ReFrederator Blog

Chuck Jones, very much in his Walt Disney wannabe mode, cooked up today’s goodie, “Robin Hood Makes Good.” And like a lot of the late thirties Silly Symphonies , this elaborate Merrie Melody takes a story aimed squarely at very young children and turns it into a visually appealing, subtly ‘acted’ affair practically any audience can enjoy. Three little squirrels play Robin Hood and run afoul a hungry fox —that’s pretty much the whole deal, but I’m thinkin’ if you saw this one when you were a tiny little kid, you probably still remember it.

Much of the punch in the group dynamics of the squirrel brothers is thanks to some superb character animation, and the vocal talents of Bernice Hansen. Ms. Hansen, who does the voices for the two younger rodents, was the unofficial Queen of Cute around this time, and spent hours in the recording studio impersonating Andy Panda, Petunia Pig and others of their cuddly ilk. But she was also a fine actress and comedienne, and put a lot more personality into these types than the average script would suggest. Oh yeah. Mel Blanc’s gleefully creepy fox is memorable too — much more disturbing than the usual Sylvester/Wile E. Coyote school of cartoon carnivore.

We close the book on this week’s literary theme tomorrow.

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Dave Kirwan