Dashing outlaws and dastardly lawmen collide once again in Disney's appropriately scrappy, talking animal production of a well-worn literary tale. Smartly cast as a thrifty, roguish fox, Robin Hood is the charismatic engine that drives the whole affair. Whether athletically embarrassing palace guards in public, lifting a stash of the king's gold on the sly or winking at gobsmacked kids to share a taste of the day's thrills, he's a mesmerizing character. Dare I say, the animated version is right in-line with Errol Flynn's timeless, entrancing live-action take from thirty-odd years prior. One glance at Robin's optimistic vigor and never-say-die attitude and it's tough to look elsewhere.

After a few lean years, Disney's animation department seems to have turned a corner with Robin Hood. They still take some artistic shortcuts - this film's become notorious for its use of repurposed shots from prior features, plus its copy-and-paste stock animations - but the workmanship is top-notch, bursting with life and detail and smooth, extravagant flourishes in motion. There's an energy to this picture, both in action and appearance, that smooths over most of the rough edges. It's not top-shelf material - neither as ambitious, nor as miraculous as the daunting epics of the studio's past - but few are. As innocent, inoffensive, swashbuckling adventures go, one could do a whole lot worse.

Merry Menagerie!

Disney take on the Robin Hood legend in animation form with family friendly rewards aplenty.

Directed and produced by Wolfgang Reitherman (Sleeping Beauty/The Jungle Book), the voice work comes from Brian Bedford (Robin Hood), Phil Harris (Little John), Monica Evans (Maid Marian), Peter Ustinov (Prince John), Terry-Thomas (Sir Hiss), Andy Devine (Friar Tuck), Roger Miller (Allan-A-Dale), Pat Buttram (Sheriff of Nottingham) and Carole Shelley (Lady Cluck).

All the characters are drawn as animals, with Robin suitably given a fox make-over, plot revolves around the dastardly machinations of Prince John and the Sheriff of Nottingham. Who find themselves hindered considerably by Robin and his band of merry men. Meanwhile Robin and Marian are rekindling their romance on the sideline. It lacks the class of other Disney animation movies, with no songs of note to tap the feet to, but the action is strong (love the archery), Prince John and Sir Hiss are great comedy value, and ultimately it’s a delightful retelling of an often told wonderful legend. 8/10

This probably stands out as the first time I really noticed Disney turn to cast an ensemble of more established "stars" as their voice talents - a wonderfully paired duo of Peter Ustinov and Terry-Thomas as Prince John and "Sir Hiss" as well as Phil Harris as "Little John" and "King of the Road" crooner Roger Miller narrating the whole tale as "Alan-a-Dale" really do animate this story splendidly. Everyone knows the story of Robin Hood - the gent of 12th century English folklore. When the King heads off to fight the Saracens in the crusades, his evil brother remains to extort all he can from the poor population whilst Robin Hood leads the rebellion against this tyrannical regime. The personifications of animals in this film is a masterstroke - and the choice of animals: a snake, fox, bear, lion, badger and even a tortoise all add hugely to the symbolism and fun of this thoroughly enjoyable rendering of the ultimate good v evil tale. I always seem to have a problem with the intrusive scores in Disney's animations - it never seems to let up long enough to let the voices take centre stage, and as such is quite distracting much of the times. That said, I am nit-picking - aside from a rather protracted musical interlude - the action animations are first class and this is a cracking film.