The Fox and the Hound 2
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 If Big Mama was in this movie, she would be singing “Worst of Friends”.
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The Fox and the Hound 2 is a 2006 American animated direct-to-video buddy adventure film produced by Walt Disney Pictures and Disneytoon Studios, and an intermediate follow-up to the 1981 Walt Disney Animation Studios film The Fox and the Hound. The film takes place during the youth of Tod and Copper, before the events of the later half of the first film. The plot of The Fox and the Hound 2 involves Copper being tempted to join a band of singing stray dogs called "The Singin' Strays", thus threatening his friendship with Tod. The film was directed by Jim Kammerud and features the voices of Reba McEntire and Patrick Swayze (in his only voice role). The film had an official soundtrack album released on November 21, 2006. The film was released on December 12, 2006 on DVD.
Why It's a Bad Howler
- The original first film didn't have a sequel based ending and this one ignores the events of the original film.
- There is no point to this film as Tod and Copper were separated at this time, as Copper was being taken on a hunting trip by Amos Slade in order to be trained to be a hunting dog. This whole story just came out of nowhere.
- The film lacks charm that the original film had (as well as all of the original's dark and serious tone being gone here as well).
- Dinky and Boomer, Big Mama the owl, and Squeaks the Caterpillar are totally absent from this film and aren't even mentioned at all.
- This movie came out 25 years after the first movie, which is almost late for a sequel.
- Cash (Patrick Swayze's character) is at first rather arrogant and a fame seeker.
- The cricket chase scenes weren't as fun as the scenes with the caterpillar in the first film.
- Out of all of the supporting characters that weren't needed, arguably the most irritating supporting character was Olivia Farmer, the little girl who acted carefree and had an irritatingly cheerful attitude even when something bad happened to Talent Scout Winchell P. Bickerstaff. She also looked a lot like Pippi Longstocking from Astrid Lindgren's books.
- Despite holding a grudge against Tod, Amos Slade acts more like a comic relief instead of being dark and villainous like he was in the first film.
- Certain scenes don't really interact well with the story.
- False Advertising: Despite being named a sequel, this one behaves more like it takes place during the middle of the first film, known as a midquel.
- The "Good Doggy" song is possibly one of the most cringeworthy and saccharine songs to ever come from a Disney film. The lyrics are laughably corny, and the sequence itself is filled with flashy disco lights and horrendous dancing from the animals.
- As 25 years have passed, the entire voice cast of the original movie was replaced with a much different cast, not even Corey Feldman or Keith Coogan with them having hit puberty.
- It is most likely a franchise killer for The Fox and the Hound, as no other media based on the franchise, including comics, were released after this film, until a live-action remake was announced for Disney+.
- Hypocrisy: The Singin' Strays aren't complete strays as they say they are, as they have a owner who looks after and feeds them. Their even more hypocritical when they find out that Copper still has an owner and they kick him out of the band.
Redeeming Qualities
- The voice-acting, animation and ending are decent.
- While Jonah Bobo and Harrison Fahn don't sound exactly Corey Feldman (the original voice of young Copper) or Keith Coogan (the original voice of young Tod), their voices sound pretty close.
- Dixie is a likable character despite her destroying Tod and Copper's friendship.
- The songs are pretty good and fit the tone of the film, especially "Good Doggie", "No Bone" and "We're in Harmony".
- Certain supporting characters return. (For example: Abigail the cow and Chief, Copper's mentor dog)
- There is a touching scene where Amos and Willow Tweed meet each other while looking for their pets. They understand each other's worries and wish the other luck in finding their pets.
- It was interesting to see and hear Copper sing, which wasn't shown in the first film.
- Unlike some bad Disney sequels, the film isn't a rehash of the original film and at least tries to do something new and original in it's story direction, despite it's botched execution.
- The peanut butter scene can be pretty funny to watch, especially when Zelda the cat has the jar on her face.
- Despite this movie being completely unnecessary, it is great to see another The Fox and the Hound film after 25 years.
Reception
Despite receiving mixed reviews from the general public, this film was heavily panned by critics, Internet reviewers and fans of the original.
At one time, the film held a 0% "rotten" rating on Rotten Tomatoes. It now holds a 20% "rotten" rating with an average rating of 4 out of 10, but lacks a critic consensus as of right now. Kevin Carr of 7M Pictures gave the film two stars out of five, saying "The Fox and the Hound 2 is never going to live down as a classic, but it isn’t terrible. It falls somewhere in the middle of the Disney DVD sequel spectrum." John J. Puccio of Movie Metropolis gave the film 4/10, writing "Like most sequels, it's a pale imitation of the original." Rob Humanick of Slant Magazine stated about the film "It's not hard to see this 2006 midquel as a betrayal of everything the 1981 original stood for." Film critic Nancy Davis Kho of Common Sense Media described the film as "Milder than the original and full of country music charm."
Trivia
- This film was the last to use the 1985-2006 Walt Disney Pictures logo.