Ivanhoe is the Burbank Films Australia adaptation of the Walter Scott novel. It was released in 1986
Having been exiled from his fathers home, the valiant Ivanhoe joins the Third Crusade and becomes known for his bravery and skill. After saving King Richard's life from a Saracen ambush, Richard offers him the pick of any treasure he desires. However, Ivanhoe has only one request; to return to England and his beloved Rowena, over who's love he was cast out by his father, who hopes to marry her to the Saxon noble Athelstane, and create a new Saxon dynasty. With Richards blessing, Ivanhoe returns to England in secret under the guise of a pilgrim, only to find it under the yoke of Prince John and his Norman supporters, who have put themselves up as tyrants in King Richard's absence. With the help of his old squire Gurth and Isaac of York, who Ivanhoe rescues from bandits, Ivanhoe takes part in Prince John's annual tournament as the Disinherited Knight in his quest to prove himself worthy of Rowena, but soon finds himself drawn into the struggle for the future of England.
The film has examples of:
- Abhorrent Admirer: Front-De-Bouef and Bois-Guilbert to Rowena and Rebecca respectively. Unlike the novel where Bois-Gilbert is fairly handsome and has at least some good in him, in this version, both knights are portrayed as repulsive, cruel bastards.
- Adaptation Distillation: This adaption cuts several aspects and subplots, such as Bois-Guilbert's Templar Knight brethren, Rebecca being condemned as a witch by the Templar Grandmaster, the duel between Bois-Guilbert and Ivanhoe at the end, and the social issues facing Isaac of York in his role as an English Jew.
- Adaptational Villainy: Bois-Guilbert loses every positive aspect of his character, such as his genuine love for Rebecca, which is portrayed as little more than cruel lust here.
- Adaptation Name Change: Maurice de Bracy becomes Eustace de Bracy.
- Animal Motif: Raven for Bois-Guilbert, Bull for Front-De-Bouef.
- Aristocrats Are Evil: Justified in-story, as most of the good ones are either away in the Crusades with King Richard, or have been stripped of their lands and titles by Prince John to reward his Norman lackeys, exploiting his brother's absence. Robin Hood is one good aristocrat who has suffered such a fate.
- Badass Preacher: Friar Tuck gets a non-speaking cameo as a participants in the battle for Torquilstone. What really sets this scene apart as a
One-Scene Wonder is that Tuck fights with his bare hands, chastises the enemy soldiers, knocks them out with a single knock on the head, then does a brief prayer of repentance, before repeating it with the next soldier. - Berserk Button: Remind Front-de-Boeuf of his defeat at the hands of Thomas Multon and he will try and kill you.
- Big Damn Heroes: First by Ivanhoe in the Holy Land to save Richard from a Saracen, later on from the Black Knight to save the Disinherited Knight from Front-de-Bouef.
- Cassandra Truth: When the Black Knight identifies himself as Richard, Front-de-Bouef replies with "The King is in Palestine!"
- Composite Character: Though mentioned De Bracy does not appear and Front-de-Bouef is the one who is infatuated with Rowena.
- Cold-Blooded Torture: Front-De-Bouef has Isaac and Lord Cedric tortured to force Rowena and Rebecca to agree to marry him and Bois-Guilbert. Thankfully, they don't manage to get very far before Ivanhoe and Robin Hood lead the assault on Torquilstone.
- Demoted to Extra: Wamba, to the point he appears but neither does he speak nor is his name ever mentioned.
- De Bracy and Athelstane might have faired worse. They are mentioned but never appear in person.
- Disney Villain Death: Front-de-Bouef gets this by falling into the flaming inferno that was Torquilstone.
- Dirty Coward: Both Bois-Guilbert and Front-De-Bouef are rather cowardly, but the latter is by far the worst, as he delights in lording over anyone weaker than him, but begs for his miserable life and calls for assistance when King Richard turns out to be too tough for him. Even Bois-Guilbert didn't beg when Ivanhoe had him dead to rights.
- The Dog Bites Back: Like in the novel, Ulrica Torquilstone dishes out one hell of a bite. Having been kept as a slave by Front-De-Bouef since he killed her father, the original lord of Torquilstone, she escapes from the dungeons during the siege, and confronts Front-De-Bouef on the battlements, and places a curse on him; that he won't die a soldiers death, but will die like a fox in his den. To make sure this comes to pass, she sets fire to the castle while everyone else is caught up in the battle, and when a dazed Front-De-Bouef comes to after being knocked out by Ivanhoe, he discovers the fire and Ulrica. When he attempts to go after her for revenge, the walkway he's on collapses, plunging him into the inferno, fulfilling the curse. Ulrica then gleefully goes to her own death.
- The Evil Prince: Prince John, true to form, having used King Richard's absence to seize power for himself and enrich his tyrannical Norman yes-men.
- Fat Bastard: Front-De-Bouef. Even his armor requires a considerable girth to fit him.
- The Good King: King Richard. Even the Norman-hating Lord Cedric approves of him.
- Greater-Scope Villain: Prince John, who's the one enabling Front-De-Boeuf and Bois-Guilbert's evil.
- Horny Vikings: While no Vikings appear, Front-de-Boeuf's helmet features horns as a subtle reminder of whom the Normans are descended from. In contrast, the Black Knight's helmet feature wings which is also stereotypically attributed to Vikings.
- Lean and Mean: Unlike his Fat Bastard friend, Bois-Guilbert is very tall and lean, he towers over most of the other characters, even Ivanhoe, though he doesn't measure up to the latter's Heroic Build.
- Royals Who Actually Do Something: King Richard participates in the assault on Torquilstone.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: When Torquilstone falls, Boil-Gilbert and Front-De-Bouef attempt this, taking Rowena and Rebecca with them, but only the former manages to get away, as Ulrica shuts the passage before Front-De-Bouef can get away, trapping him inside the castle.
- Ship Tease: For some odd reason, this version teases a romantic attraction between Ivanhoe's squire Gurth and Rebecca, after he attempts to save her from Bois-Guilbert.
- Spared by the Adaptation: Bois-Guilbert. It seems like Robin's arrow kills him, but it just knocked him out.
- Spiritual Successor: To Burbank Films own animated adaptation of The Adventures of Robin Hood and quite an improvement over both the former and it's own spiritual successor The New Adventures of Robin Hood.
- Villain Respect: Unlike Front-De-Bouef, Bois-Guilbert willingly admits to his defeat at Ivanhoe's hands in the tournament held in Jerusalem, even when Ivanhoe himself (in disguise as a pilgrim, unbeknownst to everybody) tries to play down his victory. Of course, he also takes the opportunity to challenge Ivanhoe to the tourney at Ashby, thinking than Ivanhoe is still away in the Crusades.
