Oh Oh De Lally

Day 25) Your Favorite Disney Classic

Robin Hood (1973)

So this is one of the best Disney films. Many have not seen it, so it remains a beloved little known classic. It is also one of the best depictions of Robin Hood ever made. You know why? Because the person they use for Robin Hood is perfect:

So just like The Great Mouse Detective this film also uses animals instead of people to tell the story, and each one was perfect for the character they are supposed to portray.

The film is told by the minstrel Alan-a-Dale, who is played by a rooster, of which is perfect because he is never quiet. He starts to tell us the story of Robin Hood who is a fox (literally and figuratively) and Little John, a bear. The two live in Sherwood Forest and rob from the rich and give to the poor. You see the people of Nottingham are not doing very well. King Richard (a lion as he was called Richard the Lionhearted) is in the Middle East fighting the crusades, and his brother John is in charge. Prince John sucks as a ruler (and sucks his thumb) and is heavily taxing the people. He leaves the  dirty work to the Sheriff of Nottingham (a wolf) and his posse. The Sheriff tries to catch Robin and Little John, but fails every time.

So the film starts off with Prince John charging through the forest and stopping to get his fortune read by two Gypsy women. And those women turn out to be…you guessed it Robin and Little John. The two dressed up to rob whoever was coming through and decide to take down Prince John.

Sir Hiss tries to warn Prince John that the two can’t be trusted and sure enough Prince John gets robbed blind. The guards try and chase the two and fail, fail miserably.

We then see  Friar Tuck visiting the poor, such as an injured blacksmith. He tries to give him the earnings that Robin Hood won for him, but  who should come along? The big, bad, wolf Sheriff. Yep

 The Sheriff then goes to visit a family of rabbits, one of which is celebrating their b-day and he takes all their money, the rabbit Skippy’s b-day present.

But soon a blind beggar comes on the screen who is secretly…you guessed it Robin Hood. And he makes everything better

Robin gives the rabbits some money, along with his bow and arrows, for  Skippy’s b-day present.

The kids scurry off to test it out, sending an arrow into Prince John’s castle grounds. Luckily the group doesn’t run into Prince John, but Maid Marian, Robin Hood’s sweetheart (also a fox) and her lady-in-waiting, Lady Kluck (a chicken). They all play act, with Marian discussing her love for Robin and hope that he feels the same way. Lady Kluck assures her that there is no way would he forget her. After all:

Back with the boys, Robin and Little John get a visit from Friar Tuck who has told them about an archery tournament that Prince John is hosting. Prince John was enraged by how Robin embarrassed him and decided he was going to take Robin down. He knew that an archery contest would be impossible for Robin to resist. Especially if the prize was a kiss from Maid Marian.

Robin pf course can’t resist, no matter what they say and decides that he is going to go. But he comes up with a crazy plan to get in:

So the two head out to the competition. Little John dresses up as the Duke of Chutney and Robin is a stork. Sir Hiss figures out who hey are, but Friar Tuck and Alan-a-Dale locks him up in a barrel of ale.

So Robin competes and of course, wins.

Robin wins, but Prince John unmasks him and is about to execute him when he has a sudden change of heart. He wants to let Robin go.

It turns out that Little John is holding him at knifepoint, only to be caught by the Sheriff. What follows is craziness, chaos, and comedy. 🙂

 So the group hurries off to the forest where they have a great time making fun of Prince John.

Robin and Marian also fall in love again.

But while that is going good, back in the castle trouble is brewing. Prince John is angry. He decides he is going to heavily tax the people, taking everything. When he takes the poor box from the church, Friar Tuck becomes so enraged that he starts fighting the sheriff.

Them’s fighting words!

The Sheriff arrests him and they decide to hang Friar Tuck to capture Robin Hood. I don’t know why but my sis and I would randomly say this all the time in his accent. “Hang Friar Tuck?”

Anyways, so this is when we get spend some time with Sheriff’s minions, Trigger and Nutsy. It’s hilarious. I love how Nutsy announces every hour and says “All’s well!”.

Robin decides that he is going to do a jailbreak and steal all the money.

 

Everyone escapes, except Robin as he went back to save a baby and missed getting out. Him and Prince John have a fight in which he manages to escape, but  causes the castle to burn. Robin leaps from a tower into the moat below, all the while being pelted by arrows. Little John and Skippy watch and think he is dead, only to see him emerge unharmed after using a reed as a breathing tube.  King Richard returns to England, placing his brother and his cohorts under arrest and allows Robin and Maid Marian to be married and leave Nottingham with Little John and Skippy in tow.

Love that movie!

For more on Robin Hood (1973), go to Snakes on a Post

For more on Disney animals, go to Wake Up Dad

For more on Disney animated films, go to The Boys are Back in Town

For more on Disney Royalty, go to And Away We Go

For more films based on books, go to I Could Kiss You

For more films in which the main characters disguise themselves, go to This Isn’t Love, This is Ecstasy

For more on Persuasion, go to A Letter of Love

For more of my favorite quotes, go to Beautifully Miserable 

 

And Away We Go

Day 23) Your Favorite Disney Ride

I do not have a favorite ride as it is much too hard to pick just one, so these are my top 6 favorites.

6) King Arthur’s Carousel

I just love carousels and merry-go-rounds! They are just some of my absolute favorite rides. I think it was because I wanted to be a cowgirl when I was little and this was the closest I could ever get to being one. When I went to Great America for my senior trip, I rode their carousel like 7 times. I love King Arthur’s Carousel because it shows images from Sleeping Beauty and The Sword in the Stone. When I went in March, I searched that thing for the perfect horse, and ended up with this beautiful Arabian. 🙂

5) The Matterhorn

Always a fav of mine. One of the earliest roller coasters ever created and one of the best. In March, we rode it a gajillion times as it has the fastest moving line of all rides. I’m not kidding. Also if you guys sit in the bobsleds and shift to the sides in proper time (like a real bobsled) you totally go faster. It’s amazing.

4) Indiana Jones

Now I just love the Indiana Jones film series, so how can you not love the ride? It is an amazing ride that combines some of the best scenes from Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Temple of Doom. Plus you get to see Indiana in there. In March my friends and I rode it like three times in one day. After our final ride they had to close it down for repairs as something was off.

3) Space Mountain

So I have been to Disneyland three times, when I was 5, 12, and this past March. When I was 5 I couldn’t go on Space Mountain as I was too young and short. I do remember growing up, everyone would say it was the best ride ever. Then when I went when I was 12, the ride was down for repairs. So when I went in March, my friends couldn’t stop raving about it and how awesome it is. They insisted I sit in the front, and am glad I did! IT WAS AMAZING! Words cannot describe how cool this ride is, we must have gone on it like 4 times.

2) Star Tours

Now if you have been paying attention at all to any of my posts, you have probably become aware of how obsessed I am with Star Wars. Now I have always loved this ride, but let’s face it, the old version was kinda boring. When I heard they had updated it, I couldn’t wait to check it out. My ex went in September of ’13 for his birthday, and I kept grilling him about the ride. So in March when I got to go I was so stoked! It is AMAZING! They redid the outside waiting area so it is like you are in a real airport, they have announcements, departures, arrivals, weather forecasts, etc. Then when you go in and sit in your seats Darth Vader comes on the screen trying to get a rebel spy. It depends on the version, but on one trip Princess Leia asked us to help her as we were her only hope. Then you get chased all over by stormtroopers, until you reach the rebel base. It is awesome!!!!

1) Sleeping Beauty’s Castle

So this was a huge fav of mine as Princess Aurora is my favorite Disney Animated princess. I loved her and wanted to be her and wanted my own Prince Phillip.

So this castle is awesome as Walt Disney told his designers it had to look exactly like the castle from their upcoming Disney film, Sleeping Beauty. It caused some issues, but Disney would not be persuaded, it had to be a match.

Anyways, when I was 12 Sleeping Beauty’s castle was closed for repairs. It was right before the 50th anniversary so they were redoing the whole inside. I was so heartbroken. So when we went in March I had to go in it, I couldn’t wait. This is so amazing as they added more scenes from the story and the special effects are sooooo cool. I love it.

For more on Disneyland, go to Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride

For more in King Arthur, go to Disney Lesson

For more on carousels, go to I Wanna Get Off This Ride

For more on Star Wars, go to They’re Alive

For more on Darth Vader, go to Happy Father’s Day

For more on Princess Leia, go to A Hidden Wonder

For more on Sleeping Beauty, go to You’re Just So Pretty to Look At

For more on Princess Aurora, go to That Would Make Me Happy

For more on Prince Phillip, go to Prince of a Man

For more on a Disney Animated Film, go to The Boys Are Back in Town

For more on Disney, go to He’s My Brother

For more on a Disney Prince, go to Wake Up, Dad

For more on a Disney Princess, go to Diamond in the Rough

For more on my height disadvantages, go to I’m Not Short!

I’m No Warrior, I’m an Assistant Pig-Keeper: The Black Cauldron (1985)

I’m no warrior…I’m an assistant pig-keeper

So I was never allowed to watch this film as a kid. My mother thought it would scare me. I grew up liking the author Lloyd Alexander, as I have read his book Time Cat. This year I decided that I would finally read The Chronicles of Prydain series, of which The Black Cauldron is a part of. The book series was really good except I wish the Horned King was in more of it and as the series wraps itself up, the books don’t hold up to the beginning ones.

So the film The Black Cauldron is a compilation of the first two books in the series; The Book of Three and The Black Cauldron. I thought the film was okay. Some parts of the film were good; while others a tad corny. I do recommend it to everyone as the end was really good.

Taran was perfect! They made him in that awkward age of when a boy wants to be a man, but hasn’t quite reached the right age of maturity. They depicted his superior side, as he thinks he’s better than Eilonwy; along with showing him leaving behind his immature side and becoming a real man.

As he makes the right decision of giving up his magic sword to get the black cauldron and destroy it.

Eilonwy was also fantastic. They captured her attitude of trying to do everything and being extremely brave; but at the same time not always listening to others or doing what needs to be done. She can be really impulsive and imagine slights that aren’t there. She is also kind; along with not only helping Taran, but leading him as well.

Fflewddur Fflam was also perfect. He was older than I imagined him; but captured the boasting, brave, singer. I loved him at the end. He was hilarious as he tries to bargain with the witches.

Gurgi was adorable, I actually had a toy figure of him that I got from McDonalds, but I never knew who he was until I watched the film. They captured his constant hunger and good heart; but he was unfortunately much more cowardly than he was ever in the book. When he sacrifices himself, it was so sad. It made you feel guilty for originally thinking him annoying. This was never how I saw Gurgi, as I always imagined him more like this pokemon:

For some reason he always brought the image of a monkey-like creature to my mind.

Sorry, this is the only pic I could find of Doli. I thought they captured his character so well. He was a grumpy, complaining, elf. The only thing I wish they had done was make him a bit bigger and have him turn invisible.

The witches were also good. I did notice that Orddu resembles Madame Medusa from The Rescuers. I wish I had a better pic of it, but I couldn’t find one. If you watch the film you will notice the resemblance.

Of course there was the pièce de résistance. the Horned King!

He was extremely creepy! I loved it. He probably would have freaked me out as a kid. He is on par with the Headless Horseman. He was so creepy and scary!

Check out the trailer!

So that’s today’s frightful Friday. More posts to come.

Here’s a cover page/poster I made for my facebook as part of my countdown to Halloween

To start Horrorfest from the beginning, go to I Don’t Belong in the World

To go to the previous post, go to A Halloween Hello from the Austen Men

For more on The Black Cauldron, go to A Hidden Wonder

For more Disney Animated Film, go to A Fright on Halloween Night

For more films based on books, go to I Bid You Welcome

For more ’80s film, go to Boom Box of Love

For more on Emma, go to Bad Penny

For more on Lloyd Alexander, go to Pot o’ Gold