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Disney's Robin Hood (1973) had arguably the longest gestation of any Disney film, starting in the '30s as an adaptation of the Medieval tales about Reynard the fox. Most of the original narrative was eventually scrapped, but Reynard survives partly in its character designs (1/19)
Disney artist Ken Anderson's designs drew strongly on Keith Ward's illustrations for a 1945 edition of the tales, titled "The Scandalous Adventures of Reynard the Fox." Let's look at some parallels in character and staging (2/19)
Spying through the bushes (3/19)
Mother's mirror! (4/19)
The Reynard tales have a lot of disguise, including some performances in drag (5/19)
We've hit the jackpot! (6/19)
One of the rare tales in which Reynard the fox and Isengrim the wolf cooperate, here in order to steal from a wagon (7/19)
The Sheriff of Nottingham is partly based on Brown the bear (8/19)
Robin is a kindly surrogate father figure to Skippy — definitely not how Reynard treats hares and rabbits (there's some...uh...decapitation involved) (9/19)
Reynard and King Lion have a pleasant chat while the Snake looks glum — seem familiar? (10/19)
The arrest and trial of Reynard is a major part the Medieval tales (you can also see in the picture with Reynard in the cart how Anderson combined Brown the bear and Isengrim the wolf to make his Sheriff of Nottingham) (11/19)
Another view of the trial (12/19)
That crown belongs to King Richard! (note, in this part of the Reynard story, the fox isn't attacking King Lion, but instead trying to redirect his wrath elsewhere) (13/19)
Jailbreak! (in the Reynard tale, the fox is advising the cat about how to break in and capture mice) (14/19)
The lion in his regal bed (15/19)
Reynard manages to escape the wolf Isengrim in hot pursuit — oo-de-lally! (16/19)
A priestly ram blesses Reynard — not quite the same situation as King Richard presiding over Robin's and Marian's wedding and talking with Friar Tuck, but I think this illustration may have been in the background (17/19)
Hope you enjoyed this journey through my favorite Disney film and one of my favorite texts to teach (every two years I offer a course I call "Beast Literature" about talking animals in ancient Greece, Rome, and their later reception). Some more of Ward's illustrations: (18/19)
And the last set: (19/19)
Also if you enjoyed this, be sure to like and retweet — if there's enough interest, I'll do some deep dive threads about Robin Hood's development, concept art, and where all the little bits that got lost wound up (Beauty and the Beast! Bedknobs and Broomsticks! Lots more!)
