The Fox and the Hound
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The Fox and the Hound is a 1981 American animated drama film produced by Walt Disney Productions. It was originally released to theaters on July 10, 1981.
Plot
After his mother is killed, Tod the fox (Mickey Rooney) is taken in by the kindly Widow Tweed (Jeanette Nolan). He soon befriends the neighbor's new hound dog, Copper (Kurt Russell). The two are inseparable, but their friendship is hampered by their masters and by the fact that they are, by nature, enemies. They grow apart as they grow older; Copper has become a strong hunting dog and Tod a wild fox. The pair must overcome their inherent differences in order to salvage their friendship.
Good Qualities
- Very heartwarming story about friendship despite differences.
- Like the majority of Disney films, the animation has great quality in it.
- Excellent voice acting.
- Great soundtrack: "Goodbye May Seem Forever" is a very heartwarming song that says that even when we can't be with the people we care about, they will always be with us in our hearts. "Best of Friends", which describes the general theme of the movie, is also a heartwarming song. "Appreciate the Lady" is a good romance song, with a message about honesty. And finally, the film score by Buddy Baker is excellent as well.
- Lots of emotional moments, such as Tod getting adopted and when Widow Tweed abandons Tod.
- Great comic relief, especially Dinky and Boomer chasing the caterpillar.
- Its representation of the environment is pretty accurate.
- Excellent characterization of the main characters, Tod and Copper.
- The chase scenes are exciting.
- The movie is one of three Disney movies (the other two being Bambi and The Rescuers Down Under) to give an environmental message about why it's wrong to be cruel to innocent animals.
Bad Qualities
- The follow-up is not considered to be one of the better Disney sequels (though it's actually a midquel).
- While still a family film, this movie has some very dark and sad moments, such as the beginning of the film where Tod's mother is killed by a hunter, Tod and Copper becoming enemies despite wanting to be friends, and the scene where Chief is almost killed from being hit by a train. However, he does not die, despite the fact that the creators were originally going to have him die like in the original novel on which this film is based. The bear fight towards the end might scare younger audiences as well.
- Troubled production: This film had many troubles going on with the production. Several veteran animators either retired or died early in production. Batches of animation drawings were stolen, leaving several scenes to be rotoscoped from pencil tests. Many of the studio's new young animators clashed with original director Wolfgang Reitherman's tough style, and while co-director Art Stevens usually sided with the younger animators, even he was adamantly against their insistence that the character of Chief should die in the film (Chief survives with a broken leg). These clashes drove Don Bluth to lead an exodus of practically half the animation team, delaying its release by six months and turning him into Disney's Arch-Enemy for a long while. Clashes still occurred between Reitherman, Stevens and Disney CEO Ron Miller, particularly with Stevens scrapping a planned song for the film performed by Phil Harris and Charo that Reitherman claimed was needed, believing the film did not have a strong second act; this ultimately led to Reitherman, who had directed nearly all of Disney's animated films since the 1960s and produced them since Walt Disney's death, to be Kicked Upstairs. The film would still turn a profit, but the after effects of its production would carry over to...
Critical reception
In his book The Disney Films, Leonard Maltin also notes that the fight scene between Copper, Tod, and the bear received great praise in the animation world. However, Maltin felt the film relied too much on "formula cuteness, formula comedy relief, and even formula characterizations". Overall, he considered the film "charming" stating that it is "warm, and brimming with personable characters" and that it "approaches the old Disney magic at times."
Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times also praised the film, saying that "for all of its familiar qualities, this movie marks something of a departure for the Disney studio, and its movement is in an interesting direction. The Fox and the Hound is one of those relatively rare Disney animated features that contains a useful lesson for its younger audiences. It's not just cute animals and frightening adventures and a happy ending; it's also a rather thoughtful meditation on how society determines our behavior."
Rotten Tomatoes reported that the film received a 70% approval rating with an average rating of 6.48/10 based on 27 reviews. The website's consensus states that "The Fox and the Hound is a likable, charming, unassuming effort that manages to transcend its thin, predictable plot".
Trivia
- The film is very loosely based on the 1967 novel of the same name by Daniel P. Mannix. However, the novel is much less known than the movie.
- The film was the 24th full-length animated feature film from Walt Disney Animation Studios, and the last to be produced by the studio when it was known as "Walt Disney Productions" until 1983. Starting with the next Disney animated feature film, The Black Cauldron, the studio would be known as Walt Disney Feature Animation until 2007 with Meet the Robinsons, when it would be given its current name.
- The three directors of the film were Art Stevens, Ted Berman, and Richard Rich. It was the last Disney movie directed by Art Stevens, and the first directed by Ted Berman and Richard Rich. Berman and Rich would next direct The Black Cauldron just four years later in 1985.
- With a budget of $12 million, The Fox and the Hound was the most expensive animated film produced at its time. However, The Black Cauldron would break this record with a budget of $44 million.
- This film marked the last film to have the involvement of the Disney's Nine Old Men who had retired early during production, and animation was turned over the next generation of directors and animators, which included John Lasseter, John Musker, Ron Clements, Glen Keane, Tim Burton, Brad Bird, Henry Selick, Chris Buck, and Mark Dindal, all of whom would finalize the animation and complete the film's production. These animators had moved through the in-house animation training program, and would play an important role in the Disney Renaissance.
- In an earlier version of the film, Chief was slated to die as he did in the novel. However, the scene was modified to have Chief survive with a cast on his back paw.
- This was the last fully traditionally-animated feature film from Disney, as The Black Cauldron and other subsequent Disney animated movies would feature computer animation in some scenes. Eventually, Disney would make their movies fully computer-animated altogether.
- This was the last Disney movie that did not have any end credits, and the last in which Don Bluth was involved in its production.
