Directed by Ted Berman, Richard Rich and Art Stevens
Written by Larry Clemmons, Ted Berman, David Michener, Peter Young, Burny Mattinson, Steve Hulett, Earl Kress and Vance Gerry. Based on The Fox and the Hound by David P. Mannix.
Premiered July 10, 1981
83 minutes
Rated G
Synopsis
After a fox cub's mother is killed by a hunter, the kindly forest matriarch owl Big Mama (Pearl Bailey), arranges for him to be adopted by the lonely Widow Tweed (Jeanette Nolan) who names him Tod (Keith Mitchell). Meanwhile, the widow's neighbor, grumpy hunter Amos Slade (Jack Albertson) has acquired a new hound dog puppy named Copper (Corey Feldman) much to the chagrin of first dog, Chief (Pat Buttram). Unknowing they are supposed to be enemies, Tod and Copper become quick friends. But when the friends reach adulthood, their relationship becomes far more strained and complicated when Copper (Kurt Russell) becomes the hunter and Tod (Mickey Rooney) becomes the hunted.
Before We Begin
Well...The Fox and the Hound is probably the "worst" DAF in my Fondness category. Yes, The Black Cauldron has its detractors, but there is something redeeming in its scope, singularity and ambition. The Fox and the Hound doesn't have that. The Fox and the Hound is saccharine and simplistic and just very weak by all accounts. It does have its fans, and those fans are usually male, fond of hunting (despite its very PETA-esque morals), and saw it at very young age. I can think of but one person--a younger brother of a classmate of mine--who absolutely loved this movie and he fits all this criteria. (I'm happy to hear from anyone else who does love this movie and why. Please, unnarrow my mind.)
So, while I openly admit that I am fond of The Fox and the Hound, I by no means think it a masterpiece...or even a very good movie. It was made in those dark days after Walt but before Jeffrey Katzenberg, when Disney was flailing about. The last DAF to feature a predominately human cast was The Sword in the Stone from way back in 1963...shortly after JFK was assassinated, mind you. For nearly two decades, it had been wall-to-wall talking animal movies. Why fix what was kind of working?
The production of The Fox and the Hound was strained (are you noticing a pattern here?) which involved arguments between the old guard and the new, hot-blooded animators. (re: Waking Sleeping Beauty). Also, dissatisfied with the direction of the film and Disney in general, veteran animator Don Bluth jumped ship, taking 13 other animators with him to start his own production company mid way through production. It's a wonder this film was ever finished, let alone mostly coherent. It deserves a little slack.
Yes, I am fond of The Fox and the Hound, but...
So, while I openly admit that I am fond of The Fox and the Hound, I by no means think it a masterpiece...or even a very good movie. It was made in those dark days after Walt but before Jeffrey Katzenberg, when Disney was flailing about. The last DAF to feature a predominately human cast was The Sword in the Stone from way back in 1963...shortly after JFK was assassinated, mind you. For nearly two decades, it had been wall-to-wall talking animal movies. Why fix what was kind of working?
The production of The Fox and the Hound was strained (are you noticing a pattern here?) which involved arguments between the old guard and the new, hot-blooded animators. (re: Waking Sleeping Beauty). Also, dissatisfied with the direction of the film and Disney in general, veteran animator Don Bluth jumped ship, taking 13 other animators with him to start his own production company mid way through production. It's a wonder this film was ever finished, let alone mostly coherent. It deserves a little slack.
Yes, I am fond of The Fox and the Hound, but...
Mötley Müsings
• First off...it's Super Bowl Sunday and because I love my husband very much, I am taping the game while he has to work so we can watch it together later. Therefore, it's Disney time and I am going to attempt hooking up my VCR while two drinks in. Wish me luck.
• Success!
• Damn it, I should have done a whole Drunk Disney blog and had themed drinks for every movie--rum for Peter Pan, wine for Lady and the Tramp...oh, well. Too late now. Occasionally you'll get random buzzed posts like this.
• Love that curly-cue font that was so popular in the late 70s/early 80s. It was like everyone was a teenage girl.
• Sleepy forest opening. There was just a different pace this era's filmmaking, you know? Like no one was in a hurry to check their Twitter feed.
• Is that spider web reused from Fantasia?
• Do foxes usually only have one baby at a time?
• "You know the really sad part in Bambi? Let's open our movie with that." -- Disney writers, c. 1980
• "When you're good to Mama, Mama's good to you..."
• You can already see Don Bluth's fingerprints all over this. Especially with the Widow Tweed.
• Oh, Dinky and Boomer...the Rosencrantz and Guildenstern of this epic tragedy. All scenes with them are wasted screen time, even if the caterpillar is pretty likable.
• The Widow Tweed reminds me very much of the mother in Don Bluth's Thumbelina. Just sayin'. And she reminds me of Rufus in The Rescuers! WAT!?
• Doesn't this just want to make you go out and adopt an animal? Yeah, me neither...
• The voice of Amos Slade (Jack Albertson) is Grandpa Joe in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. #themoreyouknow
• When in the hell does this movie take place? The twenties? Thirties? Just going off of the car and the clothes.
• Tod is very catlike, you know. And yet foxes are canine.
• Also, the name Todd means "fox". #themoreyouknow
• Either my vision is compromised or this video looks pretty damn good, all things considered.
• This movie really is short on plot.
• However, if this were made today, it would be some allegory about race. A more heavy-handed allegory about race. (re: Zootopia) Yeah, I went there. Prejudice is taught and not inherent within us. Only YOU can prevent racism, kids!
• Oh yeah...there are songs in this movies..BUT CAN YOU SING ONE TO ME?
• "Copper, you're my very best friend."
"And you're mine too, Tod."
THAT HAPPENED FAST. HOLY FUCK.
• Pants falling down is NEVER NOT FUNNY.
• She SHOT his CAR!? How is that fair!? And she doesn't believe a fox wanted to eat his chickens? That's asinine.
• Are puppies taken on hunting trips? He looks too young to be doing that, but I don't know nothin' 'bout huntin'.
• Here comes the conflict: foxes are prey, hunting dogs will hunt whatever their masters tell them to. Tod and Copper are never equals like Romeo and Juliet, for example. One is lower on the totem pole.
• "Darling, forever is a long, long time and time has a way of changing things."
• And WHY didn't Dinky and Boomer fly south for the winter? To bring us this dumb scene, obviously.
• Oh, there they go. My bad.
• Run, bunny!
• Look at all those hides! I'm happy to be a vegetarian. Six months tomorrow, bitch!
• Okay, I'll say it: Mickey Rooney was a very odd choice to voice Adult Tod. Hollywood legend, sure, but relevant in 1981? He was sixty years old! I mean, looking at his filmography, he was still working and good for him. But there's something about him that doesn't fit. It feels weird. Am I wrong?
• Tod, basically: "It's different because it's me." HAHAHAHA.
• HOWEVER, Kurt Russell, very relevant in '81 (Escape from New York), does fit his character. And he's going all in. You can tell Kurt Russell is into it. He and Disney go WAY back.
• Oh, this break up scene is heart breaking. It's like your boyfriend dumping you after summer vacay when you thought things were cool.
• "Tod, I don't wanna see you get killed. I'll let you go this one time." WHICH MEANS HE MIGHT KILL YOU LATER!?!?!?!?
• Oh, but there's Chief. He ain't gonna be so nice.
• WHOA. That was a brutal fall for Chief. Originally, it was fatal, but that was deemed too dark for Disney. But it WOULD make sense for Copper to be all vengeful if his friend/mentor died instead of breaking his leg or some shit.
• So Widow Tweed takes Tod to the game preserve, back to nature, where he belongs to save him from Amos Slade's bloodthirsty wrath.
• CRYING. Can you imagine doing this? Leaving your pet, who you've raised from a baby, in the woods!? I am totally, literally, legitimately crying right now.
• And as pampered Tod wanders about the rainy forest, I'm getting total Bongo vibes right now.
• Copper turned on Tod (his original best friend) because he hurt Chief (his current best friend).
• "Handsome? Oh, he sure sounds nice." What a shallow bitch.
• "Hey, Tod...the forest ain't so bad. You can get some in the forest."
• Vixey don't take no shit though. Good for her. It is the 80s after all.
• This is very Bambi, once again.
• The moment Amos Slade enters the game preserve to hunt Tod is the moment he becomes the true villain.
• Did they bang? Probably.
• Dude, listen to Vixey! She's spent WAY more time in the forest than you have, bro.
• Think about it: What if your childhood best friend was trying to kill you and your partner?
• Stop whining, Vixey.
• Oh, the bear fight. Tod fights the bear to give Copper a chance to escape. #friendship
• And now it's Copper's turn to be a good friend.
• This is probably the unhappiest ending in all of Disney. Am I wrong? Widow Tweed and Amos are getting along. Chief is on the mend. Tod has Vixey and Copper has his fond memories. BUT NOTHING IS EVER THE SAME AGAIN.
• Damn it, I should have done a whole Drunk Disney blog and had themed drinks for every movie--rum for Peter Pan, wine for Lady and the Tramp...oh, well. Too late now. Occasionally you'll get random buzzed posts like this.
• Love that curly-cue font that was so popular in the late 70s/early 80s. It was like everyone was a teenage girl.
• Sleepy forest opening. There was just a different pace this era's filmmaking, you know? Like no one was in a hurry to check their Twitter feed.
• Is that spider web reused from Fantasia?
• Do foxes usually only have one baby at a time?
• "You know the really sad part in Bambi? Let's open our movie with that." -- Disney writers, c. 1980
• "When you're good to Mama, Mama's good to you..."
• You can already see Don Bluth's fingerprints all over this. Especially with the Widow Tweed.
• Oh, Dinky and Boomer...the Rosencrantz and Guildenstern of this epic tragedy. All scenes with them are wasted screen time, even if the caterpillar is pretty likable.
• The Widow Tweed reminds me very much of the mother in Don Bluth's Thumbelina. Just sayin'. And she reminds me of Rufus in The Rescuers! WAT!?
• Doesn't this just want to make you go out and adopt an animal? Yeah, me neither...
• The voice of Amos Slade (Jack Albertson) is Grandpa Joe in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. #themoreyouknow
• When in the hell does this movie take place? The twenties? Thirties? Just going off of the car and the clothes.
• Tod is very catlike, you know. And yet foxes are canine.
• Also, the name Todd means "fox". #themoreyouknow
• Either my vision is compromised or this video looks pretty damn good, all things considered.
• This movie really is short on plot.
• However, if this were made today, it would be some allegory about race. A more heavy-handed allegory about race. (re: Zootopia) Yeah, I went there. Prejudice is taught and not inherent within us. Only YOU can prevent racism, kids!
• Oh yeah...there are songs in this movies..BUT CAN YOU SING ONE TO ME?
• "Copper, you're my very best friend."
"And you're mine too, Tod."
THAT HAPPENED FAST. HOLY FUCK.
• Pants falling down is NEVER NOT FUNNY.
• She SHOT his CAR!? How is that fair!? And she doesn't believe a fox wanted to eat his chickens? That's asinine.
• Are puppies taken on hunting trips? He looks too young to be doing that, but I don't know nothin' 'bout huntin'.
• Here comes the conflict: foxes are prey, hunting dogs will hunt whatever their masters tell them to. Tod and Copper are never equals like Romeo and Juliet, for example. One is lower on the totem pole.
• "Darling, forever is a long, long time and time has a way of changing things."
• And WHY didn't Dinky and Boomer fly south for the winter? To bring us this dumb scene, obviously.
• Oh, there they go. My bad.
• Run, bunny!
• Look at all those hides! I'm happy to be a vegetarian. Six months tomorrow, bitch!
• Okay, I'll say it: Mickey Rooney was a very odd choice to voice Adult Tod. Hollywood legend, sure, but relevant in 1981? He was sixty years old! I mean, looking at his filmography, he was still working and good for him. But there's something about him that doesn't fit. It feels weird. Am I wrong?
• Tod, basically: "It's different because it's me." HAHAHAHA.
• HOWEVER, Kurt Russell, very relevant in '81 (Escape from New York), does fit his character. And he's going all in. You can tell Kurt Russell is into it. He and Disney go WAY back.
• Oh, this break up scene is heart breaking. It's like your boyfriend dumping you after summer vacay when you thought things were cool.
• "Tod, I don't wanna see you get killed. I'll let you go this one time." WHICH MEANS HE MIGHT KILL YOU LATER!?!?!?!?
• Oh, but there's Chief. He ain't gonna be so nice.
• WHOA. That was a brutal fall for Chief. Originally, it was fatal, but that was deemed too dark for Disney. But it WOULD make sense for Copper to be all vengeful if his friend/mentor died instead of breaking his leg or some shit.
• So Widow Tweed takes Tod to the game preserve, back to nature, where he belongs to save him from Amos Slade's bloodthirsty wrath.
• CRYING. Can you imagine doing this? Leaving your pet, who you've raised from a baby, in the woods!? I am totally, literally, legitimately crying right now.
• And as pampered Tod wanders about the rainy forest, I'm getting total Bongo vibes right now.
• Copper turned on Tod (his original best friend) because he hurt Chief (his current best friend).
• "Handsome? Oh, he sure sounds nice." What a shallow bitch.
• "Hey, Tod...the forest ain't so bad. You can get some in the forest."
• Vixey don't take no shit though. Good for her. It is the 80s after all.
• This is very Bambi, once again.
• The moment Amos Slade enters the game preserve to hunt Tod is the moment he becomes the true villain.
• Did they bang? Probably.
• Dude, listen to Vixey! She's spent WAY more time in the forest than you have, bro.
• Think about it: What if your childhood best friend was trying to kill you and your partner?
• Stop whining, Vixey.
• Oh, the bear fight. Tod fights the bear to give Copper a chance to escape. #friendship
• And now it's Copper's turn to be a good friend.
• This is probably the unhappiest ending in all of Disney. Am I wrong? Widow Tweed and Amos are getting along. Chief is on the mend. Tod has Vixey and Copper has his fond memories. BUT NOTHING IS EVER THE SAME AGAIN.
Final Thoughts
All right, I like this movie because it's realistic. People grow, their priorities change. Promises made in youth ("And we'll always be friends forever. Won't we?") become less important as time passes. It's ugly and unsentimental, but it's true. People shit on this movie because it's twee (and yes, parts of it most certainly are), but perhaps people really dislike The Fox and the Hound because holds up a mirror and shows us our reality--who we say we'll always be can change and often does.
The Fox and the Hound is an oddity in the Disney canon due to its bittersweet ending. (Seriously, what am I forgetting that holds a candle to this?) Disney Animated Features are usually about overcoming the odds, becoming unstar-cross'd, like a beauty learning to love a beast, or a mermaid landing a human prince, or even a bitch with a fancy collar and uptown address hooking up with a tramp from the wrong side of the tracks. The fact that Tod and Copper don't remain friends or even try is weird given Disney's track record with saying "screw you" to the odds. (I'm thinking of Bolt and Zootopia where--a dog and a cat and a fox and a bunny become friends, respectively, given the similar issues.)
So fine, all the characters are quite two dimensional, the songs are lazy, and the animation varies in style and quality, but I am damn-it-all fond of The Fox and the Hound. It goes there, where no animated feature for children (at least to my knowledge) dares to go. Sometimes friendships simply fall apart. Sometimes they are ruptured by outside sources. But even if Tod and Copper lead separate lives, it doesn't make their time together any less any less important or meaningful.
The Fox and the Hound is an oddity in the Disney canon due to its bittersweet ending. (Seriously, what am I forgetting that holds a candle to this?) Disney Animated Features are usually about overcoming the odds, becoming unstar-cross'd, like a beauty learning to love a beast, or a mermaid landing a human prince, or even a bitch with a fancy collar and uptown address hooking up with a tramp from the wrong side of the tracks. The fact that Tod and Copper don't remain friends or even try is weird given Disney's track record with saying "screw you" to the odds. (I'm thinking of Bolt and Zootopia where--a dog and a cat and a fox and a bunny become friends, respectively, given the similar issues.)
So fine, all the characters are quite two dimensional, the songs are lazy, and the animation varies in style and quality, but I am damn-it-all fond of The Fox and the Hound. It goes there, where no animated feature for children (at least to my knowledge) dares to go. Sometimes friendships simply fall apart. Sometimes they are ruptured by outside sources. But even if Tod and Copper lead separate lives, it doesn't make their time together any less any less important or meaningful.
Thank you, Disney. For once, you taught us one of life's more unpleasant lessons.
Favorite Character
 |
| Squeaks the caterpillar-cum-butterfly. Why not? |
Favorite Moment -- Copper stands in front of Tod as Amos prepares to shoot him.
Favorite Song -- "Goodbye May Seem Forever" performed by Jeannette Nolan and Chorus
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