Robin Hood (1973)
The next few films in Disney's oeuvre are, undoubtedly, some of their roughest. That's not to say they are the absolute worst, but without someone providing a unifying vision, the department seemed scattered and less focused. With all that being said, Robin Hood is still one of Disney's better efforts, and probably my favorite telling of the classic story (though I may be biased). You know it by now, Robin Hood steals from the rich and gives to the poor.
This is Disney's first fully anthropomorphic feature, in which human beings occupy no space within the realm of this world. Robin Hood and Maid Marion are foxes, Little John is a bear (looking exactly like Baloo, and being voiced by Phil Harris), Prince John is a Lion, and the Sheriff of Nottingham is a...something, I'm not sure (voiced by Pat Buttram). Robin Hood is a good time for kids, and definitely delivers the pathos in later scenes where Robin Hood's survival is briefly left unclear (one of the few Disney movies that earns its "the main character is dead PSYCH" ending).
There's a few decent songs, but nothing too memorable. Oo-de-Lally and the Nottingham Ballad will stay with you briefly, but the rest will fall to the wayside. Robin Hood is a solid entertainment, but its not one people always recall when listing off their favorite Disney movies, which is a shame, because its definitely better then some of Disney's other offerings. It also borrows a lot of movements from past Disney films. Watch this if you don't believe me.
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977)
I never realized it, but upon watching Winnie the Pooh after over a decade, I was struck by how brilliant this film is. It was released in 1977, though its a compilation of three Winnie the Pooh shorts that had run in front of other Disney features in the past. In some ways it was a greedy cash grab because it was simply repackaged and released for the public to pay for again, but I'm happy that they did it.
The various plots follow Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore, Piglet, Rabbit, Owl, Kanga, and Christopher Robin on their various adventures through the Hundred Acre woods. There's Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree in which Pooh bear tries to steal honey from a hive, then gets his fat keister stuck in Rabbit's hole and proceeds to eat Rabbit's generous honey stores. Blustery Day focuses on Piglet being a scared little fella, and Tigger Too deals with Rabbit's continued annoyances with Tigger's never ending bouncing.
The way the story is told, though, is a lot of fun. Quite literally this is being read to us from a book, and Winnie the Pooh and friends interact with the text and break the fourth wall several times, talking directly to the narrator. This is tricky as it can be self-serving and lazy, but somehow the writers infuse this technique with its own charm that radiates throughout the film. There is also a sequence, dubbed Heffalumps and Woozles, that features some of Disney's best animation since the Pink Elephants on Parade from Dumbo (1941).
Finally, there's Sterling Holloway, who provides the voice of Winnie the Pooh. A veteran of the Disney stable, and with his own great cast of characters, here Holloway gives his most memorable performance. The voice of Pooh bear has stuck with us for generations and has become the model for anyone filling in for Holloway (who passed away in 1992). The film ends with a poignant scene in which Christopher Robin and Pooh ruminate on the future, and the prospects it holds. That scene resonates now as an adult more then it did when I was a child, and I can say without a doubt that The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh is one of the best Disney films ever made.
The Rescuers (1977)
And with one of Disney's best comes one of Disney's worst. The Rescuers isn't a bad film, but its a boring one and thats almost as condemnable. It was a weird premise: a society of mice answer distress calls from around the world and set off to help those in need. The hapless Bernard (Bob Newhart) and lovely Miss Bianca (Eva Gabor, from AristoCats) are paired together to rescue a little girl being held against her will by some crazy lady. And they set off to rescue her.
The film makes the obvious point that even the littlest of creatures can make a big difference, as Bernard and Miss Bianca convene with several other critters to rescue the little girl, Penny, from her captor, a woman named Madame Medusa who is set on using her to retrieve a rare diamond only she can get because she's the only one small enough to fit down in the hole. Yep. Medusa has two crocodile pets that are the best part of the movie, and provide the funniest scene when Bernard and Bianca hide in an organ and the crocodiles play them out.
But there's no spirit of adventure or fun here, and the movie comes across as mostly flat. Especially notable is Bob Newhart's line readings as Bernard, which are about the most emotionless I think I've ever heard. I know Bob Newhart is a funny man and has a lot of energy, so I'll chalk this up to bad direction, leaving Newhart confused and with no other options but to read the lines in a soporific voice. The Rescuers only runs 78 minutes, but it feels longer, and hardly leaves an impression on you.
The Fox and the Hound (1981)
This one provides a lot of people with fond childhood memories, and is definitely one of Disney's more adult-themed stories. It starts off with the Disney signature of killing the mom and orphaning the hero, a little baby fox who is adopted by a kindly old woman. The fox grows and develops a friendship with the neighborhood puppy, and they become the "Best of Friends." They are Tod (Mickey Rooney) and Copper (Kurt Russell), and they are forced to learn the hard lesson that foxes and hunting dogs cannot grow up to be friends.
This could have been one Disney's best and ballsiest films if they had committed to killing off Chief (Pat Buttram again), Copper's mentor. There's a chase that ensues, in which Chief pursues Tod onto some train tracks, and Chief is hit by a train. This is the catalyst that sets forth the rivalry between Tod and Copper, but I don't buy it because Chief merely breaks his leg and eventually recovers. Now, broken legs are bad, but they are by no means the basis for swearing revenge. Granted Chief's death might have pulled this out of children's territory, since Tod's mother is already killed at the outset, but this would have established the conflict in a more convincing manner.
Still, the film develops the relationship between Tod and Copper well, and we sense the sweet bond of friendship between them. When you're young, the corruption of the world hasn't jaded you, and you don't yet understand prejudice. For delivering those messages alone I applaud this Disney movie, even if I recognize its faults. Oh yeah, it ends with an epic battle with a Grizzly Bear.
The Black Cauldron (1985)
For many, this film represents the absolute nadir of Disney animation. It took 12 years to make, 5 of which involved the actual production. Disney wanted to go to a really dark place with this one, but unfortunately a new face was running the show, Jeffrey Katzenberg, who hated the direction the story was heading and insisted that the animators pull back. When he demanded the film be edited, the animators responded that this was impossible, so he did it himself.
The plot involves a young boy named Taran who dreams of becoming a great knight. One day his magical pig Henwen has a premonition about the Black Cauldron, a device that can raise an unstoppable army of the dead. The Horned King (John Hurt), an evil force ruling the land, wants this Cauldron for himself, so its up to Taran to keep Henwen away from the King for fear she might reveal its secret location. Of course, he ballses it up.
Despite Katzenberg's best efforts, the film still earned a PG rating, a first for Disney animation. You can feel the elements of a great film at work here, but unfortunately the whole thing feels rushed, and you arrive at the climax before you even get started. The problem with a lot of fantasy stories is they need to time to build the world, and let you revel in it. Black Cauldron would have benefitted from more time in the world, but alas Katzenberg had his way.
There's also the character of Gurgi, a love-him or hate-him creature who many would compare to Jar-Jar Binks. Personally I enjoy Gurgi; he's a lighter version of Gollum, dishonest and selfish, until the end when he redeems himself (whereas Gollum doesn't). There's a also a flighty princess and some old codger along for the ride, but again the film is so short it never makes do with them.
This is also the first Disney film since Sleeping Beauty (1959) to be filmed in widescreen; all the rest were animated in a full frame aspect ration and then matted to suit theater's exhibiting standards. Its a look I sorely miss and benefits the film greatly, but it also explains the high production costs and time. Its certainly not the worst Disney film around, but its a shell of what it could have been, and as a result the final product is a weird blend of dark material and comedy that doesn't quite work, and makes the movie forgettable.
Part 6 will cover:
The Great Mouse Detective (1986)
Oliver and Company (1988)
The Little Mermaid (1989)
The Rescuers Down Under (1990)
Beauty and the Beast (1991)
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