR art erasing. To add insult to injury, the aspect ratio is slightly cropped as well compared to the previous Gold Collection DVD release.
Dirty Coward : Prince John in the Archery Tournament fiasco. While Robin Hood was fighting off the guards, Prince John tried to blind-side him. However, Robin Hood easily disarms him before that happened, and Prince John immediately runs away in fear while pathetically begging for his life.
Disguised in Drag : Robin Hood and Little John both pull this trick at the beginning, stealing everything valuable that's not nailed down after Prince John dismisses the notion of female bandits as "rubbish". Robin is good at it, but Little John's cover would have been blown if he spoke to anyone up-close.Useless trivia Robin's voice actor, Brian Bedford, performed in drag after Robin Hood's theatrical release. He probably did so before the film too, given that his female voice is fairly convincing.
Disney Death :
During the climactic battle, Robin escapes from the burning castle by jumping into the moat. He is briefly presumed drowned, due to his hat floating on the moat's surface, with an arrow through it , but it turns out he was just hiding underwater.
The Sheriff managed to escape from the burning castle along with Prince John and Sir Hiss. If the final scene had been omitted, you could've easily assumed all the villains burnt to death, if not had their fur and scales burnt off.
Distant Duet : Variation—in her room at the castle, Marian wonders if Robin still loves her or even remembers her, while humming to herself the tune of their love song. Cut to Robin, who not only remembers her (and is daydreaming about her), but is humming the same tune. Also acts as a form of musical Foreshadowing , since at that point the audience hasn't even heard the love song yet.
Dolled-Up Installment : Ever wonder why it's Robin Hood with funny animals? That's because Disney had previously been trying to make a movie about Reynard the Fox but abandoned the idea. Since they had tried to make the character more appealing by giving him Robin Hood-like qualities , it wasn't too hard to take what they had and turn it into a Robin Hood the fox story instead.
The Dragon : The Sheriff of Nottingham to Prince John. One of few Disney examples in plain sight, he's aggressive, takes orders from his (slightly) brighter boss, orders the Mooks around, and serves as the primary physical threat to Robin as demonstrated nicely during the final battle scene in the tower.
Dressing as the Enemy : In the climax, Robin disguises himself as Nutsy to sneak past the Sheriff, and later Little John locks away the Sheriff and steals his clothes to stop him from investigating the bags that are being pulled from the castle chamber to the cells.
Ear Worm :
An in-universe example — "The Phony King Of England" is so catchy even Hiss and the Sheriff enjoy it. The Sheriff especially seems surprised that John himself doesn't enjoy it.
As well as Roger Miller's quite memorable folk/country tunes "Whistle-Stop" and "Oo De Lally", which he played as In-Universe character Alan-a-Dale (the Rooster). How earwormy is the former, you might ask? Enough to spark an internet phenomenon almost three decades later. Enjoy the Hampster Dance? It's "Whistle-Stop" sped up by about 60%.
Elite Mooks : The crocodile and the executioner rhino, who at least looks slightly less moronic than the regular kind.
Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas : Prince John's relationship with his mother is... complicated. He seemed to react with a huge amount of remorse when he ends up either wrecking her things (ie, her mirror and her castle) or is reminded of her in some way, and childishly sucks his thumb. However, he also disparagingly states that his mother liked Richard much better than him.note This last part is allegedly Truth in Television .
Even Evil Has Standards : Sir Hiss has no problem with Prince John's evil deeds until he decides to hang Friar Tuck.
Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep" : The Sheriff of Nottingham. He's only ever referred to as "Sheriff", even by his close associates.
Everyone Can See It : All of Nottingham ships Robin/Marian, though the pair are initially uncertain of each others' feelings. Little John goes further and tries to make it happen via royal decree (at knifepoint).
Evil Is Hammy : Prince John chews the scenery with abandon, such as his "DOUBLE THE TAXES!" scene. Sir Hiss and the Sheriff also have their moments, but their evil boss is still hammier.
Evil Laugh : Prince John both plays this straight and lampshades it at different points in the film:
His standard "Ah-ha! AH-HA!"
The Lampshade Hanging early in the film: "Forgive me a cruel chuckle: Eheheheheheh, power."
Evil Plan : Prince John is on a power trip. After sending his brother off to fight muslims, he plunders the kingdom in the name of taxes.
Expy :
Little John could be Baloo 's long lost twin brother, ditto Sir Hiss for Kaa of The Jungle Book . Also, Nutsy and Trigger (and another one of Little John's identical twins) got smaller roles in Bedknobs and Broomsticks .
Nutsy and Trigger also share animation models with the Beatles -esque vultures from The Jungle Book . Many other characters are drawn similarly to other Disney characters. The elephants look like the elephants from The Jungle Book , the crocodiles and hippos look like the ones from Fantasia , the owls look similar to Archimedes from The Sword in the Stone .
Robin Hood and Maid Marian may be the inspiration for Tod and Vixie of The Fox and the Hound .note Curiously enough in the Mexican Spanish dub, Marian's voice actress (Diana Santos) voiced both Marian and Vixie respectively.
Eyes Never Lie : Marian realizes it is Robin in disguise after she looks deeply into his eyes.
Fake Aristocrat : Little John masquerades at "Sir Reginald, Duke of Chutney" to get close to Prince John.
", although, in this case, they were already in love .
Fantastic Fox : The anthropomorphic Robin and Marian.
Fat Bastard : The Sheriff, with his big belly and crass demeanor, is the closest example.
Faux Affably Evil : The Sheriff; he's always cheerful and polite while doing sadistic things.
Fully Dressed Cartoon Animal : Several characters, including:
Maid Marian (a lovely pink and purple dress and headscarf).
Prince John (royal robes and a onesie underneath).note Oddly enough, at the tournament he's shown to be wearing nothing under his robes, whereas in his first scene he still was wearing something after Robin stole his robes.
Friar Tuck (brown habit).
Furry Confusion :
In some ways, this is averted; i.e. no one in this world has pets or rides horses — there is a blacksmith dog that is seen making horseshoes, but perhaps anthropomorphic horses still have hooves. On the other hand, it is worth noting that we never see who or what is pulling that carriage in the last scene .note  Considering we see Little John pulling a cart and Prince John's rhino soldiers pulling his carriage, it may be the bigger animals are paid to pull carts.
Following the tradition of the Robin Hood myth, Maid Marian is said to be King Richard's niece. She is a fox. He is a lion . This could be Fridge Brilliance - historically, it's debatable whether or not Richard ever consummated his marriage with Berengaria and may have only married her for political reasons, so it's entirely possible that Richard's unseen wife was a fox after all. A lion and a fox could never successfully inbreed with each other, but his other wives (i.e. not Marian's aunt) would presumably have been lionesses to provide heirs.
Near the beginning, when Robin and Little John are doing their gypsy women disguise, Robin keeps Little John from running away by pushing him by his false breasts.
A male rhino guard is clearly checking out Little John's butt while he's in drag.
Robin, disguised as a woman, makes off with Prince John's clothes, except his underwear. This is immediately after "she" spent a good deal of time feeding him compliments. Raising the idea of how she probably got him out of those clothes.
After Robin Hood and Maid Marian are married, Skippy remarks, "Robin Hood's gonna have kids, somebody has to keep an eye on things." He may be an innocent child now...
The running "A pox on the phony king of England". "Pox" was often used to mean syphilis, although it was also a general term for disease (as in smallpox, chicken pox etc). The song's probable real-world inspiration, " The Bastard King of England
," is a hilariously filthy song about John getting the clap.
During that very song, Marian seductively wiggles her butt directly at the camera.
During the scene where Skippy sneaks into the castle to get his lost arrow, Lady Kluck quite clearly loses the shuttlecock down her bodice and spends several hilarious minutes dancing around, trying to get it out.
Get Out : In response to the Sheriff telling him that he's gonna preach his neck into a hangman's noose, Friar Tuck yells, "GET OUTTA MY CHURCH!!!!"
Get Thee to a Nunnery : "A pox on you" (in this case, on the phony king of England) is a Shakespearean-era insult meaning, "I hope you get a disfiguring and potentially deadly disease, like smallpox or syphilis." It did also have a more general meaning along the lines of "To heck with you," so it might be a milder case of Getting Crap Past the Radar .
Glasses Girl : Mother Rabbit, who wears glasses and whose personality affects the sense of moe associated with them.
Good Shepherd : As usual, Friar Tuck is a devout and admirable man. A couple of notable examples in which he demonstrates this trait:
When the Sheriff helps himself to the poor box, he flies into a rage not because it cuts into his bottom line but because it's supposed to help the poor.
As a Freeze-Frame Bonus , "Forgive them all" is carved into the wall of Friar Tuck's cell. It may have been put there by a prior tenant, but it would be a characteristic statement for him to write.
In a dangerous situation, Lady Kluck tells Marian " This is no place for a lady! ". She probably meant "Lady" as in " aristocratic Proper Lady " (Kluck's own title is presumably a courtesy one, as she's a Lady-in-Waiting ).
The corpulent Sheriff of Nottingham saying that "that fat friar is gonna hang."
Hypocrite : After he is captured at the archery contest, Prince John calls Robin a traitor to the crown, despite the fact that he unlawfully seized the throne while Richard was off on the Crusades. Robin calls him out on it in the most awesome way possible.
Prince John: But traitors to the crown must die—
Robin Hood: [beside himself in moral outrage] "Traitors to the crown!" That crown belongs to King Richard! LONG LIVE KING RICHARD!
A throwaway line from the Sheriff as he hums; "They call me a slob...but I do my job..."
As stated below, this is implied to be why Trigger and Nutsy weren't arrested.
Karma Houdini :
Trigger and Nutsy are the only villains that aren't arrested. Given that they weren't abusing their power like John, Hiss, and the Sheriff were, this shouldn't be a surprise. They're seen guarding the imprisoned John, Hiss, and the Sheriff for King Richard at the end, so it's clear they just do their job no matter who's on the throne. Either that or they did a Heelï¿½Face Turn .
In the original planned ending, all three of the established baddies — Prince John, Sir Hiss, and the Sheriff of Nottingham — would have more or less gotten a smack on the wrist for their misdeeds; the Sheriff would have even been a guest at Robin & Marian's wedding! Presumably because of the Sheriff's sheer cruelty in the film, instead, he joins Prince John and Sir Hiss in the rock-breaking pit in the finalized ending.
Kid-Appeal Character : Skippy Rabbit is a young boy who admires Robin Hood, much like the audience.
Large Ham : Prince John (Peter Ustinov):
This crown gives me a feeling of power! POWER! Forgive me a cruel chuckle - aheheheh ... power.
When Robin Hood says the crown rightfully belongs to King Richard, Prince John stamps on his throne shouting 'I am King! KING! KING!'.
He's even hammier when things go wrong - he cries for mom and sucks his thumb... and doesn't want to play .
Lean and Mean : Prince John is scrawnier than his benevolent older brother.
Lighter and Softer : Considering it's an adaptation of the legend, it's very comedic and only has some cute cuddly animals.
Limited Animation : In the "Recycled animation every other scene" sense.
Little Bit Beastly : Friar Tuck seems to be borderline, as he lacks the regular coloring of a badger, yet has humanoid ears.
Little "No" : When Little John thinks Robin's dead.
Maid and Maiden : Lady Kluck and Marian respectively. They fit the archetype as the latter is the beautiful and romantic young lady and the former is older and spunkier and takes care of her.
Male Gaze : One of PJ's rhino soldiers wolf-whistles with a flutter of his ears at Little John in drag after checking out "her" butt , enlarged by smuggling solid gold hubcaps.
Man Child : Prince John, who's very whiny, often throws temper tantrums, constantly sucks his thumb and cries very easily.
Misplaced Wildlife :
Any raccoon that shows up in this movie fits this trope because raccoons are native only to the Americas. This may be a Petting Zoo People movie, but this movie takes place in Medieval England, and people in Europe back in the Middle Ages have not heard of raccoons, so this counts as Anachronism Stew as well.
Friar Tuck is seemingly based on an American badger rather than a European badger.
There's also all the crocodiles, vultures, rhinos, elephants, hippos, etc, but it's probably safe to assume the animators knew they weren't typical British wildlife.
The fireflies Little John uses to make the crystal ball glow near the beginning.
Wolves and bears aren't found in Britain now, but would've been at the time.
Money Fetish : Prince John sleeps with bags of taxes.
Mugged for Disguise : Little John ambushes the Sheriff of Nottingham and puts on his clothes during the jailbreak scene. The Sheriff spends the rest of the climax in his underwear.
Musical Exposition : "Oo-De-Lally" introduces Robin Hood and Little John as a pair of Loveable Rogues , and how they have to keep running from the Sheriff's men.
Mythology Gag : There's several call-backs to Disney's Jungle Book film, which was aired six years earlier; Sir Hiss's hypnotic eyes use the exact same pattern of colors as Kaa's did, whilst amongst the "recycled" animation, the scenes of Baloo dancing with King Louie are clearly used as the basis for the shots of Little John dancing with Lady Kluck durin the Phony King of England song.
Neck Lift : Prince John to Sir Hiss. Of course, being a snake, he's pretty much all neck.
Neutral Female : Averted by Maid Marian; she typically isn't of much help when things get dangerous, but she does have a couple of moments where she's actively trying to assist the protagonists.
Nice Job Breaking It, Hero! : The townspeople's appraisals of John as the "Phony King of England" do not sit well with the Prince, and in retaliation he enforces even more aggressive taxes and the arrest of all those who fail to pay. The good people of Nottingham were most certainly not singing by the time he was done.
Nice Mice : The Sexton and his wife. They gave their last farthing to the poor box.
No Gun Safety : The guards are dangerously reckless with their crossbows, one of which has a very unreliable trigger mechanism. Even though "Ol' Betsy" explicitly does have a safety, it just doesn't seem to work very well.
Non-Mammal Mammaries : Lady Kluck (although one shot implies it's not actual cleavage, just a persistent wrinkle in her rather plump form ).
Not Even Bothering with the Accent : Some of the voice actors are real Brits, but some are Australians, and others are Americans best known for Westerns and rural Sit Coms whose accents aren't at all what you'd expect to hear in a film set in medieval England. (Although it is worth noting that rural and Southern accents of American English are a lot more closely related to medieval English than we tend to think — had to come from somewhere, after all.) The very well-spoken English Robin Hood for some reason adopts a Cockney (London) accent when disguised as a stork...from Devonshire! His lack of West Country burr should have blown his cover the moment he opened his beak!
Not-So-Harmless Villain :
Yes Prince John is a cowardly, childish mama's boy, but that doesn't stop him from being a cunning and ruthless tyrant who is a fan of lethal and amoral force.
The Sheriff as well. He's a bumbling goof, but nearly kills Robin in the climax of the film, burning the castle down in the process. He also has no qualms about hitting a dog in his broken leg, stealing a child's birthday money, or stealing the last money from the poor box.
Off Model : During most of the film, characters have four digits—three fingers and a thumb. This is forgotten a number of times.
As the Sheriff is shaking his hands while Friar Tuck is yelling, he has four fingers. When he's finished, though, he's got three again.
When the Sheriff points Trigger's crossbow away, he has four fingers.
Four again when said crossbow fires.
Four fingers appear again when Skip is holding Little John's arm and crying.
Offscreen Teleportation : The turtle when the children climb through the back gate. He is clearly too large to fit through, so when the scene switches, he has suddenly appeared on the other side.
Off with His Head! : What nearly happened to Robin—by order of Prince John, who even quotes the trope verbatim.
The Sheriff's observation of Friar Tuck: "Well, looky there! Friar Tuck, the old do-gooder. He's out doing good again."
The oath used by the rabbit kids: "If I tattletale, I'll die 'til I'm dead."
Shoot the Bullet : In the archery competition, the Sheriff has just scored a bullseye (by cheating). To make sure Robin (in disguise) can't win, the sheriff taps Robin's bow as he releases. The arrow goes in a high arc. Undaunted, Robin nocks another arrow and fires at the first arrow. It hits, changing its direction such that it too hits a perfect bullseye, right through the sheriff's arrow.
Shout-Out :
Lady Kluck's attack on the guards bears a strong resemblance to a football player's charge. She even has her arm curled, as if holding a ball. Plus the angle and perspective of the rhinos who leap to catch her. The music played in this scene is in fact the University of Wisconsin Badgers fight song. Notice the pan to Friar Tuck . Fans refer to this part of the movie as the 'Football Chicken' scene.
Prince John often mentioned that his mother always liked Richard best is a reference to the well-known Smothers Brothers bit "Mom always liked you best", 'you' referring to Dick (aka Richard) Smothers.
Prince John and King Richard are lions. What film came out five years before?
Shur Fine Guns : Trigger's crossbow Ol' Betsy is notoriously unsafe.
Simple Staff : The weapon of choice of both Little John and Friar Tuck. And they demonstrate their proficiency with it very well.
Stock Footage :
Much of the dancing in "The Villain Sucks" Song is recycled from earlier Disney films — including Snow White ! Notable examples include Little John and Lady Kluck dancing like Baloo and King Louie from The Jungle Book , then Maid Marian and Robin Hood dancing like Duchess and O'Malley from The Aristocats - Marian also at one point does the twist and afterwards wiggles her butt in the same manner as Duchess. Later during the song, she dances with some other characters just like Snow White dances with the dwarves.
The shots of marching rhino soldiers are the same shot each time.
More an example of Limited Animation than Stock Footage : After loading all the civilians onto the cart (although as it turns out, missing the baby rabbit), as Little John exclaims "Onward to Sherwood Forest", look at the people on the cart. None of them are moving, not even breathing.
The exact same shot of the children rabbits laughing is used when they first meet Maid Marian and during "The Phoney King of England."
Stout Strength :
Little John, Friar Tuck, and the Sheriff of Nottingham are all grossly fat (though to be fair to John, he is a bear). They're also among the most physically powerful of the named characters in the film (although the Sheriff only really gets to show it in the climax).
On the distaff side, we have Lady Kluck. Just look at the way she took down those rhino guards !!!
Talking Animal : The entire cast. This is the animal kingdom after all.
Un Evil Laugh : Prince John has one of these
, suitably for silly villain like him. (You can hear it at about 1:35 into the video, among other spots.)
The Unfavorite : "Mother always did like Richard best!" Doubly funny because there is historical evidence that she did. Though their father favored John, particularly since he didn't rebel like his three elder brothers.
Villainous B.S.O.D. : A mild form. Mention Prince John's mother around him, and he grabs his ear and begins to suck his thumb. Even while covered in mud:
I've got a dirty thumb.
Villainous Breakdown :
Unfortunately, once the "Phony King of England" himself hears the aforementioned song, it leads to him screaming new decrees about tripling the taxes right at the scared-witless Sheriff's face while strangling Sir Hiss.
After Robin frees all his prisoners, steals all his gold, causes part of his mother's castle to be burned up and escapes with his life, John goes berserk and chases Sir Hiss around with a stick:
Sir Hiss (while running and screaming): Help! He's gone stark raving MAAAAAAAD!!!
Violent Glaswegian : Lady Kluck, with her thick Scottish accent and Boisterous Bruiser attitude, fits this to a T. This is a hen who tackles rhinos... and wins!
King Richard the Lion heart is a magnificently maned lion.
There are also literal church mice, who are poor as church-mice.
White Bunny : The members of the rabbit family are all light gray.
Who Names Their Kid "Dude"? : Referenced:
Sheriff: Crimenently, now I know why yer momma calls ya "Nutsy".
Working on the Chain Gang : The final fate of Prince John, Sir Hiss, and the Sheriff. Although if the notes for Decade are to be believed, they are pardoned eventually (granted they had help).
World of Funny Animals : This is the animal kingdom as designed for pre-teens.
Wouldn't Hurt a Child : During the melee that ensued after the archery tournament, seven-year-old rabbit Skippy shot an arrow at Prince John, which bounced off his rear end. Despite the result, he's guilty of assaulting royalty with a deadly weapon. Yet when he and his family are thrown in jail because they didn't pay their taxes, Skippy isn't singled out for punishment for that. Is it an example of this trope, the censors stepping in, or an oversight? You decide.note That, or it just might be that no one saw Skippy shoot the arrow in the chaos. Prince John was brained by Lady Kluck immediately afterwards, so his attention was on her. This is debatable anyway, as Skippy and his siblings are put in prison, and as they go off during the jailbreak, the rat soldiers have no hesitation at trying to shoot his baby sister while she is running.
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