Wolfgang ReithermanReviews

A long time ago, in a faraway land, legend tells an extraordinary tale of courage and friendship. Heroic Robin Hood -- along with his trusted companion Little John and his devoted band of merry men -- conjures up one famously funny and daring deed after another to outfox greedy Prince John and bring happiness to the residents of Sherwood Forest.

According to legend, only someone with the purest character and inner strength can pull the enchanted sword from the stone and claim the throne of England. Armed with newfound confidence and the power of friendship, a young orphan named Wart discovers his destiny and learns, with the help of the wizard Merlin, the best magic is the kind found inside the soul.

Acting (Voice): 4.5; Theme: 4.5; Content: 4.5; Language: 5.0; Overall: 4.5

After the birth of King Stefan (Taylor Holmes) and Queen Leah's (Verna Felton) young beautiful daughter, Aurora (Mary Costa), an evil fairy (Maleficent; Eleanor Audley) steps in to curse the young princess. Aurora is pricked by the spindle on a spinning wheel on her sixteenth birthday and now must receive a true love kiss or remain asleep forever. Highly recommend.

***March 28, 2023***½

Acting (Voice): 5.0; Theme: 5.0; Content: 4.5; Language: 5.0; Overall: 5.0

Roger Radcliffe (Ben Wright) and his wife, Anita (Lisa Davis), raise two dalmatians, Pongo (Rod Taylor) and Perdita (Cate Bauer). After Perdita delivers a litter of fifteen puppies, Anita's former schoolmate, Cruella De Vil (Betty Lou Gerson) demands the Radcliffe's sell their small pups to her. Pongo and Perdita soon realize that they have added eighty-six additional puppies along with their own that they must care for. This begins the adventure to save the 101 dalmatians from the cruel Cruella De Vil. Highly recommend.

***March 25, 2023***

After being snubbed by the royal family, a malevolent fairy places a curse on a princess which only a prince can break, along with the help of three good fairies.

When a litter of Dalmatian puppies are abducted by the minions of Cruella De Vil, the owners must find them before she uses them for a diabolical fashion statement.

We have always enjoyed the animation and story and music, especially the exuberance of Baloo and patience of Bagheera with the typical boy-child Mowgli.

mostly photos

A terrible adaptation of the book in every way, but a fine example of that not necessarily making for a bad movie. The score is gorgeous, the characters memorable, the visuals stunning, and it all happens at a brisk enough pace that the rather thin plot never gets overly worn.

Two mice rescue an orphan girl.

Okay. Adorable mice, great art, dumb story.

The puppies are adorable, and the movie is exciting, funny (with a sly poke at television and the kids who watch it), and fun.

Cruella is one of the most memorable villains in the history of the movies -- for good reason. She's loud and mean, and she is willing to wear a coat made of 101 puppies -- what could be worse!

~Commonsense Media

In case the story isn't already familiar: Robin Hood and his friend Little John steal everything they possibly can, right out from under Prince John's nose, and give it to the poor (not that this seems to improve anyone's lives much). Robin's life is a risk-filled, care-free existence, but there's one person he can't get out of his head: his childhood sweetheart, Maid Marian. When he hears about an archery contest in which the winner will get a kiss from her, he can't help but want to take part, even though it's obviously a trap designed to capture him.

This was my first time watching this movie in years, maybe since I was a kid. I vaguely remembered having enjoyed it, although not as much as some of Disney's other movies, and I was curious to see whether a re-watch would highlight similarities between Robin Hood and Zootopia's Nick.

I have to admit, I was a bit disappointed at first. The opening credits were long and boring and felt more like closing credits, as they trotted out all the characters that would be in the movie, and I realized that I have a lot less patience for long Disney songs than I used to. The animation quality wasn't great either. I'm not sure how it compares to other animated movies at the time, but I couldn't help but notice everyone's lack of shadows, and it was incredibly easy to tell that the characters were moving on static painted backgrounds. Also, while I enjoyed the various ways the animators had Sir Hiss's snake body contort and move, his linework tended to shiver a little, almost like he was slightly furry – I'm not sure if that was intentional or a sign of lower quality animation.

I'm torn on the movie's simplicity. On the one hand, I wouldn't be surprised if it still works great for kids, maybe even better than some recent animated movies. On the other hand, it wasn't the kind of movie that would work just as well for adults watching alongside their kids. Nottingham's poverty was ridiculously over-the-top, and when things got worse, literally the only way the writer could show it was by putting the whole town in prison, which just isn't believable unless you turn your brain completely off. I tried to do that, I really did, but then I started to wonder where the heck Robin and Marian were when the whole town was being put in prison, and why none of the townsfolk were mad that they were living happily in the forest while everyone else was practically starving to death, and, well, I guess I'm not very good at turning my brain off. There wasn't any rhyme or reason to most of the various types of animals chosen, either. Zootopia's world-building had its issues, but at least it tried. Robin Hood didn't even do that much.

The main things that saved this movie were the character designs (I loved them, even though I wondered how a fox managed to become a lion's cousin) and Robin Hood's tremendous charm. Brian Bedford did a wonderful job with Robin's voice acting, and the character as a whole was great. I loved Robin's fearlessness as he gleefully robbed Prince John, his dreaminess as he thought about Marian, and his joy as he decided to enter the archery contest. Little John was right, he was too reckless, but he made everything he did look so effortless that it didn't really matter.

I had thought I'd end up noticing a lot of similarities between Robin Hood and Zootopia's Nick, but instead I kept noticing all the differences between them. They were both charming tricksters, but Robin was optimistic and fearless, whereas Nick was cynical and sarcastic. Even their movements weren't as similar as I'd expected.

All in all, this was nice to re-watch, but I still don't feel inclined to buy myself a copy. I'd rather have my current favorite, Zootopia.

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)½

A princess is cursed by an evil sorceress.

Well, that was a huge surprise. I'd thought that by this point Disney had long since given up on the artistic angle and moved on to a more "kid friendly" humor-based appeal. Wrongity wrong wrong. One of the best movies visually, ever - right up there with The Third Man. I'm looking forward to re-watching 101 Dalmations (the next Disney movie chronologically) to see if it's anything like this. (But my hopes aren't high.)

Concept: D
Story: B
Characters: C
Dialog: C
Pacing: B
Cinematography: A
Special effects/design: A
Acting: C
Music: A

Enjoyment: A

GPA: 2.9/4½

Two dalmations rescue their puppies from becoming fur coats.

The first ten minutes are charming, sweet, distinctively stylized and absolutely wonderful. Then Cruella De Vil shows up and it's like a completely different movie - one I couldn't care less about.

Concept: C
Story: D
Characters: D
Dialog: B
Pacing: D
Cinematography: B
Special effects/design: A
Acting: B
Music: C

Enjoyment: C plus

GPA: 2.2/4 (Okay)

A wizard educates a seemingly unimportant boy.

Completely delightful from start to finish. I think this might be my second favorite Disney movie (after Winnie-the-Pooh).

Concept: A
Story: B
Characters: B
Dialog: A
Pacing: A
Cinematography: B
Special effects/design: B
Acting: B
Music: B

Enjoyment: A plus

GPA: 3.5/4

(Apr. 2011)

A boy raised by wolves in the Indian jungle is hated by a tiger.

I'm not nuts about it, but it's pleasant and has enough redeeming bits (like dancing monkeys, evil Sterling Holloway, and generally good character animation).

Concept: B
Story: C
Characters: C
Dialog: B
Pacing: C
Cinematography: B
Special effects/design: B
Acting: B
Music: B

Enjoyment: B

GPA: 2.7/4½

A compilation of Winnie the Pooh shorts.

"Blustery Day" and "Tigger Too" aren't as crazy amazaballs wonderful as "Honey Tree," which is a shame, but they're still delightful. "Honey Tree," though - that is one of the best things ever made. Too bad they don't let you watch them as shorts. It's like watching three movies in a row without a chance to take a breath in the middle - because that's exactly what it is.

Concept: A
Story: B
Characters: A
Dialog: A
Pacing: C
Cinematography: B
Special effects/design: A
Acting: A
Music: A

Enjoyment: A plus

GPA: 3.7/4

A rich woman's butler tries to get rid of her cats.

There's no moral to be learned, no catchy songs, no marketable goofy sidekick, a villain that could not be less threatening, and rarely any action that involves the protagonist. So I can see why this film tends to be one of the less classic of the Disney "classics." But personally, I'd say every one of those points is a plus. Add to that some excellent animation, an adorable mouse played by Sterling Holloway, one or two very funny sequences, a fun score, and cat characters that are perfectly cat-like and believable, and I'd say this is probably one of the top ten Disney cartoons.

Concept: D
Story: D
Characters: B
Dialog: C
Pacing: C
Cinematography: B
Special effects/design: A
Acting: B
Music: B

Enjoyment: B

GPA: 2.5/4½

Robin Hood annoys Prince John.

Cute animals, Roger Miller, and a likable hero - that's all I need.

Concept: B
Story: C
Characters: B
Dialog: B
Pacing: B
Cinematography: B
Special effects/design: A
Acting: B
Music: A

Enjoyment: A

GPA: 3.2/4

(Jan. 2014)½

Humor, spectacle, and magic rule in Walt Disney's legendary classic take, The Sword and the Stone -- now celebrating its 45th Anniversary with exciting new bonus features! Embark on an adventure-filled quest for an unlikely hero! According to legend, only someone with honor, decency, and inner strength can claim the throne of England -- by pulling out the enchanted sward that lies locked in a massive stone. Many brave knights have tried, so it seems impossible that a young apprentice known as Wart could succeed. But with the guidance of the wizard Merlin, help from some hilarious friends, and sure strength of character, Wart just might become England's greatest king. Rated G. 79 minutes.

Walt Disney. Los Clásicos. Núm 17

Walt Disney. Los Clásicos. Núm 21

Walt Disney. Los Clásicos. Núm 23