Lady Kluck is a supporting character in Disney's 1973 feature film Robin Hood.
Background
Lady Kluck is the lady-in-waiting of Maid Marian. In contrast to the ladylike Maid Marian, Lady Kluck is very energetic and feisty. She is very loyal to Maid Marian and advises her on her love for Robin Hood. Lady Kluck speaks with a distinct Scottish accent.
Appearances
Robin Hood
Lady Kluck is first seen playing badminton with Maid Marian on the grounds of Prince John's castle, where she proves to be quite athletic. At one point, when the shuttlecock lands in her dress, she lifts the hem of her dress and "dances" around, trying to find it, prompting Maid Marian to tell her she looks so silly. When a group of peasant children appears looking for their arrow, she recognizes the hat of one of the children, a rabbit named Skippy, to be Robin Hood's hat. When the group role-plays Maid Marian's rescue by Robin Hood, Lady Kluck takes the role of Prince John. This is a likely indicator of her disdain for Prince John, as she acts pompous and cowardly before Skippy (pretending to be Robin Hood) and then feigns death as she claims Skippy delivered her a fatal sword strike. After Skippy asks her if he had hurt her, she tells him no, and that this is the part where he "drags his fair lady off to Sherwood Forest", as she continues playing dead. Later, in Maid Marian's chambers, Lady Kluck (while knitting) counsels a lovesick Maid Marian to be patient and wait for Robin Hood, expressing her belief that the two will eventually marry and reminding her that absence makes the heart grow fonder.
Lady Kluck appears at Prince John's archery tournament with Maid Marian, advising her to be on the lookout, as Robin Hood will reveal himself to her somehow. When Robin Hood is captured and sentenced to death, she attempts to console Maid Marian. When Robin Hood is released, she, like many others, believe it was due to Maid Marian's pleas, and celebrates. During the fight that ensues, she tells Maid Marian to run, as it is "no place for a lady." Humorously, she begins fighting the guards and the Sheriff of Nottingham, both by throwing them, and fighting with a confiscated Golden Arrow. When she uses the arrow to attack Prince John, he orders his guards to grab her with the words "Seize the fat one!". In a scene reminiscent of a football game, Lady Kluck defeats all of them and escapes into Sherwood Forest. At the party that the townspeople hold in the forest, she joins in denouncing Prince John, and even dances with Little John for a short time.
After this, Lady Kluck does not appear until the end of the film, where she is seen crying tears of joy at Robin Hood's and Maid Marian's wedding.
Cameos
In Mickey's Christmas Carol, Lady Kluck had a cameo at Fezziwig's, where she dances with the Secretary Bird from Bedknobs and Broomsticks.
She was also seen as one of the guests in House of Mouse.
Trivia
- Carole Shelley had previously voiced another British bird with white feathers: Amelia Gabble in The Aristocats.
- Although Lady Kluck does not wear pants, she treats the feathers on her lower body as if it were such, and while she was attempting to escape the rhino guards in a manner similar to a football player, one grabs her tail feathers, causing them to fall down and revealing a pair of bloomers underneath. So, it's possible that she actually wears pants which look like feathers.
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