What Could Have Been

What Could Have Been is an animated short film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios. It is a revisionist Adam and Eve story featuring Robin Hood and Maid Marian from Disney's 1973 animated feature, Robin Hood, in the roles.

Transcript
Narrator: (VO) "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." I'm sure you've all heard those words on more than one occasion. You probably know how the rest of the story usually goes. God creates paradise in a mere seven days, he then creates both man and woman in his own image, tells them not to eat the fruit from the tree in the center of the Garden, the serpent tempts them into eating the fruit anyway, God banishes the pair of them from paradise and life pretty much stinks after that. Well, it might surprise you to know that this version of the story has a bit of a twist. Let us start our narrative on the 6th day, the day when God decides to create man. This is where things start to take a bit of a different turn. As God looked down upon his creation, upon all of the birds in the air, the beasts of the land, and the fish in the sea, he decided that, rather than create a new creature, God would elevate one of the animals to a higher status. Greater intelligence, different physique, spiritual awareness, a representative of God himself from among his own creations. To that end, God scoured the land high and low looking for just such a creature. Eventually, God settled on one such individual, a red fox, both cunning of mind and strong of body, but also possessed of a pure heart untouched by malice or greed.

God (played by King Richard): That is the one,

Narrator: (VO) God said.

God: He shall be my representative among all the creatures that crawl on the earth, fly through the air, or swim in the water. He shall be as I myself, and shall serve as my steward upon the earth.

Narrator: (VO) And so God took the fox and molded him in mind and body. His mind became sharper, his thoughts more self-aware, his body lengthened, his forepaws developing extra digits, and his hind legs grew so strong that he could stand upright on them alone. As the fox looked around at his surroundings with new understanding, his mind began to fill with a sense of both wonder and confusion. Upon gazing at his new body, the fox was really confused.

Fox: (thinking) What has happened to me?

Narrator: (VO) The fox thought,

Fox: (thinking) What has caused me to change and become different from my brethren?

God: I have elevated you above my fellow creatures.

Narrator: (VO) Came a voice from above.

God: You are now as I myself, your maker.

Narrator: (VO) The currently nameless fox gazed up at where the voice was coming from, and in the Heavens he saw the smiling face of a lion with compassionate eyes.

Fox: Tell me my maker,

Narrator: (VO) Asked the fox,

Fox: What would you have me do with this gift you have bestowed upon me?

God: You shall be my representative upon the earth,

Narrator: (VO) Replied God,

God: You shall oversee every creature that creeps, crawls or flies, and in return, you shall be provided with everlasting life and fresh bounties of food.

Narrator: (VO) The fox bowed before his maker and replied simply,

Fox: I will do as you say oh Lord, for I am your loyal servant.

God: Excellent,

Narrator: (VO) Said God,

God: And as you are the first of all creatures to be given individuality, it is only fitting that I give you a name, and you shall be called Robin.

Robin: Thank you Lord,

Narrator: (VO) Said Robin, bowing again. And so, for a while, everything went pretty smoothly, Robin went on serving as God's steward taking care of all the animals in Paradise and overseeing every tree in the Garden that bore every kind of fruit one could imagine. Over time, however, Robin became lonely being the only one of his kind, though he had many friends among all the other animal inhabitants of the Garden, none of them could fill the void in his heart. Naturally, God saw this and thought,

God: (thinking) This will certainly not do,

Narrator: (VO) And so sought out a mate for Robin. Now, normally this would be the part where God makes the man fall into a deep sleep and removes one of his ribs in order to create woman. But again, this is where our story diverges. As he did with Robin, God scoured the entire Garden looking for a suitable mate for Robin among all of the animals, particularly the foxes. Before long, God set his sights on a young vixen who was not only fair of face, but, like Robin, pure of heart. So, God took the vixen, granted her the same gift of anthropomorphism he had given to Robin, and brought her to her future mate. When Robin first laid eyes on the beautiful anthropomorphic vixen before him, his heart went pitter-patter in his chest, and as she laid eyes on the handsome Reynard before her, she felt the same way. Yes, believe it or not, it was love at first sight.

God: She is flesh of your flesh and blood of your blood,

Narrator: (VO) Stated God,

God: She shall be your helper, your partner, and your mate, and together, you shall oversee all of my creation.

Narrator: (VO) And so Robin and his mate, whom he came to call Marian, continued to watch over all the animals in creation and enjoy the bounty provided for them by their maker. And in their spare time, the pair would frolic and play in the beautiful Garden of Eden enjoying each other's company and living a generally happy and carefree existence. However, down below in the realm of Hell, envious eyes were watching the happy couple. Seated upon his brimstone thrown, a scowl upon his face, Lucifer, former right hand Angel to God himself, watched the proceedings on Earth and growled contemptuously. At one point, he had been God's favorite creation, beloved above all the angels in Heaven. And just because he led one little rebellion against his creator, he was demoted, banished, and imprisoned in a place as far from the light of Heaven as you could get. And now here he was, sulking in a perpetual inferno while God played around with his new favorite creation. Lucifer scoffed. But if there was one thing rebellion against God had taught him, it was the value of patience. All he had to do was bide his time. And when an opportunity presented itself, strike! Then he would be able to gain a foothold into this so-called paradise that his ungrateful maker had created. And from there, he would establish a beachhead from which to reclaim his rightful place in the heavens. As it turns out, an opportunity did present itself. In the center of the Garden of Eden there was this one tree known as the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. God had specifically told both Robin and Marian not to eat of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge, nor even to touch the fruit, lest they both die. Naturally, both Robin and Marian had agreed to follow their creator's command to the letter. And who should be watching this exchange at just that time? None other than Lucifer himself. And the devil was rubbing his hands gleefully together all the while in anticipation of his upcoming triumph. Now here's where another familiar face enters the scene. The serpent. You know, the so-called most sly and deceitful creature in the entire Garden. Now the serpent saw how God had elevated Robin and Marian above all the other creatures in the Garden and was also envious of their status. Seeing this, and knowing that he was unable to operate in the mortal world personally, Lucifer decided to use the serpent as his agent within the Garden. Lucifer contacted the serpent, told him about the forbidden Tree of Knowledge in the center of the Garden, and explained his plan. What's more, Lucifer promised that if the serpent completed his task, then Lucifer would elevate the serpent to a higher state of being just as God had done to Robin and Marian. Gleefully the serpent agreed to Lucifer's plan and made ready to carry out their diabolical scheme. On one particular day, after Robin and Marian had enjoyed a swim in the nearby river, they both lay together under the shade of a tree in order to dry off. Little did they realize, the tree that they took shelter under was none other than the Tree of Knowledge. It was at this time that the serpent decided to make his move. As the pair of anthro lovers slept, the serpent slowly slithered down from the top of the tree, a crooked smile on his face.

Serpent (played by Sir Hiss): Good morning.

Narrator: (VO) The serpent purred in a hissing voice. The sound of the voice startled Robin and Marian, who sat bolt upright.

Serpent: Don't be afraid,

Narrator: (VO) The serpent cooed,

Serpent: I'm not here to hurt you. And why should I? We're all creatures of God, are we not? We're all friends here, aren't we?

Narrator: (VO) Robin and Marian looked at each other apprehensively, they supposed what the serpent said was true.

Marian: Why do you call upon us on this lovely day?

Narrator: (VO) Inquired Marian.

Serpent: Actually,

Narrator: (VO) Said the serpent,

Serpent: I couldn't help but notice the two of you swimming in the river earlier, I imagine you both must be feeling rather hungry after a workout.

Narrator: (VO) As he said this, the serpent coiled around one of the fruits of the tree and plucked it off the branch.

Serpent: Why not try some of this? It's the most delicious fruit in the entire Garden.

Narrator: (VO) But both Robin and Marian recognized the Forbidden Fruit from the Tree of Knowledge and recoiled at the serpent's offering.

Serpent: What's the matter?

Narrator: (VO) The serpent asked innocently,

Serpent: Did God not say you could eat of the fruit of any tree in the Garden?

Robin: Any fruit, but that which grows on the tree in the center of the Garden.

Narrator: (VO) Stated Robin firmly.

Serpent: Why do you suppose that is?

Narrator: (VO) Inquired the serpent. When Robin and Marian did not respond, the serpent continued,

Serpent: It is because God knows that once you eat of the Fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, then you will be as God himself, you will possess ultimate knowledge equal to that of your maker. Why would God plant this tree and its fruit if he did not intend for you to have it? With such knowledge, you could stand beside him as equals, isn't that what you want?

Narrator: (VO) Now this would be the part where the man and the woman would accept the Forbidden Fruit and everything would turn sour. But, fortunately, this is the third and final part where our story diverges.

Robin and Marian: No!

Narrator: (VO) Stated both Robin and Marian firmly, holding up their hands in a gesture of refusal. The serpent just sat there dumbfounded.

Serpent: No?

Narrator: (VO) He asked in disbelief.

Robin: You heard us.

Narrator: (VO) Stated Robin, as he and Marian both got up and began to walk away.

Serpent: But, but...

Narrator: (VO) Stammered the serpent.

Serpent: ...ultimate knowledge.

Narrator: (VO) Robin turned his head slightly to glare back at the serpent, even as he and Marian continued to walk away.

Robin: If God wanted us to have such knowledge, then he wouldn't have forbidden us to partake of it.

Marian: Besides,

Narrator: (VO) Added Marian,

Marian: We are perfectly content with the knowledge that we have, why would we need any more?

Narrator: (VO) And after sticking her tongue out at the wicked reptile, she and Robin turned their heads back with a snort and continued on their way. As the serpent just sat there gob-smacked, a booming voice came from the heavens.

God: As you can see,

Narrator: (VO) Came the voice of God.

God: Robin and Marian are too pure of heart to be corrupted by pride. That is where they have succeeded where your master, Lucifer has failed.

Narrator: (VO) The serpent trembled in fear, knowing what was to come next.

God: And now...

Narrator: (VO) Declared God.

God: ...for your transactions, you shall share in your master's fate.

Narrator: (VO) There was a flash of red fire, and then the serpent was gone, vanished to share Lucifer's torment in hell. After taking care of business with the serpent, God turned his attention to Robin and Marian. Smiling proudly at the young couple who had succeeded in living up to his expectations, God decided that the two of them deserved a reward. That night, as Robin and Marian lay under the stars, a feeling of arousal came over the two of them. Without understanding or caring why, the pair of anthro foxes embraced each other, their lips and their bodies intertwining with each other in perfect intimacy. The next morning, Robin and Marian woke up feeling more tired than usual, their memories of what happened the night before were blurry, but still quite pleasant. A couple of months later, however, Marian's belly began to show signs of unusual growth. What's more, Marian could feel something moving around inside her. Naturally, the couple were concerned, to put it mildly, and so they did the natural thing and asked God about it.

God: Fear not,

Narrator: (VO) Came God's reply.

God: For I have given you a gift. What you carry within you, Marian, is the first of yours and Robin's children. The fruit of a new generation that I will use to populate the Earth. In nine months time, you two shall become proud parents.

Narrator: (VO) Overjoyed, Robin and Marian thanked God from the bottom of their hearts and as nine months passed, the pair waited patiently as the baby grew within Marian's womb. Thankfully, as they did not taste the forbidden fruit, this was a blissful pregnancy without all the negative aspects such as contractions or morning sickness. In the meantime, God was so pleased with the success of his first two anthro children, that he decided to make more. And so he scoured over all of creation, selecting two among every kind of animal, every creature of the land, every bird in the air, every fish from the sea, and elevated them above their brethren, just as he had done with Robin and Marian. At the end of nine months, Marian gave birth, painlessly, to a beautiful baby boy, whom she and Robin decided to name Robert. And before long, the other anthro couples whom God had elevated also began to breed and make little ones of their own. And as time passed, their little ones began to make little ones, and so on and so forth. And so it was that paradise was preserved, thanks to the pure hearts of a pair of foxes. And the world remained a beautiful and perfect place without disease, pain, war, conflict, money, jobs, schools, clothes, or any kind of influence from the devil whatsoever. And of course, everyone lived happily ever after.