Robin Hood's "Oo De Lally," Translated Into 14 Languages

I love your blog, keep up posting =)

The norwegian version can be found here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owXPsfoGeww

Thanks for posting these. They're good fun. I have watched a lot of the ones from the Lion King. (Zulu is cool, as is Cantonese.) It's interesting to see how cultures collide in stuff like this.

This made me so happy! This Robin Hood is one of my favorite childhood movies and this song always makes me grin like a fool. The Dutch version is my favorite!

Not on YouTube, but you can watch the Japanese version here:

http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm5120816

That really took me back. I used to watch this movie over and over as kid. Hope that doesn't make me a furry :P

Anyways, here's the Brazilian Portuguese Version. You'll find that the lyrics have no "oo de lally", but it's a nice version anyway.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZrgSwlneQc

I found a Mandarin Chinese version here--

http://you.video.sina.com.cn/pg/topicdetail/topicPlay.php?tid=2016053&uid=1226126093#15932298

It's the whole first third of the film; go to about 00:03:40 for the song. Look below the lower left edge of the movie and click the link that looks like this to embed: 分享视频

(came here, a little late, by way of the BoingBoing link. I still love this movie!)

I think it's hilarious that the German version is slowed down so all the extra syllables won't sound rushed.

yes! love your blog and links. this one made my day. favorite movie ever. thanks andy!

I have had the english version of the song on my voicemail message for 2 years now, its garnered quite the response and reaction. I enjoyed playing all the videos at the same time...the tower of babel in muted vintage tones and the last of good Disney animation.

I have never seen Disney's "Robin Hood," so haven't a clue about "Oo de lally."

Who says or sings it and in what context in the movie?

This was my favorite movie as a kid. I love this post! I put a link to it on Boudica.com. Harriet, the song was sung by the Rooster/Narrator/minstrel voiced by Roger Miller. He tells the story of Robin and his merry men - um - creatures.

This is pretty brilliant. Made my day.

If I recall correctly (and I should, my brother loved it to bits as a kid), Robin Hood was dubbed into Hebrew as well.

Sadly, I can't find that bit anywhere on the tubes, and since video editing skills are nonexistent, I can't chop up a pirated version to help with your collection...

The phonetic writing of the Arabic version is "Ya hallouli ya hallawa" - which actually isn't completely nonsense: Ya hallawa means Oh sweetness and with the matching nonsensical first part, is actually a really pretty phrase.

Do any of the other versions mean anything or are they all nonsense words?

Nice work Andy! I loved listening to this on vinyl as a kid and...great trip down memory lane.

Just beautiful. Reminds me of your childhood.

Hey Andy, the link for the Chinese version has every Disney movie ever made from Snow White to Bolt translated into Chinese. You definitely just made the week for my entire class.

I love Robin Hood. Back then I didn't know Spanish, now I do and watched it/understood it in Spanish.

omg iloved this i laughed so hard!!! so much fun!!! i love robin hood too!!!!!!

you must play them all at once! sounds so wierd.

OMG I laughed so hard, thank you!!! It took me back in time!..I'm studying foreign languages, so it really caught my attention! However, someone posted the link of the brazilian portuguese language, I heard it and it's a bit different from the european portuguese version you had...I think you should post it too! :)

I loved Robin Hood - it was one of the better 'modern' Disney cartoons, I thought.

These alternative versions are fun - I particularly liked the Norwegian one - and it's fascinating how they manage to keep the tune, and still get all the right words in. Presumably! LOL!

This is like the rosetta stone here! With this we can translate any language known to man!

missing the Hebrew version...

What a great side-by-side translation study! Loved listening to the dutch version. It makes me want to watch the whole movie in dutch.

Wow. I loved that! It's such an under-rated movie! I'm so glad that it even was translated that many times! I want to go find my VHS tape and watch it now. It was such a staple when I was a kid!

Bloody wonderful - thanks so much for doing this.

This is wonderful! Robin Hood has to be my favourite Disney film; I still love it – and in its own right, not just for the nostalgia. It's innocent, playful, and full of warmth.

The Norwegian version sounds like complete, charming nonsense to me. It must be the whimsical way the guy sings it... fits the spirit of the song perfectly.

This post rekindled my fond childhood memories of watching this on VHS when visiting some relative or parental-friend. So much so that I've just dropped £30 to buy the Shiny Silver Ownership Tokens of this and three other Disney movies!

Your Arabic Version no longer works. You might want to find and update that. I was rather disappointed because I was excited to hear what "Ya hallouli ya hallawa" sounds like.

This was my favorite movie as a kid. My sister sent me this link knowing I would love it. Thanks for finding all of these, they made my night.

THANK YOU!!!! this is amazing!!!!!!

too bad the Arabic version is no longer there! I loved it... should've saved it when I had the chance...

The lyrics, by the way, are:

روبن هود وصاحبه جون يتمشوا في الغابة

حبة ضحك وحبة لعب والنسيم عليل

فاكر دي طب فاكر ديه ويطبوا في المية

يا حلوللي يا حلاوة أما يوم جميل

ولا جِه في بالهم أي حاجة غير سعادة وألاجة عيشة أمن وسلام

مش عارفين إن التعابين أهي مستنية جنب المية وفجأة حيرموهم بالسهام

روبن هود وصاحبه جون هربوا وسط الغابة

جريوا ونطوا اتشالوا اتحطوا والطريق طويل

عدوا الحجرة وطلعوا الشجرة واستخبوا فوقيها

يا حلوللي يا حلاوة أما يوم جميل

يا حلوللي يا حلاوة أما يوم جميل

Thanks to this post, I've drifted to the Swedish version of Can You Feel The Love Tonight, a song I PARTIALLY downloaded back when Napster was free and illegal. YouTube is great about suggesting things I'll love. I really like the Swedish Timon's voice. As a result, I've also found the Swedish Hakuna Matata! I already know that song in 5 languages, thanks to Napster.
I need to watch Robin Hood again. It's probably been 20 years, and I'm 27! I only remember one scene from that entire movie.

Does anyone of you have the lyrics in Catalan and/or Spanish?

Thank you for making my day! I live in China now, and this still is one of my favorite movies ever. I just sat here and laughed with glee hearing the Chinese version.

What a bonus - this one wasn't even on my list! Ya see I am searching constantly for Mandarin content as I am trying to teach my 2 year old Mandarin with no knowledge myself. Just wanted to thank chimara though i suspect they'll never get the thanks. Nicki I wish I'd stumbled in sooner.

What a great sandbox
Christian Unruh
Christian@mostrodigital.com