Prince John (Disney)

"Forgive me a cruel chuckle! Hehehehehe..."

- Prince John "I sentence you to sudden, instant and even immediate death!"

- Prince John to Robin Hood

Prince John is the main antagonist of Disney's 21st full-length animated feature film Robin Hood, and one of the supporting antagonists in Mickey's House of Villains.

He is a lion, who is a coward and a crybaby, who after his brother King Richard is tricked into going on a crusade, he assumes the crown and becomes somewhat an oppressive dictator, leaving his subjects in poverty. He is based on the real life King John of England. Peter Ustinov also did Prince John's German-language voice and played the similar character of Emperor Nero in the Christian epic Quo Vadis. He also has the Sheriff of Nottingham as his enforcer, and Sir Hiss as his majordomo and minion.

He was voiced by the late Peter Ustinov (who also voiced his older brother King Richard in the original English version), and animated by the late Disney veteran, Ollie Johnston.

Personality
Little is specifically known of Prince John's past, other than the fact that he is the younger brother of King Richard. He seems to have had a love/hate relationship with his deceased mother, who he claims favored Richard over him but cries out in agony whenever he insults her memory. He also has a very bad habit of sucking his thumb intensely at the most inappropriate and infelicitous times, making him appear childish and immature, but also making him a tragic character because of his flaws.

He is very greedy, deceitful, manipulative, and egocentric. He loves money more than anything else in the world, perhaps even more than his own life, and continually finds ways to rob and swindle his people in the pursuit of wealth. He is also very possessive and materialistic of whatever gold he owns as seen when Robin Hood robs him. As Robin Hood enters his castle he hears his voice, but fortunately the sleepy Prince turns over and is seen to be clutching tightly on a bag of coins.

However, in one of his rages, Prince John declared that he would give all of his gold if he could "just get [his] hands on [Robin Hood]". He is also extremely short-tempered, argumentative, obstreperous, and quarrelsome, often being set off at the slightest criticism, or when he is humiliated, and lashes out at anyone nearby. This is especially evident with his treatment of his majordomo, Sir Hiss. He also seems to be quite ticklish and problematic, as when Sir Hiss's snoring causes his tongue to wiggle across John's foot, he is shown to be laughing.

He is also shown to be a cheerful, thoughtful, and enthusiastic character according to Sir Hiss who at one point said he "wasn't his usual cheerful self". When it comes to taxes Prince John is just as unsympathetic as the Sheriff of Nottingham and merely says a phrase on the people's poverty: "Rob the poor to feed the rich." He is also seen in his first scene in front of a large bag of coins bringing them up and dropping them saying "Taxes. Taxes. Beautiful lovely taxes!" and laughing. When pushed to the end of his rope, he ordered the Sheriff of Nottingham to "double the taxes, triple the taxes" and squeeze every last coin out of the townspeople and didn't care about what would happen.

Robin Hood
After tricking King Richard into partaking in a crusade beyond England, Prince John becomes the acting monarch of England and quickly asserts his authority over the kingdom. Surrounded by a very large army of henchmen, he easily robs the people of England of all they have, causing misery and despair among the population. He was known for his harsh and unjust taxes, and would gladly tax the people continually until they didn't have a scrap of silver or gold left. He was not above imprisoning his people if they failed to pay their taxes even after they gave up everything they had. By the time of the film, he had set his sights on the wealthy village of Nottingham, and proceeded to assert his rule over the city.

Unfortunately for Prince John, his scheming ways caught the attention of famed robber Robin Hood who, alongside his faithful companion Little John, robbed the rich to give to the poor. During his journey to Nottingham, Prince John ran across two fortune tellers (actually Robin Hood and Little John in clever disguises) and eagerly accepted their offer to tell him his fortunes (despite Sir Hiss warning him of the possible danger). As Robin Hood distracted him by complimenting his more sovereign and regal features, he and Little John robbed Prince John's caravan of the gold they had been carrying, and escaped into Sherwood Forest right under the noses of the fooled guards. Robin Hood added further insult to the injury by making off with John's royal robe, leaving him in nothing but long underwear (so that he couldn't do anything to deter Robin Hood and Little John). John gave chase, but fell out of his carriage (Little John made off with the golden hubcaps on the wheels, again so that Prince John couldn't deter them). Utterly humiliated, John swore revenge on Robin Hood, labeling him a wanted man in Nottingham.

Upon arriving in Nottingham, Prince John decreed a series of harsh taxes on the villagers, driving them out of their homes and leaving them starving. Those unable to pay were sent to the stocks. Aiding John in his efforts was the cruel Sheriff of Nottingham, who had no shame in robbing the people on behalf of the prince. During John's rule, Robin Hood, Little John, and Friar Tuck of the local Church did everything they could to keep hope alive in the town, secretly distributing money among the starving population. The people viewed Robin Hood as a hero, so he was never turned in for his illegal crimes against the prince.

Prince John also set up his residence in his mother's castle in Nottingham where Maid Marian, Robin's former love still resided. Maid Marian had no love for the prince and desperately wished to see Robin again, while at the same time fearing that he had forgotten all about her.

Prince John eventually set up a trap for Robin Hood by hosting an archery tournament, and offering up a kiss from Maid Marian as the winning prize. Unable to resist this opportunity to see his lost love again, Robin eagerly enrolled in the tournament, disguised as a stork while Little John disguised himself as a duke. Although falling for Little John's disguise, the prince expected Robin to be in disguise, and took note of the stork's superior archery skills. When Robin won the tournament as John had planned, after recognizing him when shaking his hand, he unmasked his enemy in front of the crowd and had him arrested and sentenced to "immediate death". Maid Marian pleaded him to show mercy, but her pleas fell on deaf ears, even after Robin proclaimed his undying love for Maid Marian. John labeled Robin a traitor to the crown, but was openly insulted by Robin, who shouted, "Long Live King Richard!" Outraged, John ordered Robin to be executed, but was forced to let Robin go when Little John held him hostage from behind with a knife. The Sheriff discovered this and when Little John got distracted, John indignantly ordered his minions to do away with Robin. In the fight that followed, Robin and his friends defeated John's minions and destroyed the tournament grounds, forcing John to cower behind a barrel of ale. Robin and his allies then fled into Sherwood Forest, much to the Prince's outrage. When he found Sir Hiss inside an ale barrel (having been forced in there by Friar Tuck to prevent the latter from exposing Robin Hood's true identity), due to his anger at being humiliated as well as Sir Hiss supplying information about the stork's true identity that he by that point already knew, vented his rage by tying him to a knot on a pole and daring him to get himself out of it.

In the days that followed, John was further insulted to learn that the villagers were mocking him with the song "Prince John, Phony King of England". Pushed to the end of his rope, he placed even harsher taxes on the people, and arrested dozens of helpless villagers who were unable to pay. The town was driven into poverty and everybody was losing hope. Although John now had all of the money left in the village, he still wasn't satisfied, and longed to kill Robin Hood. One stormy night, John sat silently seething in his throne, ignoring the mountains of gold that now surrounded him, until Sir Hiss attempted to cheer him up by informing him of Friar Tuck's arrest. At first, John flew into a rage, as it was Robin Hood he wanted, but then realized that he could use this to his advantage. He sentenced Friar Tuck to the gallows in an attempt to lure out Robin Hood, hoping to use the opportunity to capture Robin Hood and finally do away with him for good. However, Robin caught on to this plan, and he and Little John agreed to trigger a jailbreak that night to save the Friar's life.

That night, Robin and Little John broke into the castle. Little John proceeded to free Friar Tuck and all of the prisoners. Meanwhile, Robin sneaked past the guards and found the Prince sleeping in his royal quarters. Keeping quiet, he recovered gold everywhere in the room and gave it back to the overjoyed prisoners, who prepared to make off with what was rightfully theirs. Unfortunately, Sir Hiss awoke to find Robin escaping, and the prince also woke up to the scene. He ordered his minions to kill Robin, causing a large fight to break out within the castle. Robin and Little John defended the prisoners as they fled, and opened the gates to Sherwood Forest. Unfortunately, Robin was left behind after rescuing one of the children who nearly got left behind, and found himself pursued by John's guards and the Sheriff. The Sheriff trapped Robin in a tower by setting fire to the castle, forcing Robin to jump in the moat, where he was shot at by archers. John watched gleefully as he waited to see if Robin was dead, and was overjoyed when he did not resurface.

Unfortunately for John, Robin swam underwater back to the shore, uninjured and mocking the foolish prince. John began whining like a child again when he realized he was defeated again by Robin. When Sir Hiss tried to criticize him, and mentioned that John's actions had destroyed his mother's castle, John grew terrified and started to suck his thumb. But he came back to his senses and flew into a violent rage and attacked Sir Hiss with a wooden stick while chasing him around the castle, all the while still sucking his thumb.

Eventually, King Richard returned home and found out about the terrible deeds that Prince John (and the Sheriff of Nottingham) had inflicted on the people of England. Richard immediately reclaimed his throne from his brother and repealed all of the unjust taxes John had imposed on the people, allowing Nottingham to return to happiness and prosperity. Richard also pardoned Robin Hood for his past crimes, and honored him for his efforts to help the people. Meanwhile, John was sentenced to jail along with Sir Hiss and the Sheriff of Nottingham for their crimes against poor people, and the three villains got thrown in the royal rock pile, working to pay off the debt that they owed the citizens of England for their embezzlement. John howls in pain when his foot gets crushed by a rock fragment.

House of Mouse
Prince John has made numerous appearances in House of Mouse along with other characters. He is usually seen with Sir Hiss. He has speaking roles in the episodes "House of Crime" and "Pete's House of Villains". He apparently runs a stock company called "Prince John's Savings and Loan". One notable appearance was in "Gone Goofy" when he was asked by Iago if he could kiss Abu awake after eating a poisoned apple.

Emperor's New Clothes
In the "Disney's Magic Reading" series, Prince John's design was utilized to represent the titular Emperor in the story. Overall, his personality was the same, although clothes were the thing he loved most instead of gold. He ends up tricked by the con artists, represented by J. Worthington Foulfellow and Gideon, and parades through the kingdom in his long johns, only realizing his mistake when a girl pointed out the truth. It should be noted that most of the cast was human, making John, Foulfellow, and Gideon the only ones to actually be portrayed by anthropomorphic animals.

Prince John's minions

 * Sheriff of Nottingham (second-in-command)
 * Sir Hiss (third-in-command)
 * Rhino Guards
 * Wolf Arrowmen
 * Captain Crocodile
 * Trigger and Nutsy

Prince John's enemies

 * Robin Hood (Archenemy)
 * King Richard
 * Little John
 * Friar Tuck
 * Maid Marian
 * Lady Cluck
 * Skippy
 * Sis
 * Tagalong
 * Toby
 * The people of Nottingham

Quotes

 * (plays with gold doubloons in a sack) "Taxes. Taxes. Beautiful, lovely taxes! Ah ha! Ah ha"!
 * (to Hiss as he coils his whiskers)"To coin a phrase my dear counselor, rob the poor to feed the rich."
 * "This crown gives me a feeling of power! POWER!"
 * (after hearing the people cry out "Long Live King Richard!") "ENOUGH!" (stamps his feet rapidly) "I am King!" (jumps up and down in a childish-like manner) "King! King! King!" (briefly reacts with some agony) "OFF WITH HIS HEAD!!!!"
 * (puts his crown on the right way when gets his ears straight) "There. That, I believe, does it?"
 * (rubs his whiskers and looks into Sir Hiss's tiny mirror) "Now, look here. One more hiss out of you, erm, Hiss. And you are WALKING to Nottingham!"
 * (whispers to Little John as Duke Reginald with a dirty look when gets his back poked with a dagger) "Not so hard, you mean thing." (agonized aft Little John poked him harder) "Let him go! For heavens sake! LET. HIM. GO!
 * (screams to his rhino guards after Little John looses his hold on him) "Kill him! Don't stand there! Kill him!"
 * (yells at the Sheriff of Nottingham bloody murder) "DOUBLE THE TAXES! TRIPLE THE TAXES!!" (wrings Sir Hiss toughly) "SQUEEZE EVERY LAST DROP OUT OF THOSE INSOLENT (smiles softly) uhmusical peasants."
 * "P.J.? I like that. You know I do. Hiss, put it on my luggage."
 * (to Hiss as he comes with his plan to bait Robin Hood with Friar Tuck's execution) "Yes my reluctant reptile. And when our elusive hero tries to rescue the corpulent cleric... (laughs) My men will be ready! Ah ha!"
 * "Robin Hood? I'll get even. I'll get...." (whilst asleep)
 * (when insulted by both Robin Hood and Skippy) "Oh, no. It's just so miserably unfair."
 * (takes his sword) "And now, I name you the winner. Or more appropriately.... (rips Robin Hood's stork costume off to reveal himself with his sword) .... the loser." (all gasps in shock)
 * (to the disguised Little John when Robin Hood, as the stork, hits the target) "A perfect bullseye."
 * (after Sir Hiss reminds him of his mother after throwing a mirror on him) "Mommy. (sucks thumb but takes it out of his mouth) Oh, I've got a dirty thumb."

Disney Parks
Prince John is a meetable character in the Disney Parks around the world.

Trivia

 * In Prince John's early design, Milt Kahl considered making the villain a tiger. But his brother King Richard "The Lion Hearted" obviously had to be portrayed as a lion, so the tiger idea was dropped.
 * The real life Prince John/King John I/John Plantagenet was (in fact) a highly capable, effectual, and intelligent monarch who signed the Magna Carta. Like the fictional John, he was overlooked by his mother, Eleanor of Aquitaine in favor of Richard, however, he was his father's favorite son because of his intellect. The youngest son, he was nicknamed "Lackland" because his elder brothers inherited all of the lands. Because he was his father's favored son, he became Prince Regent and assumed control over England while his brother Richard was away fighting in the Holy Lands.
 * Ironically, the Crusades and Richard's involvement in them were the reason why the huge taxations that John was hated for occurred: Richard's war put a heavy drain on the treasury meaning that John had to raise taxes greatly, making him an unpopular monarch and leading to him being depicted as a villain in the Robin Hood myth. Nevertheless, while Richard was a military genius and a poor politician, John was an excellent politician but a poor military leader, hence the nickname "Softsword." John was not without his flaws however. He was a binge eater and alcoholic and like his Disney counterpart, had a savage temper. He is also alleged to have lost his mind in old age and begun crawling on the floor, chewing the legs of chairs. He is also alleged to have suffered from epilepsy.
 * Toby Stephens played a similar interpretation of Prince John in the BBC TV series, Robin Hood, although his interpretation is significantly more deadly.
 * Prince John is very similar to Scar from Disney's 32nd full-length animated feature film, The Lion King. Both are lions, they both have older brothers who are kings, (in John's case, King Richard, in Scar's case, Mufasa). They both have taken over geographical locations, (In John's case, England, in Scar's case, Africa). They both take a strong dislike toward their brothers and during their reigns, they both get angry when their brothers' names are mentioned. Both of them suffer unfortunate defeats (John is arrested by King Richard and thrown into the royal rock pile, and Scar is both literally and rulership-wise overthrown by Simba, then killed by both the hyenas and the fire). In addition, both John and Scar's final battles with their respective foes also involve fire of unnatural causes (John had the Sheriff of Nottingham burn his mother's castle in order to trap Robin Hood, and the Pride Lands experienced a wildfire caused by lightning just as Scar was preparing to "execute" Simba for indirectly killing Mufasa). One difference is how they were able to take over (Prince John tricked Richard into going on the crusades, and Scar kills Mufasa). Another is that while Prince John acts like a spoiled brat, Scar has a lot more dignity.
 * Similar to Scar, John has an unnatural look for a lion; he lacks the male lion's mane in his head, giving him a more angular, evil look (also, giving him a resemblance to a mountain lion), while Scar has his fur unnaturally colored orange-brown and his mane is black. John's lack of a mane further highlights his immaturity.
 * Prince John (alongside Sir Hiss) also had some similarities to Jafar, specifically in using hypnosis to get their way regarding the man they were subservient to (In Jafar's case, he used his snake staff to hypnotize the Sultan when the Sultan was reluctant to do things his way, and in John's case, it was to convince King Richard to go on the Crusades so he could take the throne). Unlike Jafar, however, John actually succeeded via hypnosis in conquering the kingdom from within ans the hypnotism of King Richard and Prince John getting on the throne isn't shown.
 * It is shown in the scene where Robin Hood robs John while he and Hiss are sleeping that he is a very noisy sleeper. He talks in his sleep, he makes groan-like sounds, and he even laughs when Sir Hiss's snoring with his tongue tickles his foot. He even sucked his thumb loudly while sleeping (much to Hiss's disgust.).
 * Prince John is also similar to Gaston from Disney's 30th full-length animated feature film, Beauty and the Beast. both are arrogant and manipulative, both have many loyal and authentic followers, and whenever LeFou and Sir Hiss make a smart remark at their expense, they abuse their minions.
 * Prince John is also very similar to Captain Hook. Both often abuse their minions.
 * Because of Peter Ustinov's connection to Germany (having received honors in that country in regards to theater), Peter Ustinov, in addition to being John's English voice, is also his German voice.
 * Prince John is also very similar to the Queen of Hearts from Disney's 13th full-length animated feature film, Alice in Wonderland. Both are tyrants, both are British (although in the Queen of Hearts's case, she was the figment of a British girl's imagination), and both proclaim "Off with his head!" at least once in their respective films.
 * Prince John is one of the few characters to lack a villain song. The closest thing to an actual villain song was "The Phony King of England", which he never actually sang.
 * This is the only incarnation of the character to ever be the main antagonist of any Robin Hood adaptation. Most other versions of the story have the Sheriff of Nottingham as the main antagonist instead, with Prince John, if he actually appears, as a secondary or minor antagonist.
 * Prince John is the only Robin Hood villain to wear sandals, the other two characters being his brother and Friar Tuck who are heroes. Technically, Sir Hiss didn't wear shoes either, but this was because he was a snake (as he has no legs), and therefore couldn't wear shoes.
 * Prince John is the second Disney Villain after Cruella De Vil to have a song that makes fun of him/her.
 * Prince John is also similar to Lord Shen of DreamWorks's 22nd full-length animated feature film, Kung Fu Panda 2. Both are unrightful rulers of their kingdom, where almost all of the characters hate them. Both also have an army of wolves who obeyed their command, and both have bad temper.
 * Prince John is so far the only Disney Villain to display immature behavior and act like a child (Such as sucking his thumb and always want his mother), thus making him a man-child.