Liberiamo Robin Hood

Robin Hood's men are gathered in the forest full of doom and gloom. He has been captured, imprisoned and is for the drop, for sure - unless "Jerry" and his new nappy-clad pal can spring him from under the watchful eye of the alert "Tom" - complete with halberd and an helmet he can put to reverberating use! The usual to-and-fro antics now ensue as the two mice attempt to secure the key to the cell, and release their leader - more difficult now that it is deep in the wine-swirled belly of the cat! Can they retrieve it and help Robin escape? I did quite enjoy this but the little add-on mouse did annoy a bit - what accent was he supposed to have? A bloomin' Londoner singing "Bonne Bonnie Banks of Loch Lomond"? Methinks not, but it's still an enjoyable mediaeval romp with everyone living to fight another day.

As was the case with most cartoon studios in the 1950's, Robin Hoodwinked shows obvious and dramatic cost cutting. If you notice in the credits, only Ken Muse is the animator from the glory days. Not to slam the other fellows, but when compared to the 1940's and early 50's shorts, this one falls down in terms of style, animation quality, and overall appearance. Its a good story though and its been done countless times both in animation and film. As would be the case with future HB efforts, this one has dialoge. Lots of it. This would be a hallmark of HB in the 60's onward as the animation quality was in a state of irretrievable decline. Keep in mind that a T&J cartoon from the 40's cost nearly 60K to produce! Obviously with the advent of television and the decline in movie attendance, MGM was not keen on shelling out big bucks to produce these cartoons. Thus, when Fred Quimby left in 1955, HB took over both direction and production. Faced with declining budgets, animation quality suffered. Still, this cartoon is entertaining. The faked English accent gets a bit unnerving and Jerry is reduced to a bit part role in this outing. Its quite a departure from the earlier cat vs. mouse conflict that served T&J so well. In later shorts such as Tot Watchers, we even see T&J buddy up as a team. Again, the formula would work if only we hadn't known T&J from a bygone era.

There are many classic Tom and Jerry cartoons. Robin Hoodwinked doesn't quite hold that distinction, but it has and is a lot of fun(though I do think Down Beat Bear is the last Tom and Jerry cartoon that I deem as truly great). Certainly far better than what was going to come later. Tuffy's voice and dialogue do get annoying after a while and the story is one of those you've seen a few times before that you're not all surprised by the outcome. I was surprised by the animation though, the colours are beautiful and there is some good detail(Sherwood Forest is particularly well done), easily one of their better-looking cartoons without Fred Quimby in charge. The music is catchy, lushly orchestrated and does really well enhancing the action, and the pacing is crisp and snappy. The main story point of Robin Hoodwinked is Tuffy trying to get the key from Tom's stomach, and that was fun to watch without feeling too overextended. Tuffy's drunken reaction to the booze that Tom swallows is priceless. Tom is a suitably dastardly foil and Jerry has some neat facial expressions. Tuffy is a character here that you'll either like or not, and while I think his voice and dialogue get too much he does have enough amusing moments that allow him some likability at least. All in all, a lot of fun if not among Tom and Jerry's classic masterpieces. 8/10 Bethany Cox

This cartoon features the little mouse who was initially named Nibbles, a name that was changed to Tuffy at some point (probably when he became an action hero or shortly thereafter) by the powers that be. Nibbles (excuse me, Tuffy) speaks a great deal here, in order to move the plot along, but, while the dialogue is often funny, after a while, you wish the part had gone to Marcel Marceau. Failing that, at least elocution lessons would seem to have been advisable. Cute cartoon along the lines of the Mouseketeer series, one which has a cautionary warning on the dangers of strong spirits, which may lead the consumer to break out in song at inopportune moments, as well as neglecting to be aware of their surroundings. Well worth watching. Most recommended.

Robin Hood has been captured and locked up in jail. Brave mice Jerry and Tuffy decide to break him out, but in order to do so they need to get past guard Tom first.

I like the idea of the setting for this cartoon—it's original, at the very least—but what the hell is going in with Tuffy's voice? The little mouse's English accent is worse than Dick Van Dyke's. Blooming this and blooming that! By the end of the cartoon, I was hoping that one of those arrows had hit the mouse rather than just snagging his nappy.

3/10. Blooming bad.