As we reach the halfway point of Disney’s Bronze Age, I still find it incredible that so many of these films are overlooked for the incredible classics that they are, with a quality that I feel exceeds much of what came before it. But with The Fox and the Hound we see the first real shift from what Disney was to what Disney will become in the form of the people behind the project. Up until now every Disney film has been overseen by one of the ‘Nine Old Men’ of Disney Animation, The Fox and the Hound though ushers in some fresh new talent as well as the emergence of animators such as Tim Burton, Brad Bird, and John Lasseter, people who now are responsible for some of the most iconic films, animated or otherwise, in modern cinema. But does The Fox and the Hound represent much of a shift forward for Disney, or is it still resting on the same old formula?
Following the death of his mother at the hands of a hunter, a fox cub is found at the fence of Widow Tweed’s farm. Tweed (Jeanette Nolan) takes the fox in and raises him, naming him Tod (Mickey Rooney), so that they can keep each other company.
Meanwhile just across the way, Amos Slade (Jack Albertson) returns home with a new bloodhound, Copper (Kurt Russell), that he entrusts to his hunting dog Chief (Pat Buttram) to raise in his stead. Tod and Copper secretly become friends, unaware of just how different they are. But when Slade is made aware of Tod’s presence on the farm, he makes it his mission to hunt Tod.
Copper and Tod are kept apart for the winter as Slade takes Copper and Chief hunting, and when they return Copper is no longer able to see Tod as his friend, leaving him with the difficult choice of pleasing his master or allowing Tod to continue living.
Following the death of his mother at the hands of a hunter, a fox cub is found at the fence of Widow Tweed’s farm. Tweed (Jeanette Nolan) takes the fox in and raises him, naming him Tod (Mickey Rooney), so that they can keep each other company.
Meanwhile just across the way, Amos Slade (Jack Albertson) returns home with a new bloodhound, Copper (Kurt Russell), that he entrusts to his hunting dog Chief (Pat Buttram) to raise in his stead. Tod and Copper secretly become friends, unaware of just how different they are. But when Slade is made aware of Tod’s presence on the farm, he makes it his mission to hunt Tod.
Copper and Tod are kept apart for the winter as Slade takes Copper and Chief hunting, and when they return Copper is no longer able to see Tod as his friend, leaving him with the difficult choice of pleasing his master or allowing Tod to continue living.
Much like The Rescuers, The Fox and the Hound deals with some relatively heavy subject material for an animated film aimed at children. But unlike The Rescuers it’s not an evil presence that makes the story dark, but simply the brutality of nature.
The film draws quite heavily from Bambi in many respects, complete with killing off the lead character’s mother. But where The Fox and the Hound makes progress is in how it handles sensitive subject matter, with parallels being easily drawn to racism and xenophobia. Copper only begins to turn on Tod once he’s been told to and taught how to do so by Chief and Slade. You can see in the conflict he has that he knows there’s no good reason to do it, other than he’s been told to, but he nonetheless feels compelled to do it because it’s what he’s been taught.
You hear of these kinds of stories a lot of children being forced apart and taught to hate each other by their respective parents because one of the children is different in some way. Yet the only reason they actually have to hate each other is that they’ve been told that that’s the natural order.
The Fox and the Hound is also the kind of film you’ll need a box of tissues on standby for. I remember watching it a lot as a child but what I don’t remember is it being quite so sad. There were a few moments that had me truly weeping because of how cruel and sad the story of Tod and Copper is. Most Disney films tend to try and lift the mood with comedy to ensure it never gets too sad, but The Fox and the Hound relishes in the depressive tale it tells. There are certainly moments of reprieve, but unlike most Disney films you’ll more often find yourself sad than happy.
The film draws quite heavily from Bambi in many respects, complete with killing off the lead character’s mother. But where The Fox and the Hound makes progress is in how it handles sensitive subject matter, with parallels being easily drawn to racism and xenophobia. Copper only begins to turn on Tod once he’s been told to and taught how to do so by Chief and Slade. You can see in the conflict he has that he knows there’s no good reason to do it, other than he’s been told to, but he nonetheless feels compelled to do it because it’s what he’s been taught.
You hear of these kinds of stories a lot of children being forced apart and taught to hate each other by their respective parents because one of the children is different in some way. Yet the only reason they actually have to hate each other is that they’ve been told that that’s the natural order.
The Fox and the Hound is also the kind of film you’ll need a box of tissues on standby for. I remember watching it a lot as a child but what I don’t remember is it being quite so sad. There were a few moments that had me truly weeping because of how cruel and sad the story of Tod and Copper is. Most Disney films tend to try and lift the mood with comedy to ensure it never gets too sad, but The Fox and the Hound relishes in the depressive tale it tells. There are certainly moments of reprieve, but unlike most Disney films you’ll more often find yourself sad than happy.
The animation is somewhat of a mixed bag for me. The xerography style continues however I find that the appeal of it is beginning to wear thin now. The character designs are all quite similar to ones in other Disney films; and when you add to this the fact that a lot of the voice actors crop up in multiple Disney films it begins to become hard to distinguish one character from another in a different film. The environments are similarly styled to those in The Rescuers, painted like a watercolour almost, and in many ways reminiscent of those seen in earlier Disney films like Bambi.
The Fox and the Hound is a great film, but it’s not a typical upbeat Disney affair. It’s a film you watch when you want a good cry, but its messages are perhaps more relevant today than they were when the film was made forty years ago. The only big problem I have with The Fox and the Hound is the now stale animation, something I had hoped to have been given a new lease of life with the new talent at the helm, but it seems we may still be a way off for that yet.
A must watch Disney classic, just make sure you’re prepared for the heartbreak that the story holds.
The Fox and the Hound is a great film, but it’s not a typical upbeat Disney affair. It’s a film you watch when you want a good cry, but its messages are perhaps more relevant today than they were when the film was made forty years ago. The only big problem I have with The Fox and the Hound is the now stale animation, something I had hoped to have been given a new lease of life with the new talent at the helm, but it seems we may still be a way off for that yet.
A must watch Disney classic, just make sure you’re prepared for the heartbreak that the story holds.