Robin Hood

Prepare to have the song stuck in your head for the rest of the day. He's so handsome, just like his reward posters! 1973's Robin Hood was the first feature in the Disney Canon made without Walt's input at all - The Aristocats came out four years after his death, but he'd greenlit the idea. It was also the first to feature no human characters at all, and is notorious for the amount of recycled animation lifted from previous films - something that's been attributed to lack of money, but was actually the result of director Wolfgang Reitherman. Woolie figured if the animation was good enough to be used the first time around, it'd be good enough again. In his mind, it was a safer bet to redo that than try something new that might not work. The original plan was not to make a Robin Hood movie. The idea began as an interpretation of the story of Reynard the Fox, which is why Robin is the species he is. You can definitely see the stylistic origins of Nick Wilde in his face, here, and he's permanently wearing his familiar bycocket hat, which is as synonymous with Robin Hood as a deerstalker is with Sherlock Holmes. (Original recipe, not BBC.) Robin's wearing his simple green tunic with no pants and a pair of green booties. Since he's a fox, you'd expect the tip of his tail would be black, rather than the same rusty orange as everything else, but this is accurate to the movie design. Technically his fur should be a little more magenta than this, and his hat a little more yellow; at the prices Super7 charges, we really expect a figure with no mistakes. Or, well, not "mistakes," per se, but "bad choices"; saying "mistake" suggests that they tried to do it right and something unintentionally went wrong in the process; this seems more like the color choices were designed incorrectly from the beginning, so it was never going to be right. Articulation is decent. Robin of Foxley has swivel/hinges joints at the ankles, knees, tail, wrists, elbows, and shoulders; a balljointed chest and head; swivel biceps and waist; and a hinged neck. The hips have some sort of joint, but I can't say for sure what it is. It seems like it would be another swivel/hinge, but the shape of the legs and the shape of the pelvis mean they don't move as much as you'd think they would, and therefore he's always going to stand kind of bow-legged. Additionally, the figure pulls apart at the waist way too easily (it's not broken, it's for a play feature; we'll get to that soon). Super7 loves giving its figures alternate body parts, and Robin really takes that to new levels. We'll start with the simple: alternate hands shaped to hold smaller accessories, like his bow and arrows, and a second head with a surprised/scared expression. Considering his normal head is cheerful and smiling, that pretty much covers his entire range of emtions for the whole film. What's got him so shocked? Probably the arrow sticking straight through his hat - they nearly gotcha that time, Rob! Where things really get wild is with the rest of the new parts, though. If you remember the movie, you'll recall how Robin goes undercover in Prince John's archery tournament as a stork. This toy lets you act that out, thanks to the inclusion of a third head featuring the faux beak and big, floppy hat. But since that wouldn't be enough to complete the disguise, we also get alternate feathery hands. Three sets, in fact, open or closed to different degrees! The waist pulls apart as we said because there's an alternate set of legs, with a feathered tail instead of his usual furry one. Those legs are sculpted in a permanent squat, and the ankles can plug into a new pair of feet, ones wearing the stilts that gave him his height. Finally, there's a softgoods green smock to cover his body and finish the transformation. Neat! Having two distinct looks for the toy certainly helps up the overall value. Other accessories include a bow, arrow, and quiver for both looks: that is, a plain set of each for when he's Robin Hood, and a shoddy, rustic set for when he's Dr. Stork Storkleton. Sadly, the "stork" arrow isn't the one that was broken in the middle and tied back together, though that would have been fun. Finally, we get his prize for the contest: a small, golden arrow presented on a purple pillow. Getting the bow into the fox hand to hold it is painfully difficult because the hand isn't quite wide enough for it, so you've got force it in there at the cost of your own thumbs. The strap for the stork's quiver should be a little looser, too, since it needs to accommodate his new shirt, and having that bunched up and wrinkled doesn't look great. I was interested in this figure when it was announced, but not enough to preorder it. Or to notice when it came out. But finding it in person at a surprisingly well-stocked store reminded me how much I like the movie and I figured I'd give it a shot. Robin Hood is... fine? The articulation doesn't always make sense, but the fact this basically counts as two characters in one makes the high price feel not as bad as it might otherwise. Super7's Ultimates seem to go on sale pretty regularly now, so maybe wait for a discounted sample. -- 04/03/25 What's the best pop culture version of Robin Hood? Tell us on our message board, the Loafing Lounge.