Young cast of Robin Hood remake didn’t know legend’s story
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When the makers of a new Robin Hood film auditioned young cast members, they were inundated with hopefuls.
There was only one issue: they weren’t familiar with the story.
The legend is so little known to today’s children that some of those cast in Robin and the Hood had never heard of him, said Phil Hawkins, the director.
“I had to do a lot of explaining to our young cast about who Robin Hood was and what that represents,” he said. “Some did say, ‘Is it the guy with the bow and arrow?’”
It has been nearly 15 years since Robin Hood was last on television as family entertainment, in a Saturday tea-time BBC series, starring Jonas Armstrong.
Before that, Robin of Sherwood was a ratings hit from 1984 to 1986, with Michael Praed and then Jason Connery playing the lead. Children in the 1950s were familiar with the Richard Greene version.
There have been dozens of film adaptations, including The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) with Erroll Flynn, an animated Disney adventure (1973), and Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991) starring Kevin Costner and featuring a scene-stealing performance from the late Alan Rickman as the Sheriff of Nottingham.
The last big screen adaptations, with Russell Crowe in 2010 and Taron Egerton in 2018, were grittier takes.
Robin and the Hood, which finished filming over the summer, will be shown on Sky Cinema next year.
It is set in the modern day and only loosely based on the legend, with an 11-year-old child named Robin and her gang of friends, nicknamed The Hoods, defending a patch of forest from a property developer.
Naomie Harris plays the developer, a Sheriff of Nottingham-style antagonist.
Robin is played by 13-year-old Darcy Ewart. Hawkins said: “She’s a very clever young lady and I know she would have done her homework on why this legend existed and how Robin became a leader of people.”
Hawkins said the coming-of-age tale “is taking a leaf out of Robin Hood culture and also from pop culture. It’s taking that idea of Robin Hood as an outlaw and underdog rebelling against the system, which in this case is corporate greed”.
There are so many different versions of this story, from Men In Tights to Taron Egerton via Kevin Costner. There are some great versions. Our film is using the themes and message of Robin Hood to tell a unique story.
“So there are nods and references for people who know the story, but the film is really a celebration of the imagination. The message is that great change can come from the smallest voice. Bringing it back to Robin Hood, they’re this ragtag bunch fighting for the greater good.”
Hawkins drew inspiration from children’s films of the 1980s, including The Goonies and The Never-Ending Story, and said he hoped it would inspire children to get outdoors.
The children in Robin and the Hood play games with toy bows and arrows fashioned from what they find.
“If families watch this movie and a kid turns to their father and says, ‘Can we go and play in the woods today with sticks,’ I’ll be a happy man,” said Hawkins.
“The world has changed and kids grow up too quickly. Things aren’t ‘cool’ any more, like going into the woods to play. But it requires no money and just a bit of imagination.
“Going out there and having a sense of adventure – that’s what this film is all about.
“It also has a message about our green spaces, which are being taken over by developers and lost forever. We need to protect them, both as places to play and to protect nature and the environment.”
