The Adventures of Robin Hood

This animated version of the Robin Hood legend manages to check all the boxes in a one-hour film: fight with Little John; fight with Friar Tuck; Will Scarlett ("Scarlock in the film"); Maid Marian, etc.). A nice element added to this version that I had not seen in other versions is Marian's lady-in-waiting disguising herself so that Marian could get word to Robin. The writing is excellent and the voices fit the characters well.

But this is for children. The script does not work at two levels, one for adults and one for children, like the best animation films done today. And the animation is Saturday-morning quality.

For parents, the violence is a bit stronger than you may want, like the Road Runner. The director tries to tone it down, but there are sword-fights and people constantly getting conked on the head: not quite PG, but close.

While not my favourite Robin Hood version(the Errol Flynn film) The Adventures of Robin Hood is still very enjoyable stuff. I was a little mixed on the animation quality, the forest backgrounds were well done and colourful but some of the character designs seemed stiff at times. However the music is suitably rousing, the dialogue has the wit and fun you'd associate with the Robin Hood stories and while occasionally rushed the story has some ideas that will be familiar to people and explores them in an entertaining way while also exploring all kinds of life lessons such as injustice that children and adults alike will appreciate. The characters are just as compelling, the titular character is daring and charismatic, the Sheriff suitably dastardly, Robin Hood's followers loyal and Maid Marian as lovely as you'd expect. And the voice acting is solid. On the whole, very enjoyable. 8/10 Bethany Cox