Robin Hood was released in 1973. Produced by Walt Disney Productions and distributed by Buena Vista Distribution
The film is a re-telling of a story from English folklore. The legend of Robin Hood, Maid Marian, Little John, Friar Tuck, the Sheriff of Nottingham, Prince John, and King Richard. All these characters are portrayed by animals in the film.
Upon a casual viewing of the film you might simply think that it’s an interesting story with fun characters and a couple good songs, but as I dug a little deeper into the film, I began to ask myself: “Who is the hero of this film? Who is the hero of the Robin Hood story?”
I initially considered Prince John. He’s a lion, he’s regal, he’s got a crown. And he’s leading England, so you’d think he might be the hero of this tale. But at the same time he’s kind of a wimp, sucking his thumb all the time. He doesn’t have courage, like a hero should. And he abuses his assistant, Sir Hiss. Prince John’s also pretty stupid, getting fooled by these ridiculous digsuises of fortune tellers.
Okay, so what about the Sheriff of Nottingham? Now that could very well be the hero of our story. He is the sheriff, a member of law enforcement, a civil servant. It’s a dangerous job, and he does it with a great sense of duty and honor, maintaining the system of law and order which protects the citizens. He puts his life on the line every day to recover stolen property and return it to its legal, and therefore rightful, owner: Prince John. The Sheriff of Nottingham is the only thing standing between the people of England and complete and utter chaos. That, to me, is a clear frontrunner for the hero of this motion picture.
Now let’s take a look at Robin Hood himself. He is the star of the movie after all. How would I describe him? Liar. Thief. Impostor. And not just stealing stuff here and there, but he commits grand larceny against the crown, using a pulley system to steal bags and bags of money. This is a huge deal, and was probably the “crime of the century” in England at that time. This is a guy who brazenly breaks the law, contributing to the large crime rate of England. He wears disguises to evade law enforcement. Overall he’s just a pretty disreputable character.
He does have a couple heroic things, though. He’s amazing with the bow and arrow, but even that is tainted by the fact that he entered the archery contest under false pretenses. He cheated, in order words. That’s called fraud, and it has no place in a civil society. So his victory was obviously tarnished and, one might argue, completely devoid of any value.
And, you know, he did give his hat to a kid, which was nice. But when you consider Robin Hood, his complete lawlessness greatly outweighs his heroic qualities. I mean, he has such a total disregard for the rule of law, it’s hard to root for him. Maybe if he just applied himself, he could’ve become a professional archer instead of a free-loading anarchist.
Little John is pretty much an enabler of Robin Hood’s behavior and a frequent accessory to his crimes. He’s so caught up in Robin Hood’s cult of personality that he can’t see him for what he really is: a criminal. Little John is blinded by his admiration for Robin Hood that he actually contributes to his crimes against the state.
And then there’s Friar Tuck. He’s supposed to be a model member of the clergy, a pious, Christian man. Yet, he also enables Robin Hood’s criminal activities, accepting, and thereby encouraging, Robin Hood’s felonies. Hold on a second, let’s see. *flips through Bible* Ah yes, Exodus, here we go. Yes, here we are: “Thou shalt not steal,” does that ring any bells, Friar Tuck? Try practicing what you preach.
This type of hypocrisy can never be considered heroic.
What about Maid Marian? Again: hypocrite! She pretends like she loves poor people, dancing with them in the forest and playing with the poor children, yet she lives in a castle, living a luxurious life, playing badminton. Typical virtue-signaling, SJW celebrity. They don’t really care about poor people. And she’s an enabler of Robin Hood’s criminal activity, just like Little John and Friar Tuck.
So, after considering all these characters, one would have to conclude that the Sheriff of Nottingham is the true hero of the Robin Hood story. Risking his life, in the face of lawless, dangerous bandits, to uphold law and order for English society. I salute you, Sheriff of Nottingham.
Lefty Forrester 