Nine Things You May Not Know About Robin Hood

1. The film uses two well-known college fight songs during the chaos following the Tournament of the Golden Arrow: the University of Southern California’s “Fight On” is played during the chase, and “On Wisconsin” from the University of Wisconsin-Madison is used during the scene in which Lady Kluck fights off Prince’s John’s men in a simulated football game.

2. While Tony-winner Brian Beford, who voiced Robin Hood, has built a successful theatre career in plays, he got to flex his melodic muscles as Mr. Fezziwig in Alan Menken’s televised version of A Christmas Carol: The Musical (2004).

3. The character of Friar Tuck was originally conceived of as a pig, but it was changed to a badger because the creative team was afraid of offending religious institutions.

4. Unlike his characters Prince John and King Richard, Peter Ustinov would never inherit a throne; however, he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1990.

5. An alternate ending was written in which Robin was wounded while escaping Prince John’s clutches. As Marian was tending to him, the prince attempted to kill Robin, but he was stopped by King Richard. It was determined that this scene was too troubling for the film, and it was replaced with Robin’s successful escape to the river.

6. Maid Marian’s song “Love” was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Song.

7. King Richard’s only appearance in the animated film is for a brief moment following Robin and Marian’s wedding at the end of the movie. Whether it was intentional or not is a matter of speculation, but the same device was used in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991), when the Lionheart, portrayed by Sean Connery in a cameo appearance, joined the wedding celebration of Kevin Costner’s Robin and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio’s Marian.

8. Dori Whitaker played the rabbit Tagalong, daughter of Mother Rabbit. Whitaker also played Roo to Luddy’s Kanga in Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too and The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh.

9. Dori Whitaker’s brother Billy provided the voice of Tagalong’s brother Skippy.