Skippy is a supporting character in the 1973 film, Robin Hood.
Background[]
Skippy is an energetic 7-year-old rabbit. He lives with his mother and siblings. He is the oldest boy in the family. In the film, he is most often seen with his sisters, Sis and Tagalong, and their friend, Toby Turtle. He is a typical young boy, excitable and known for idolizing Robin Hood.
Appearances[]
Robin Hood[]
Skippy plays a relatively minor role in the film but does have several appearances. He first appears with his family, where his seventh birthday is being celebrated. He opens his present, which turns out to be a single farthing, but the coin is stolen by the Sheriff of Nottingham, which upsets him.
When an old, blind man, who had heard the party, comes in, Skippy sadly explains what happened. The man tells him to cheer up and reveals himself to be none other than Robin Hood. Robin presents him with a small bow and arrow and his own hat as a present (the latter being because Tagalong said Skippy didn't look much like Robin). Skippy happily thanks Robin, and goes off with Sis, Tagalong, and Toby to test out his bow and arrow.
However, Skippy accidentally shoots the arrow into Prince John's courtyard. When he sneaks in in an attempt to retrieve it, he runs into Maid Marian and her lady-in-waiting, Lady Kluck. At first, he is terrified of them and begs Marian not to tell Prince John as he says his mother said the latter would chop off his (Skippy's) head. After being reassured of his safety, Skippy and his siblings learn of Marian and Robin's relationship. Skippy declares his belief that Robin will come to rescue Marian and role-plays the rescue with her and Lady Kluck (as the latter acts as Prince John). When he pretends to have got Lady Kluck with a sword, she fakes death, and he is worried about whether he had hurt her (which he actually hadn't). When Marian notes that the hero usually gives his fair lady a kiss, Skippy refuses because (in his opinion) that's "sissy stuff", so Marian kisses him instead, much to his humiliation and the amusement of Sis, Tagalong, and Toby.
Skippy makes several minor appearances throughout the rest of the film. He is one of the spectators who attends Prince John's archery tournament. It was during the brawl that he shot his arrow at Prince John, striking the latter in the rear, which allows Lady Kluck to smack him in the head with the Golden Arrow. Skippy is later seen in the jail, having been imprisoned alongside his family for non-payment of taxes. During the jailbreak, he is seen getting excited over the opportunity to fight the "bad guys" and is seen using his bow and arrow on a member of the sheriff's posse in which case he and Robin shot their arrows at the same time. Skippy is then seen with Little John, and with him, discovers that Robin survived the escape from Castle of Nottingham by swimming in the moat; he embarrasses Robin a bit when Skippy declares that Robin could have swum twice as far.
At the end of the film, Skippy is seen climbing on the carriage alongside Little John. When Toby asked about it, Skippy says that he is going to keep an eye on things when Robin has children, and so rides along with him, Marian, and Little John from Nottingham, as the citizens (including his family) watch.
Mickey's Christmas Carol[]
Skippy makes a cameo in the re-enacting of A Christmas Carol, Mickey's Christmas Carol, as Scrooge reforms greeting Rat and Mole, he is briefly seen pushing Toby around the streets, as he comes out of his counting house.
Once Upon a Studio[]
Skippy and Toby appear, waiting in line in the Walt Disney Animation Studios lobby for the group photo. They then join all other Disney characters, along with Sis and Tagalong, who sit with him on one of Pedro's wings, for the group photo to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Disney.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Former Disney animator Floyd Norman (who worked on the film) personally disliked Skippy, as he sees him "annoying" and "bratty".
- In addition to Lady Kluck, Skippy is the only major character in the film to not be based on one in the original story.
- Physically and statistically speaking, Skippy's arrow flying high enough and over the considerable distance allowing it to land within the walls of the castle would be almost impossible in real life.
- He idolizes Robin Hood in much the same way that Simba admires Mufasa in The Lion King and Toulouse idolizes Thomas O'Malley in The Aristocats. At the end of the film, he apparently accompanies Robin and Marian with the aspiration to become Robin's de facto apprentice.
- Scott Kolden, Clay O'Brien, Mike Lookinland, and Eric Shea were all considered to voice Skippy.
- Skippy complains saying "Sissy Stuff", the same as what Berlioz tells Marie in The Aristocats.
- Skippy's voice actor, Billy Whitaker, is the real-life brother of Dori Whitaker, who provided the voice of Tagalong.
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