Hood does look dated in its animation style but it’s still a rollicking good time the entire family, especially with young children, will enjoy. The story of course is familiar but getting that Disney spin makes it stand out.
Robin Hood:40th Anniversary Edition (1973)
Genre(s): Animation, Fantasy, Family
Disney | G – 83 min. – $36.99 | August 6, 2013
MOVIE INFO:
Directed by: Wolfgang Reitherman
Writer(s): Larry Clemmons (story)
Voice Cast: Roger Miller, Peter Ustinov, Brian Bedford, Monica Evans, Phil Harris
Theatrical Release Date: November 8, 1973 (NY), December 21, 1973 (LA)
DISC INFO:
Features: Featurettes, Deleted Scenes, Art Gallery, Sing-Along, DVD Copy, Digital Copy
Number of Discs: 2
Audio: English (DTS-HD MA 5.1), English (Dolby Digital 2.0), French (DTS-HD HR 5.1), Spanish (Dolby Digital 5.1), Portuguese (Dolby Digital 5.1)
Video: 1080p/Widescreen 1.75
Subtitles: English
Disc Size: 34.1 GB
Codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Region(s): A, B, C
THE MOVIE
Join Robin Hood (voiced by BRIAN BEDFORD), his trusted companion Little John (PHIL HARRIS) and his hilarious band of Merry Men as they outfox greedy Prince John (PETER USTINOV) to save the good people of Nottingham. Dashing from one daring deed to the next, Robin won’t rest until he wins the hand of Maid Marian (MONICA EVANS) and restores King Richard to the throne.
SPECIAL FEATURES – 1.0/5
This release comes with a glossy and embossed slip cover. Inside is a standard DVD Copy and a Digital Copy download code.
Deleted Storyline: “Love Letters” (7:33; SD) – Here we get a storyline removed and shown here in rough form.
Alternate Ending (4:34; SD) is shown similarly to the storyline one with sketches used to fill in the new material as it’s intermixed with the final film portions.
Disney Song Selection allows viewers to jump right to their favorite song(s).
Also included is an Art Gallery, Storybook, a Sing-Along with the Movie option, Sing-Along to the song “Oo-De-Lally” and “Ye Old Days” Bonus Short (8:18; SD).
VIDEO – 4.0/5
Buena Vista Home Entertainment releases Robin Hood onto Blu-ray presented with a 1.75 widescreen aspect ratio and in 1080p high-definition. The picture looks like it received a good scrubbing showing some nice signs of life with bright colors and deep black levels. On the negative side, and it’s minor, there are some banding issues and although it’s nice having this cleaned up and in HD, it also shows off a low-rent animation style.
AUDIO – 4.25/5
The disc includes an adequate to good 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track which shows off with clear dialogue via the center channel while the front and rear channels primarily get used for ambient noises or George Bruns’ score.
OVERALL – 3.0/5
Overall, Robin Hood does look dated in its animation style but it’s still a rollicking good time the entire family, especially with young children, will enjoy. The story of course is familiar but getting that Disney spin makes it stand out. The Blu-ray released by Buena Vista does have solid audio/video transfer but the bonus material is severely lacking.
Published: 07/28/2013