Robin Hoodlum is a 1948 cartoon directed by John Hubley.
It is an installment of the Columbia Cartoons series The Fox and the Crow. And you guessed it, it's a Robin Hood story. In this installment Fauntleroy Fox is a jaunty Robin Hood who robs from the rich to give to the poor, then robs from the poor to give back to the rich. ("I never give a thing to the middle class.") Prince John appoints Sir Guy of Wise (Crawford Crow) to the post of Sheriff of Nottingham after the first Sheriff gets shot up by arrows, and Crawford lures Robin to the palace with an archery tournament.
First "Fox and the Crow" short made by UPA, and in fact the first ever theatrical short by UPA, which was taking over animation duties for Columbia from the defunct Screen Gems studio.
Not to be confused with the trope of the same name.
Tropes:
- Adaptational Villainy: In his establishing song, Robin cheerfully sings about robbing from the poor to give to the rich "when the rich need more" and never giving anything to the middle class.
- Adaptational Wimp: Robin is far less capable than his traditional depiction here, he's a clumsy archer who only manages to hit his targets by complete accident and gets captured twice in the short without much of a struggle.
- Almost Dead Guy: Depending on how one interprets the former Sheriff saying "I quit" right before he collapses in front of Prince John with two arrows sticking out of his back.
- Aristocrats Are Evil: Prince John serves as the Big Bad of this short and is a corrupt royal with a love of torture.
- Behind a Stick: Crawford, somehow managing to manipulate a suit of armor, also somehow managing to hide behind a narrow tree.
- Big Damn Heroes: Little John and the Merry Men save the day by breaking Robin out of jail and saving him from execution at the last possible second.
- Brits Love Tea: How do the Merry Men figure out that Robin needs rescuing? Robin would never miss tea.
- By the Lights of Their Eyes: Executioners wearing hoods with their eyes visible.
- Composite Character: The Crow is introduced as "Sir Guy of Wise" before being promoted to the new Sheriff of Nottingham, making him a composite of both Guy of Gisborne and the Sheriff from folklore.
- Crapsack World: A throwaway gag has a poster announcing that the reward for catching Robin Hood is "exemption from torture".
- Distressed Dude: Robin ends up tied and about to be executed.
- Do You Want to Haggle?: Parodied, the Sheriff and Prince John attempt to haggle a few deals throughout the short, with the Sheriff demanding substantially more time/money while John increments his offer by the bare minimum each time, only for the two to "meet in the middle" and John to offer the bare minimum extra again.
- Failed a Spot Check: When being dragged away by the Sheriff, Robin manages to swap himself out with the king's deer without the Sheriff noticing.
- Formula-Breaking Episode: The Fox and Crow formula always had Crawford as the smarter one who got the better of poor Fauntleroy. In this the first UPA short, the fox comes out on top. Also, the period setting was new to the Fox and Crow series.
- Limited Animation: Not so much on the characters, but the backgrounds are more stylized than those of most contemporary cartoons, reminiscent of medieval illustrations.
- Meaningful Name: Unlike his typical depiction as The Big Guy, Little John here really lives up to his name.
- Power-Up Food: One sip of tea, and Robin is able to free himself from his bonds and evade the executioners' arrows.
- Punny Name: Sir Guy of Wise, a wiseguy.
- Running Gag: The Sheriff and Prince John haggling, with John incrementing his deal by the bare minimum each time.
- Screw This, I'm Out of Here!: Sir Guy attempts to flee the castle after the first Sheriff is killed and is offered his predecessors job, only sticking around when Prince John offers him some money on the side.
- Stiff Upper Lip: Spoofed with the Merry Men, who act like stuffy upper-class Brits.
- Thick-Line Animation: UPA's signature style, as seen from the beginning of their theatrical shorts.
- Universal-Adaptor Cast: Fauntleroy and Crawford are cast as the main characters in a Robin Hood story.
- World of Funny Animals: This is the only Fox and Crow cartoon with anthropomorphized animal characters other than Fauntleroy and Crawford. Prince John is a pig, while the other incidental characters are dogs.
- Ye Olde Butcherede Englishe: Lots of thee-and-thou talk from Prince John, not from the fox and crow.
