I think Robin Hood has had a bit of a critical Renaissance in the years since this piece was ran; Time Out New York did a "top 100 animated movies" piece last year, and Robin Hood finished a fairly respectable 81st. Not bad for "worst Disney movie." For context, out of the 53 "Disney Animated Canon" movies, 20 made the list, and Peter Pan and Alice in Wonderland ranked lower than Robin Hood. It only lost to Frozen, Wreck-It Ralph, Tangled, The Lion King, Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, The Jungle Book, 101 Dalmations, Sleeping Beauty, Lady and the Tramp, Cinderella, Bambi, Dumbo, Fantasia, Pinocchio and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
On the other hand, it beat Winnie the Pooh, The Princess and the Frog, Bolt, Meet the Robinsons, Chicken Little, Home on the Range, Brother Bear, Treasure Planet, Lilo & Stitch, Atlantis the Lost Empire, The Emperor's New Groove, Dinosaur, Fantasia 2000, Mulan, Hercules, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Pocahontas, The Rescuers Down Under, Oliver & Company, The Great Mouse Detective, The Black Cauldron, The Fox and the Hound, The Rescuers, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, The Aristocats, The Sword in the Stone, The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad, Melody Time, Fun and Fancy Free, Make Mine Music, The Three Caballeros and Saludos Amigos. Big Hero 6 was probably too late to have a chance to be voted on; it probably wouldn't have made it, but then it definitely shouldn't have won the Oscar, either, so who knows?
The quick little blurb mentions the "Robin Hood as Western" theme I talked about three years ago, which seems to be the major "redemptive" reading of the movie, though it does note (in a couched, film critic sort of way) that the real virtue here is "it's fun". Of course, I don't think anyone doubts its place in the formation of the furry "aesthetic;" I wonder if that might become it's redemptive reading some day.
AWISE FWOM YUOR GWAVE!
I think Robin Hood has had a bit of a critical Renaissance in the years since this piece was ran; Time Out New York did a "top 100 animated movies" piece last year, and Robin Hood finished a fairly respectable 81st. Not bad for "worst Disney movie." For context, out of the 53 "Disney Animated Canon" movies, 20 made the list, and Peter Pan and Alice in Wonderland ranked lower than Robin Hood. It only lost to Frozen, Wreck-It Ralph, Tangled, The Lion King, Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, The Jungle Book, 101 Dalmations, Sleeping Beauty, Lady and the Tramp, Cinderella, Bambi, Dumbo, Fantasia, Pinocchio and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
On the other hand, it beat Winnie the Pooh, The Princess and the Frog, Bolt, Meet the Robinsons, Chicken Little, Home on the Range, Brother Bear, Treasure Planet, Lilo & Stitch, Atlantis the Lost Empire, The Emperor's New Groove, Dinosaur, Fantasia 2000, Mulan, Hercules, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Pocahontas, The Rescuers Down Under, Oliver & Company, The Great Mouse Detective, The Black Cauldron, The Fox and the Hound, The Rescuers, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, The Aristocats, The Sword in the Stone, The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad, Melody Time, Fun and Fancy Free, Make Mine Music, The Three Caballeros and Saludos Amigos. Big Hero 6 was probably too late to have a chance to be voted on; it probably wouldn't have made it, but then it definitely shouldn't have won the Oscar, either, so who knows?
The quick little blurb mentions the "Robin Hood as Western" theme I talked about three years ago, which seems to be the major "redemptive" reading of the movie, though it does note (in a couched, film critic sort of way) that the real virtue here is "it's fun". Of course, I don't think anyone doubts its place in the formation of the furry "aesthetic;" I wonder if that might become it's redemptive reading some day.