Robin and the Hoods movie review

MOVIE TITLE: Robin and the Hoods

RATING: PG

LENGTH: 1 hour 40 minutes

MOVIE REVIEW MOM GRADE: A

IN A NUTSHELL:

The story is about an 11-year-old girl named Robin and her loyal band of friends called “The Hoods”. They play in a patch of overgrown scrubland at the end of their cul-de-sac to create a sort of magical kingdom they have to defend.

The film was directed by Phil Hawkins. Writing credits go to Stuart Benson and Paul Davidson.

I would have loved this movie when I was a kid. I used to spend hours creating fantasy scenarios at various locations with my friends and sisters. I think my kids would have loved it when they were younger too.

THINGS I LIKED:

I was excited to see Gwendoline Christie in this film from Game of Thrones. She’s hilarious in her role. Naomie Harris is fantastic as the over-the-top villain. You might also recognize Mark Williams from the Harry Potter franchise. Dye his hair red and you’ll see an older Arthur Weasley right before your eyes!
The cast of young actors did a terrific job and includes Darcey Ewart, Bruno Edgington-Big, Gloria Ishikawa, and Eddison Burch as standouts.
The film does a great job blending fantasy with modern-day images and technology. We see what’s happening in real life and then the scenes show us how the kids are imagining it in their minds. It’s such a great illustration of the power of imagination.
There is a refreshing amount of humor that both kids and adults will get a kick out of.
The musical score by James Everingham makes the movie feel even more magical and epic. Well done.
While watching the film, I just kept thinking about how much kids are going to love this.

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:

OF COURSE, the protagonist is a girl. That’s true for almost all movies nowadays and it’s becoming tiring. As a mother of sons, I don’t see anything wrong with actually showing boys how to become men, yet Hollywood insists boys and men are only periphery characters these days.
It’s annoying how corporate interests are always shown as completely evil in movies. While some are corrupt, there are many that do good in this world.
Some of the night scenes are super dark, so it’s hard to see what’s going on.
We’re supposed to root for Robin but she is kind of mean to her friends and is supported by adults in her delusion that she owns the property that her “kingdom” is on.
If you look closely, you can see some editing errors. For example, one minute, you see Robin’s sweatshirt off her shoulder and the next second, she’s completely covered.

TIPS FOR PARENTS:

Talk of smoking “grass”
Play violence
Talk of cell phones being bad for your brain
Robin mentions that video games are for kids with no imagination.
One of the children laughs, “Some of the rules are meant to be broken.”
There are some scary looking “bad guys” that look like Orcs in The Lord of the Rings movie franchise that might frighten young children.

THEMES:

Imagination
Teamwork
Choices and consequences
Reality vs. fantasy
Courage
Facing your problems
Saving the environment, birds, and forests

FUNNY LINES:
“Please don’t eat me!” – Robin (Darcey Ewart) “Eat you? I’m a vegetarian.” – Aura (Gwendoline Christie)

“Honestly, I offer one veggie skewer and, suddenly it’s a daycare around here.” – Aura (Gwendoline Christie)

INTERESTING LINES:

“Things can’t stay the same forever.” – Sandra (Jessica Blake)
“You need to learn that your actions have consequences.” – Sandra (Jessica Blake)
“You can’t just run away when you don’t get what you want. You’ve got to face your problems.” – Nick (Tom Goodman-Hill)
“Part of growing up is understanding that things don’t stay the same forever.” – Sandra (Jessica Blake) This theme of the movie rings loudly and clearly because this character stated this point more than once.
“Life is like a cake. You’ve got to make the best you can with the ingredients you’ve been given.” – Sandra (Jessica Blake)
“If we lose the crown, that’s temporary, but if we lose the kingdom, that’s forever.” – Robin (Darcey Ewart)
“You’ve got to protect the things you care about.” – Robin (Darcey Ewart)
“You’ve got to face your problems head on.” – Robin (Darcey Ewart)