The Fox and the Hound

• Directed by Ted Berman (Directorial Debut), Richard Rich (Directorial Debut), and Art Stevens
• July 10, 1981
• Loosely based on the 1967 novel The Fox and the Hound by Daniel P. Mannix

Voice Cast

• Tod-Mickey Rooney
• Young Tod-Keith Mitchell
• Copper-Kurt Russell
• Young Copper-Corey Feldman
• Big Mama-Pearl Bailey
• Amos Slade-Jack Albertson
• Vixey-Sandy Duncan
• Widow Tweed-Jeanette Nolan
• Chief-Pat Buttram
• The Porcupine-John Fiedler
• The Badger-John McIntire
• Dinky-Dick Bakalyan
• Boomer-Paul Winchell
• Squeaks the Caterpillar as Himself

The unlikely friendship between a red fox and a hound as they struggle against their emerging instincts and the realization that they are meant to be enemies.

Right away you get why The Fox and the Hound has left such an impression on people. It opens like no other Disney movie I can think of. It’s not nearly as uplifting or nostalgia inducing as one reflexively expects from the House of Mouse. It sets the tone right away with its music and it’s not an overtly happy one.

Not present are large and perhaps even bombastic musical numbers in this. The songs we get are sad and melancholy and highlight the emotion of the scene or illuminate a character’s feelings. This is probably one of the least cute Disney movies ever.

This is a film with a message. Little kids (I’m talking to very tiny) may not pick up on it but the older a viewer gets the more it slaps you in the face. You cannot miss it. But it’s story first with message second. It doesn’t become a lecture as is too often the case in modern filmmaking. They are trying to lead a horse to water but making no effort to force them to drink. T>he assumption is that it WILL be understood.

Our story focuses on two characters-a red fox named Tod and a hound named Copper-who should be natural enemies but meet as children and don’t pick up on their differences. That little bit seems to come and go quickly. It was certainly cute, but they just played together once and that was enough for them to form a close and lifelong bond? This is not economic storytelling but the writers had no idea what to do.

You can look at this as an allegory about the superficial social barriers we create based on race or perceived social hierarchy. It plays on how kids don’t care about such things and pulls the message together when it demonstrates how adulthood makes us care about those things that are not really that important and forget about what is such as friendship and loyalty to those who truly care.

Standing in for the blind racist who is far too stuck in his ways to see how pointless and destructive his racism is is Copper’s owner Amos Slade. He becomes obsessed with killing this fox despite knowing it’s a pet of his neighbor. He can’t see how unnecessary his rage is until the end when Copper comes between him and his prey. And this is after he survived an attack by a black bear, he is still obsessed with killing Tod! That is often the case in movies like this that an act of sacrifice and kindness allows the racist to see the error of their ways or least begin to do so.

One thing The Fox and the Hound does not do is shy away from the hard facts of life such as parents having to let their children go as represented by Tod being placed onto a game preserve where he will presumably be safe. Or friends maybe not always measuring up. But there are some pleasant things in this too. Finding love. Or how love-romantic or platonic-can be redemptive. How even if a friendship has ended or somebody is doing you wrong, you should do the right thing. Kindness will at some point be repaid.

It delivers this all with a gentle hand wrapped in beautiful animation. This gets it past any mental defenses or preconceived notions you may have. It’s a beautiful-to-look-at film that isn’t all flash and no bang. While it does shortchange the building of the friendship, it does an excellent job with the rest of the movie. It has a small cast and gives each character enough time to shine and be distinct.

The Fox and the Hound is a classic bit of animation. It’s a story with a lesson told in a way that despite an often downbeat tone will make you want to come back and watch it again.