Robin Hood Makes Good

Last updated
Robin Hood Makes Good
Merrie Melodies - Robin Hood Makes Good (1939) - Lobby Card.jpg
Lobby card
Directed by Charles M. Jones
Story byDave Monahan
Produced by Leon Schlesinger
Starring Bernice Hansen
Margaret Hill-Talbot
Mel Blanc [1]
Music by Carl W. Stalling
Animation by Bob McKimson [2]
Color process Technicolor
Distributed by Warner Bros.
The Vitaphone Corporation
Release date
  • February 11, 1939 (1939-02-11)
LanguageEnglish

Robin Hood Makes Good is a 1939 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon short, directed by Chuck Jones and written by Dave Monahan. [2] The short was released on February 11, 1939. [3]

Contents

Plot

A video in the restored version for the short.

Three little squirrels, after reading a book about Robin Hood, decide to act out the part of the legendary medieval outlaw. The smallest of the three declares that he will be Robin Hood, prompting the middle squirrel to breathe down his neck and demand, "Who's gonna be Robin Hood?", prompting an intimidated reply of "You're gonna be Robin Hood!" In turn, the biggest squirrel bullies the middle one, "Who's gonna be Robin Hood?" "You're gonna be Robin Hood!".

That decided, the Robin Hood squirrel names the middle squirrel as Little John, leaving the grumbling smallest squirrel to play the unwanted role of the Sheriff of Nottingham. The small squirrel trudges off to await the inevitable song-and-dance attack of Robin Hood and Little John, while a fox, lurking on the side, sees them as his dinner and devises a ruse through which he pipes up, in a falsetto voice, claiming to be Robin's sweetheart Maid Marian in trouble. Robin and Little John follow the bait into the fox's cabin, whereupon the fox drops his pretense and his falsetto and hangs the two up by their breeches on the wall, declaring his intention to make a stew out of them.

The smallest squirrel, looking in from the outside of the cabin, devises a plan to save his friends. By means of voice imitations and sound effects, he makes the fox believe that hunters are after him. After he literally turns yellow and panics, in fear of his life, he runs away at maximum speed, beating the cabin door which accompanies him upright on his flight into fantasy. After being untied offscreen by the smallest squirrel, the two exit the cabin, only to be greeted by the latter, who asks them, "Who's gonna be Robin Hood?" with a grin.

Reception

The Film Daily (March 6, 1939) : Funny Squirrels: "The adventures of three squirrels who find a book all about the career of Robin Hood. So they decide to emulate the ancient hero, and merry outlaws of the woods start on adventure bent. A fox reads the book they have discarded, and starts taking advantage of their make-believe game. He lures the two older squirrels into a log cabin, locks them in and prepares to make a nice meal. The younger squirrel rescues them and as his reward insists on being Robin Hood". [4]

Related Research Articles

<i>Merrie Melodies</i> Cartoon series owned by Warner Bros. (1931–1969 and 1988–1997)

Merrie Melodies is an American animated comedy short film series distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. It is the partner series to Looney Tunes and featured many of the same characters. It originally ran from August 2, 1931, to September 20, 1969, during the golden age of American animation, though it was revived in 1979, with new shorts sporadically released until June 13, 1997. Originally, Merrie Melodies placed emphasis on one-shot color films in comparison to the black-and-white Looney Tunes films. After Bugs Bunny became the breakout character of Merrie Melodies and Looney Tunes transitioned to color production in the early 1940s, the two series gradually lost their distinctions and shorts were assigned to each series randomly.

Sniffles (<i>Merrie Melodies</i>) Warner Bros. theatrical cartoon character

Sniffles is an animated cartoon and comic-book mouse character in the Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies and Looney Tunes series of cartoons and comics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Petunia Pig</span> Warner Bros. theatrical cartoon character

Petunia Pig is an animated cartoon character in the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons from Warner Bros. She looks much like her significant other, Porky Pig, except that she wears a dress and has pigtailed black hair.

Foxy (<i>Merrie Melodies</i>) Warner Bros. theatrical cartoon character

Foxy is an animated cartoon character featured in the first three animated shorts in the Merrie Melodies series, all distributed by Warner Bros. in 1931. He was the creation of animator Rudolf Ising, who had worked for Walt Disney in the 1920s.

<i>Goldilocks and the Jivin Bears</i> 1944 film

Goldilocks and the Jivin' Bears is a 1944 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Friz Freleng and produced by an uncredited Eddie Selzer. The short was released on September 2, 1944.

<i>Rabbit Hood</i> 1949 film by Chuck Jones

Rabbit Hood is a 1949 Merrie Melodies cartoon released on December 24, 1949. The entry was directed by Chuck Jones and written by Michael Maltese, and features Bugs Bunny.

<i>Wackiki Wabbit</i> 1943 film by Chuck Jones

Wackiki Wabbit is a 1943 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon, starring Bugs Bunny. It was released on July 3, 1943, and was written by Tedd Pierce and directed by Chuck Jones.

<i>Little Red Walking Hood</i> 1937 animated short film by Fred Avery

Little Red Walking Hood is a 1937 Merrie Melodies cartoon supervised by Fred Avery. The short was released on November 6, 1937, and features the first appearance of an early character who later became Elmer Fudd.

My Green Fedora is a 1935 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies animated short film directed by Friz Freleng. The short was released on May 4, 1935.

Suppressed Duck is a 1965 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes theatrical cartoon directed by Robert McKimson and written by David Detiege. The short was released on June 18, 1965, and stars Daffy Duck. It is Daffy's only solo cartoon in the DePatie–Freleng series.

<i>Corn on the Cop</i> 1965 film

Corn on the Cop is a 1965 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies animated short directed by Irv Spector, in his only directorial work on a theatrical cartoon. The short was released on July 24, 1965, and stars Daffy Duck, Porky Pig and Granny.

The Fair-Haired Hare is a 1951 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes cartoon starring Bugs Bunny and Yosemite Sam. Released April 14, 1951, the cartoon was directed by Friz Freleng. The voices were performed by Mel Blanc.

Mucho Locos is a 1966 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Robert McKimson. The short was released on February 5, 1966, and stars Daffy Duck and Speedy Gonzales.

Little Red Rodent Hood is a 1952 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies animated short directed by Friz Freleng. The short was released on May 3, 1952, and stars Sylvester in a spoof of "Little Red Riding Hood".

Viva Buddy is a 1934 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes cartoon directed by Jack King. The short was released on December 12, 1934, and stars Buddy, the second star of the series.

<i>Hamateur Night</i> 1939 film

Hamateur Night is a 1939 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Tex Avery and written by Jack Miller. The short was released on January 28, 1939 and features an early version of Elmer Fudd.

<i>Fox Pop</i> 1942 film

Fox Pop is a 1942 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies color cartoon short supervised by Chuck Jones. The short was released on September 5, 1942.

Moonlight for Two is a 1932 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Rudolf Ising. The short was released on June 11, 1932, and stars Goopy Geer, one of the few recurring characters in the early Merrie Melodies series.

Three's a Crowd is a 1932 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Rudolf Ising. The short was released on December 10, 1932.

References

  1. ↑ Scott, Keith (2022). Cartoon Voices from the Golden Age, 1930-70. BearManor Media. p. 34. ISBN   979-8-88771-010-5.
  2. 1 2 Beck, Jerry; Friedwald, Will (1989). Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons. Henry Holt and Co. p. 84. ISBN   0-8050-0894-2.
  3. ↑ Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pp. 104–106. ISBN   0-8160-3831-7 . Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  4. ↑ "The Film Daily (Jan-Mar 1939)". The Film Daily. p. 481.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.