The Fox and the Hound

This is my favorite Disney movie of all time. It is, in my opinion, one of their finest. Why do I think so? First, I like its realism. It is not some fantastic fairy tale, nor is it some good-against-evil-good-eventually-triumphs story. There are no heroes or villains in this story. This lack of good and evil made the story and the characters seem more alive than the ones you usually see.

I also like the message this movie gives. It is simple yet powerful. The two main characters wanted only the most innocent of things - friendship. Yet society couldn't allow this friendship to be. This movie tugs at your heart, and it doesn't stop tugging. And the realism didn't diminish any by the movie's close. The main characters' problems remained unresolved, yet each finished the movie in contentment. I feel that this lack of a "everything's okie-dokie again" finish like you see in traditional animated movies gave this story a powerful element.

If you're looking for songs your children can sing over and over again, you've come to the wrong movie. Each song is sung in a flavorful yet discreet manner. Little orchestration. Yet if you're looking for memorable characters, you've come to the right movie. Each character is very well developed, motivated by true emotions and the things that the everyday person wants - love, food, companionship. Each character is vibrantly drawn, and this vibrancy is matched by the character's personality. I saw a real person within the animal. Nobody is created in an idealistic image.

From realistic characters come a realistic story. Nothing felt written or hacked. Everything felt like it was supposed to happen. There was nothing outlandish about the entire story. And if you're looking for comedy, you'll find none. This is pure drama, yet it's drama that kids can easily understand. This movie had a story that seemed like it could've easily happened to the average person. This is a rare and endearing quality.

Basically, I loved this movie for what it had, a heart of gold, but also for what it lacked, a traditional formula. If you're looking for a story with a difference and a bittersweet flavor, this is the movie for you! It is nice, quiet, yet provocative and emotional. To sum it up, it is good clean fun with a touch of heartache, a true drama!

Okay, so placing The Fox and the Hound into the same category as The Bicycle Thief may be a stretch, but there is something about this movie that sets it apart from all other Disney animated films. Fox, along with Bambi and Lady and the Tramp, are the only Disney animated films that portray a reality without fairy dust, animals wearing clothes or lions that have formed alliances with hyenas to overthrow an animalistic royal lineage. True- the animals do talk and occasionally sing, but for the most part, they do stay true to the nature of their existence. But, Bambi, with its characters reacting against and to nature, borders on being an animated nature documentary (if such a thing is possible.) And, Lady and the Tramp has far too cheery of a Hollywood ending to be accepted as neorealism. Which leaves Fox and the Hound: the tale of young pup Copper and fox Tod who become childhood friends and are then forced to turn on each other by the demands of society. Not exactly your standard Disney fare. And, most importantly, it has a true, realistic, bittersweet ending. It's only been attempted once by Disney and probably never again. Which is a shame because Fox and the Hound has some of the most sincere and heartbreaking moments ever brought to animation. It isn't a perfect film, but its intentions are honorable and that makes The Fox and the Hound a true animated classic.

**Note- the current 25th Anniversary DVD does not do justice to this film. It is not presented in the correct aspect ratio. The image has been cleaned to a degree, but there is too much digitization. Considering the significance of Fox and the Hound in the history of Disney animation, it deserves a two disc, widescreen DVD release.

Looking back as child having watched this film, it never struck me for anything more than fuzzy/singing/talking animals that pandered to all my childish wants and needs. After all, that's why you watched Disney movies as a kid, right? It's just what you did in your childhood.

Now, watching it again, about to embark on adulthood and all that it entails, it really moved me. How Todd and Copper, a young fox and a hound were the best of friends. Todd having been taken in by a kindly old women and nursed backed to health while right next door, Copper, owned by a mean and bitter old hunter, is being groomed as hunting dog.

Yet, like children, they don't judge. They don't know about the differences between each other and they don't care. They just want to play hide and seek. It is when they grow older that they realize that it was never meant to be. How sometimes societal rules can stamp out the most innocent of ventures. Much like becoming an adult, reality sets in. Life is unfair.

It's a truly beautiful movie, for it's simplistic yet universal message and unlike the vast library of previous Disney inventions, as stated before, it lacks the happy ending. The proverbial feel good formula that is the frame work for all Disney movies. It's because of it's bittersweet delivery and surprising realism, that it's become a lifeline to my childhood that I will carry with me for as long as I live.

One of Disney's finest motion pictures, extremely underrated and forgotten to a pulp. Kurt Russell, Mickey Rooney and even Corey Feldman all give their talent to this story of a fox and a hound who become friends, only to turn on themselves in later years because they are expected to. Not only is the film engaging, but it also has a metaphorical story going on. I understand it is supposed to represent humans and racism, but apart from the preachiness of it all the film is quite good on the level of a whole. A definite must-see. The ending is bittersweet and at many times during the film you will actually start to feel for these creatures. On a sidenote, I used to have a dog just like the one in this movie. It was just like the one in this film.

**** 1/2 out of *****

Halfway through production, Don Bluth mutinees, taking most of Disney's best animators with him. Another bunch resign. One dies. Drawings are stolen. Production is delayed endlessly. You would think that if ever a Disney feature were destined for disaster, this was it. Instead, 'Fox and the Hound' is probably the best Disney animated feature of its generation. You could clear a space about 10 years either side of it before you ran into something that gave it serious competition.

We start with an orphaned fox kit - pardon me as my jaw doesn't drop in amazement. There have been, what - TWO Disney films where both parents survive? And, well, he is adopted by an elderly widow named Tweed, he develops a friendship with a hunting dog owned by Widow Tweed's crochety neighbor, and he starts to grow up, and life suddenly becomes very difficult, dangerous, and emotionally complicated.

I won't give it away, in case you haven't seen it, but for my money this movie has close to the saddest, most desolate, tear-jerking scene in any Disney film I can think of. But don't worry, it bounces back well and truly. This is a long way from being a morose film. In fact it's an excellent balance of drama, action, pathos and humour. My only minor complaint is that there are a couple of comic sidekicks in this movie that are pretty annoying and contribute just about nothing to the story.

Coming after 'The Rescuers', 'The Fox and the Hound' might have been the start of a Disney resurrection, but perhaps Bluth's departure really was a body blow. As it is, 'Fox and the Hound' is a moment of beauty and brilliance in the otherwise pretty murky first 20 or so years after Walt's death.

Although it didn't cause much of a stir at the time, it has developed a deserved base of loyal fans in the twenty-three years since it was made.

The film tackles themes of conflicting loyalties, friendship, love, identity, and somehow does it with a minimum of schmaltz and a maximum of heart. It's one of Disney's best, and you owe it to yourself to see it.

9 out of 10

Historical Note: Mickey Rooney plays the adult Tod, the fox in 'Fox and the Hound'. According to Rooney's 1991 autobiography, when he was 5 years old he wandered into an office at Warner during breaks between shooting in one of his child-star films, and introduced himself to a bloke who turned out to be Walt Disney, and who was in the process of drawing a new mouse character, who he decided on the spot to name after Mickey. It just tops it off nicely, doesn't it?