Rob's infiltration goes up in smoke.
"Enough! I am King! KING, King! Aah! OFF with his head!"
— Prince John
Despite being one of Disney's funniest films with plenty of heartfelt moments, Robin Hood doesn't shy away at showing just how hellish Nottingham can be.
- John going Ax-Crazy against Sir Hiss. Having a Psychopathic Manchild chasing you with a stick through a castle that is burning to the ground is probably not a very pleasant experience. The thumb-sucking somehow made it worse.Sir Hiss: HELP! HE'S GONE STARK RAVING MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD!
- The scene where Robin is captured at the archery tournament and sentenced to death. One of the royal drummers starts doing a solitary drum roll as a black-hooded executioner (a red-eyed rhino, no less) approaches with his axe.
- Luckily, Robin is saved by Little John's intervention as he sneaks behind Prince John's throne and grabs him by the collar through the curtain behind him. This itself is kind of scary: Little John's easygoing demeanor is completely gone and he's practically strangling the corrupt monarch, simultaneously putting a dagger to his back for good measure, not the kind of behavior you would expect of a heroic character in a Disney movie. Moments later, the Sheriff goes to investigate, realizing that there's no way in hell that Prince John would order the release of the most notorious outlaw in England after capturing him minutes before, and he makes Little John let go of the prince. The very instant he's been set free, Prince John abandons all ceremony and orders his guards, "Kill him!!! Don't stand there, KILL HIM!!!" Man, Disney got hardcore after Walt died.
- At this point, John has reached a point of hatred that it wouldn’t be surprising if he also ordered the wolves and rhinos to kill EVERYONE who idolized Robin Hood out of pure spite.
- This is the reason Kluck orders Marian to run while she stays to help fight the guards. Now that Marian has publicly announced her love for Robin, she’s just as much in danger of death due to association.
- Luckily, Robin is saved by Little John's intervention as he sneaks behind Prince John's throne and grabs him by the collar through the curtain behind him. This itself is kind of scary: Little John's easygoing demeanor is completely gone and he's practically strangling the corrupt monarch, simultaneously putting a dagger to his back for good measure, not the kind of behavior you would expect of a heroic character in a Disney movie. Moments later, the Sheriff goes to investigate, realizing that there's no way in hell that Prince John would order the release of the most notorious outlaw in England after capturing him minutes before, and he makes Little John let go of the prince. The very instant he's been set free, Prince John abandons all ceremony and orders his guards, "Kill him!!! Don't stand there, KILL HIM!!!" Man, Disney got hardcore after Walt died.
- Both Prince John and the Sheriff of Nottingham are usually Faux Affably Evil or Laughably Evil, but there are moments that show them as the vicious tyrant and the brutish thug they respectively are.
- John's furious breakdown when he overhears Hiss singing "The Villain Sucks" Song the citizens had come up with as some tiny form of rebellion. If you think he was bad before... Even the Sheriff is shocked at his boss's uncharacteristically frightening behavior. John outright orders that Nottingham be taxed down to the last drop and anyone who can't pay be thrown in the dungeons with no mercy at all. Even the kids are chained up.Sheriff: The snivelin', grovelin', weasly...John: (enraged) ENOUGH!!!! (furiously throws a wine pitcher over the Sheriff's head, shattering it)Sheriff: But sire, it's a big hit! The whole village is singing it!John: Oh, they are, are they? Well, they will be singing a different tune. Double the taxes! Triple the taxes! SQUEEZE EVERY LAST DROP OUT OF THOSE INSOLENT... uh, musical peasants.
- There's Prince John's physical behavior in this scene, too: when he walks in on Hiss and the Sheriff joking about the song, Hiss sees him first and immediately switches to stuttering out compliments, terrified of what John might do to him if he says even one more word against him, while the Sheriff—who doesn't know John is in the room yet—corrects him. He gets about three words in before John screams, "Enough!" and throws a pitcher of wine at him, hitting the wall behind the Sheriff and dousing him instead. This could stir up bad memories for people who've had experience with violent alcoholics who could be set off at a moment's notice, especially if they're the movie's intended demographic of children...
- The Sheriff's threatening Friar Tuck with execution for badmouthing Prince John and later builds a hangman's stockade in the castle courtyard intended for the friar. What really makes this jarring is how the Sheriff had previously treated everyone's contempt for Prince John with a kind of smug condescension, like he couldn't care less.
- John's furious breakdown when he overhears Hiss singing "The Villain Sucks" Song the citizens had come up with as some tiny form of rebellion. If you think he was bad before... Even the Sheriff is shocked at his boss's uncharacteristically frightening behavior. John outright orders that Nottingham be taxed down to the last drop and anyone who can't pay be thrown in the dungeons with no mercy at all. Even the kids are chained up.
- Despite Prince John being one of Disney's least threatening villains, something has got to be said for the scene of him stewing on his throne (right after Friar Tuck's arrest). It is legitimately terrifying. For a minute or so, he is absolutely silent - no foppish Peter Ustinov voice to deflate the image - and all we can see is the pure, unadulterated seething hatred and rage on his face. Even Sir Hiss, who regularly isn't afraid to talk back to his boss, is downright terrified.Sir Hiss: (clears throat, scared) Sire...? If I may... may venture an opinion... you're not your usual cheerful, genial self today.
- Then he's Suddenly Shouting when Hiss mentioned Friar Tuck has been arrested.Sir Hiss: And, oh, I have good news, Sire! Friar Tuck is in jail!
(John suddenly stands and raises his arms, sending piles of gold coins around him flying)
Prince John: FRIAR TUCK?! It's Robin Hood I want, you idiot!! - Finally his plan to hang Friar Tuck just so he can use him to trap Robin Hood. The way he says the final words of his plan is absolutely bone-chilling. Even Sir Hiss is outright horrified at the plan.Prince John: I'll use that fat friar as bait to trap Robin Hood.
Sir Hiss: Another trap?
Prince John: Yes, yes, you stupid serpent. Friar Tuck will be led to the gallows in the village square, don't you see?
Sir Hiss: B-B-B-But, sire, hang Friar Tuck?! A man of the church?!
Prince John: Yes, my reluctant reptile. And when our elusive hero tries to rescue... the corpulent cleric... my men will be ready.
- Then he's Suddenly Shouting when Hiss mentioned Friar Tuck has been arrested.
- The jailbreak has a few moments when Prince John wakes up and screams for the guards.
- Robin is hanging from the assembly line of treasure. He has to climb to avoid the sudden onslaught of arrows.
- Meanwhile the rhino guards come within a hairsbreadth of impaling Prince John on their spears while ramming the jail cell door. All he can do is scream at them to stop. He's a villain, but it's still awful if a little funny.
- The archers are aiming at everyone, including the ''children''. Skippy's older sister Sis is just barely dodging, and Toby uses his shell to protect himself while carrying a bag of money. The blacksmith gets an arrow in his crutch while he escapes, while Alan-A-Dale heroically uses his lute to protect the children that he's carrying.
- Robin goes Big Brother Instinct when Skippy stays behind to shoot at the cavalry. He gets in one good shot before Skippy can get skewered and lets the rabbit think he did it.
- The crocodile captain of the guard nearly beheads the elderly owl couple. Friar Tuck swoops in just in time with a wheelbarrow to save them, and they all have an Oh, Crap! look as the Friar is sprinting.
- It seems over; Little John and Friar Tuck load the civilians onto a wagon, and they start moving out with Friar Tuck joyfully shouting they've made it. Then Skippy's mother goes Oh, Crap! on looking back. She says, "STOP! My baby!" Tagalong is accidentally left behind during the jailbreak and calls for her mother while toddling towards them. This forces Robin to come back for her, all the while arrows are flying around her, and grab her just before one gets her. All her mother and siblings can do is watch from the safety of the wagon, including Skippy. Then the crocodile guard traps them in the castle. Robin slips her through the bars, telling Little John to not worry about him.
- Robin's face when he realizes Tagalong is still in the Castle. He's not irritated that he has to go back, he's downright horrified that the most vulnerable innocent was almost left behind with a murderous, half-crazed tyrant and his army of thugs with barely any qualms with his orders.
- During the climax, the Sheriff has a brief fight with Robin, but it's easily the most intense one. The Sheriff was wearing a nightgown, but he was also wielding a torch, and he was willing to burn the whole castle down if it meant killing Robin. In fact, this is the first and only time we see Robin react with terror to an enemy's presence. For the first time, Robin has completely lost control of the situation. Only a convenient wall of flames keeps the Sheriff from pursuing him up the tower.
- In the scene where Robin Hood is climbing the tower at dawn, just before the Sheriff sets the castle ablaze, the suddenly-dark music and the texture of the castle walls glinting in the rising sun make this scene outright ominous; you just KNOW something horrible is about to happen...
- And when he's finally trapped at the very top of the tower, with the fire climbing up all around him, it's one of the very few times we see Robin absolutely terrified — as any animal confronted with fire all around them would be. The music adds to the general fear.
- Arguably the first major warning sign with the Sheriff is against Friar Tuck. It's mostly a comical No-Holds-Barred Beatdown in Tuck's favour until we see Trigger lying in wait. However, rather than Trigger being the one to bail out the Sheriff upon noticing him, the Sheriff very suddenly recovers with an evil grin and, after leading Tuck behind Trigger, slashes his club clean in half. Even Tuck, who was in Unstoppable Rage moment just a second before, gawks and almost trips over in shock. He played him.
- While it's arguably a Character Check to other renditions of him, Friar Tuck hitting his Rage Breaking Point with the Sheriff is rather jarring in itself. Not only does he violently and loudly throw the Sheriff out of the church, but he then takes a staff, makes it clear he is only Taking the Fight Outside, and begins mercilessly beating the Sheriff with it while screaming blue murder at him. If the Sheriff and Trigger hadn't turned out to be Not So Harmless Villains, the Friar likely would have been prosecuted for a lot more than just a few bad words.
- The original ending had Prince John personally try to murder Robin while he was recuperating from his injuries in the church, as well as Marian for protecting Robin from him. Good thing it also had King Richard return in the nick of time to stop him.
