The Fox and the Hound

The Fox and the Hound is an animated movie produced by Walt Disney Pictures and Buena Vista Distribution. It was released on July 10, 1981 and is loosely based on the Daniel P. Mannix book of the same name. The movie is the 24th Disney classic, and stars the voices of famous celebrities Kurt Russell, Mickey Rooney, Pearl Bailey, and Sandy Duncan. It was the last Disney animated film to use the Buena Vista logo.

In the movie, the two main characters, Tod and Copper, become such good friends and play together. However, as they grow up, they become enemies because real hounds hunt foxes hounds for food.

Copper's owner, Amos Slade, Copper's owner, Amos Slade, wants to kill Tod and he'll do anything to get him. He even has his other dog Chief to help him. As Tod and Copper get older they start to become more of enemies. They face problems wth this friendship and Copper even turns on his best friend when Chief, the older dog and garden of Copper, is nearly killed on a train, and Copper thinks it was Tod.

The story was loosely based on Daniel P Mannix's 1967 book of the same name. The book had a more realistic story, it dealt with the quest of a hunter and his dog Copper to shoot Tod after he killed the hunter's new dog Chief. The novel was mainly about Tod's life in the woods. While he was raised by humans he was not childhood friends with Copper and none of the animals spoke. The story was changed to make it more suitable for a family movie; instead of a story about the life and death of a fox, it became a parable about how society determines our roles despite our better impulses.

At the time of release it was the most expensive animated movie produced to date, costing $12 million. A direct-to-video midquel, The Fox and the Hound 2, was released on December 12, 2006.

The Fox and the Hound is unusual among Disney movies because it (together with 1995's Pocahontas) does not have a traditional happy ending (This is argued though, but generally said to be the case despite it being hard to judge this as a "happy ending", although when compared to the book this is a happy ending.) The Fox and the Hound was the last movie which was worked on with animation legends like Frank Thomas, and Ollie Johnston, two members of Walt Disney's original "nine old men" whom also worked on this movie, with it being their last movie for both, as well as the first movie for future Disney leaders like Tim Burton (The Nightmare Before Christmas), Brad Bird (Ratatouille, and Glen Keane, who animated the bear in this movie, and later worked on other animated movies like The Little Mermaid (1989) and Beaty and the Beast (1991), in which he designed the beast. The movie marked the end of the silver age of Disney animation that had begun in 1950 with Cinderella.

The Fox and the Hound still holds the record as the highest grossing traditionally animated film in history, and belongs to the era known as the Disney Renaissance (1977-1988) era that began the year before its release with The Rescuers.

In the beginning
The movie begins when a baby fox is orphaned after his mama is killed by hunters. An owl named Big Mama and her two bird friends, a sparrow named Diny and a woodpecker named Boomer, arrange for him to be adopted by a widow named Widow Tweed. She names him Tod, since he reminds her of a toddler, and takes him in as a pet on her farm. Meanwhile, Tweed's neighbor, a hunter named Amos Slade, brings home a young hound puppy named Copper and introduces him to his hunting dog Chief.

Tod meets Copper
The two young animals meet and quickly form a fast friendship they feel will last forever. However, Chief and Slade the hunter grow frustrated with Copper wandering off to play. After several meetings between Tod and Copper, Slade places Copper on a leash to stop him from wandering off.

Tod visits the hunter's home
Undeterred, Tod decides to play with Copper at his home. Tod's visit to Slade's farm goes disastrously wrong when he inadvertently awakens the hunter's mean older dog, Chief, who promptly chases him throughout the farm with Slade shooting at him as well. Although the pursuit is stopped by the furious Widow Tweed, the belligerent Slade makes it clear that he intends to kill Tod at his first opportunity.

Summer turns to fall
For the rest of the summer Tod is limited to the house with Widow Tweed. The matter is shelved for the moment, with hunting season commencing, and Slade takes his dogs into the wilderness for the interim. Meanwhile, Big Mama explains to Tod that his friendship with Copper cannot continue, as they were bred to be enemies. Tod, in his innocence, states that he and Copper are "gonna be friends forever."

Winter into Spring
Months pass, and Copper becomes an excellent hunting dog. Upon Copper's return, Tod meets him, thinking their friendship unchanged. Copper explains that he is a hunting dog now, and that they can no longer be friends. Chief awakens and chases Tod along with Slade. Tod finds a hiding place. Copper finds him, but diverts Chief and Slade so that Tod can escape. Chief maintains the pursuit up on a railroad track trestle when a fast-moving train suddenly approaches. Tod is able to duck under the vehicle, but Chief is struck and wounded. Copper swears revenge on Tod for causing the accident.

Moving to the Forest
Realizing that Tod cannot safely stay on her farm now, Tweed leaves him at a nature preserve, which has signs prohibiting hunting. Although Tod has a difficult time adjusting, Big Mama helps by introducing him to a beautiful vixen, named Vixey, and the two hit it off well. Vixey is amused greatly by Tod's inability to survive in the wild and helps him adapt.

The Showdown
The vengeful Slade and Copper trespass into the preserve to kill Tod with leghold traps and guns. The result is a harrowing chase throughout the forest that climaxes when Slade and Copper inadvertently provoke an attack from a disturbed bear. Against his better judgment, Tod intervenes to save his friend. He fights the much larger bear and ends up luring the bear on to a fallen trunk that breaks and sends the two falling down a waterfall. Tod survives and meets Copper at shore, who is stunned at Tod's heroism for his sake in spite of current events. However, Slade does not share any gratitude and suddenly appears, still vindictively eager to kill the fox. Copper makes the moral decision of interposing his body in front of Tod and Slade, reluctant to kill his best hound for a petty vendetta against a fox who had just saved their lives, is forced to give up and return home. The fox and hound share one final smile before going their separate ways. Amos Slade hurts his leg from the traps he left, and Tweed helps him recover. Amos Slade and Widow Tweed become good friends. However, Tod and Copper realize that they can no longer be close as they were as children, and they go their separate ways.

Subplot
There is also a somewhat minor subplot involving the film's comic relief characters. It follows the misadventures of Dinky, a small, fast-talking sparrow, and his goofy woodpecker friend Boomer, as they try to catch a caterpillar named Squeeks. Every time, though, Squeeks comes out on top over his avian adversaries. In the last scene of the film, Dinky and Boomer are foiled for the final time when Squeeks becomes a butterfly and leaves, leaving the two confused over his identity.

Production
Production of the movie began in 1977.

The movie represented a changing of the guard of the animators creating the movie from Walt Disney's "nine old men" to the more recently trained Disney animators who had moved through the in-house animation training program begun in 1976.

The movie marked the last work of the remaining original animators. Don Bluth worked as an animator on this movie, but left Disney early in the production, taking 11 Disney animators (which comprised 17% of the production staff) with him to start his own rival studio, Don Bluth Productions. This studio, which eventually became Sullivan Bluth Studios, was Disney's main rival through the 1980s and produced The Secret of NIMH and a number of other well-known movies. As a result of Bluth's defection, production on The Fox and the Hound was delayed by nearly six months. Bluth animated Widow Tweed and her cow, Abigail, and his team worked on the rest of the sequence.

For years later the movie was finished, requiring approximately 360,000 drawings, 110,000 painted cels, 1,100 painted backgrounds, and a total of 180 people, including 24 animators.

The directors on the movie were Ted Berman and Richard Rich, as well as Art Stevens, whom was a co-director.

Berman previously had credits as a character animator for the 1961 movie One Hundred and One Dalmatians and writer for the 1977 movie The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. He would later be co-director for the 1985 movie The Black Cauldron.

Rich had been a Disney employee since 1972 but this was his first major assignment. He would also serve as a co-director for The Black Cauldron. He would later found Rich Animation Studios.

Stevens was previously credited as a character animator for the 1953 Peter Pan, the previously mentioned One Hundred and One Dalmatians and the 1973 Robin Hood. He had also previously directed the 1977 movie The Rescuers.

John Lasseter started out working at Disney on this movie and others such as Mickey's Christmas Carol before leaving to join Pixar in 1986. With Disney's purchasing of Pixar, Lasseter has gone full circle and has returned to the company he started his career with.

Other new animators who worked on this movie and some of their future successes:
 * John Musker and Ron Clements (story artist and animator): Producer-director team of The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Hercules, and Treasure Planet.


 * Tim Burton (assistant & development artist): Producer of Batman Forever and Director of Batman, Batman Returns, Beetlejuice, and many other acclaimed movies.


 * Glen Keane (animator): Animation creator and designer of characters Ariel, Beast, Aladdin and Pocahontas.


 * Jerry Reese (animator): Director of The Brave Little Toaster.


 * Brad Bird (animator): director of Warner Bros.' The Iron Giant, The Incredibles, Ratatouille and previously of The Simpsons.


 * Chris Buck (animator): Director of Disney's Tarzan.


 * Don Bluth (animator): Director of The Secret of NIMH, An American Tail, The Land Before Time, and All Dogs Go to Heaven


 * John H. Williams (animators): Producer of Shrek and Shrek 2.

Cast

 * Mickey Rooney as Tod
 * Kurt Russell as Copper
 * Pearl Bailey as Big Mama
 * Jack Albertson as Amos Slade
 * Sandy Duncan as Vixey
 * Jeanette Nolan Widow Tweed
 * Pat Buttram as Chief
 * John McIntire as The Badger
 * John Fiedler as The Porcupine
 * Richard Bakalyan as Dinky
 * Paul Winchell as Boomer
 * Keith Coogan as Young Tod
 * Corey Feldman as Young Copper

Tod
A young fox whose mother was killed by a hunter (can anyone say "Bambi"?). Luckaly for him, a loving widow who lived nearby took him in and raised him to adulthood. Young and naive, he becomes friends with a hound puppy named Copper, but their friendship is interrupted by the fact that Copper's owner, Amos Slade, hates any fox that isn't dead. When they grow older, they find their friendship divided.

Copper
Copper is the cute young hound puppy (whom looks a beagle or a basset hound) belonging to Amos Slade. Copper is Tod's best pal- at least when they're little. He befriends Tod during his childhood. However, he is the first to break this friendship and becomes Tod's bitter enemy but is also the first to protect him. He is a fast learner through growing up. In his first year of hunting he tops Chief.

Amos Slade
Amos Slade is a mean-spirited old hunter who will kill just about anything that is wild, but for some unknown reason he has a special hatred for foxes (it may have something to do with the fact that he keeps chickens). He is the owner of Copper and Chief, and throughout most of the movie tries to kill Tod. Unlike most of Disney's villains, however, he doesn't come across as being evil. Instead, he hunts for a living and is very professional at it and is motivated by revenge, rather than the "just because" brand of evil that you see in too many villains.

Widow Tweed
The kindly old lady who took Tod in and raised him as a pet.

Big Mama
Big Mama is a kindly old owl (simialar to Friend Owl) who (literally) takes Tod under her wing on several occasions. It is she who recruits the help of Dinky and Boomer, two other birds, in getting the Widow Tweed to take care of Tod, and later she warns him of the dangers of hanging around with a hound dog. Her last really important job in the movie is establishing the romance between Tod and Vixey.

Dinky, Boomer, and Squeeks
Dinky and Boomer are two friends, a woodpecker and a sparrow, who are seen either helping Big Mama act out a plan or trying to catch Squeeks, a caterpillar. Dinky and Boomer are seen at many times trying (unsuccessfully) to catch him. At the end of the film, Squeeks becomes a butterfly and flies away.

Chief
Chief is the nasty, aging senior first hunting dog of Amos Slade. He shares his master's philosophy that the only good fox is a dead fox. He tries to teach Copper everything there is about hunting but is ultimately beaten by the younger dog. In the novel, Chief is the old dog and Copper is the new one. This is an exampe of the differences between the two.

Vixey
Vixey is a vixen (lady fox, hence her name) with whom Tod falls in love with after being released into the wild. She is much more used to the forrest, so it makes cense that she is a step ahead of Tod. When she says, "I think six would be just right," it seems clear that she is talking about the number of kits she would like to have, but Tod is completely in the dark.

The Porcupine
A porcupine in the reserve that Tod is dropped off in, he tries to explain to the badger exactly what happened to Tod, but it doesn't really work for Tod. He gives Tod shelter the first night in the reserve.

The Badger
A badger in the same reserve, he is first seen when Tod comes into his home, as Tod was new to the reserve and didn't know anyone lived there. The morning after this, Tod falls from the porcupine's tree directly onto the entrance to the badger's home, making the badger angry. After the porcupine tells the badger of Tod and what he's been through, the badger simply tells Tod to go back to where he came from, not knowing that Tod couldn't.

Release
The movie was originally released to theaters on July 10, 1981. It was then rereleased on March 25, 1988.

It was released on VHS on March 4, 1994 and was the last video of the "Walt Disney Classics" collection (it was not included in the "Masterpiece Collection").

It was then released on "Walt Disney Gold Classic Collection" DVD on May 2, 2000.

A single-disc 25th anniversary Special Edition DVD of the movie was released on October 10, 2006.

International release dates

 * Brazil: July 16, 1981
 * Argentina: July 23, 1981
 * West Germany: November 13, 1981
 * U.K.: November 17, 1981
 * Italy: November 19, 1981
 * Manitoba: November 23, 1981
 * Mexico: November 24, 1981
 * France: November 25, 1981
 * Spain: November 27, 1981
 * Sweden: December 5, 1981
 * Finland: December 11, 1981
 * Australia: December 17, 1981
 * Netherlands: December 24, 1981
 * Belgium: January 15, 1982
 * Greece: January 15, 1982
 * Peru: January 27, 1982
 * Portugal: February 18, 1982
 * Norway: April 22, 1982
 * Nepal: October 31, 1982 (Kathmandu)
 * India: December 24, 1982 (Bombay)
 * India: December 24, 1982 (Calcutta)
 * Japan: March 12, 1983
 * Lebanon: October 11, 1984
 * China: October 31, 1989

Reception
Although the movie was a financial success, reactions from film critics were mixed. Craig Butler from the All Movie Guide said that the movie was a "warm and amusing (entertaining), if slightly dull, entry in the Disney animated canon." He also said it was generally predictable and had problems in pacing.

Critics of the 1980s, while offering praise for the animation, were disappointed in the story, and that the predominantly young creative staff, many of whom had only recently joined the company, had produced a movie that seemed very conservative in both concept and execution. Since then it has become a hit for its conservative syle.

Leonard Maltin in his book The Disney Films noted that the movie was a "good news/bad news" for Disney. The good was that Disney's young animation team seemed to be in "firm control." The fight scene between Copper and the bear, by Glen Keane, in particular received great praise in the animation world. The bad news, according to Maltin, was that the movie relied too much on "formula cuteness, formula comedy relief, and even formula characterizations," causing a step back for the studio. Maltin suggests that perhaps this safeness came from the fear of displeasing the memory of Walt Disney.

However, the movie had its fair share of praise, too. Richard Corliss of Time Magazine, praised the movie for its intelligent story about prejudice. He argued the movie shows that prejudiced attitudes can poison even the deepest relationships, and the movie's bittersweet ending delivers a powerful and important moral message to audiences. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Times also praised the movie. He wrote 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."

The movie gained a considerable following and it was awarded a Golden Screen Award at the Goldene Leinwand Awards in 1982. It was also nominated for a Young Artist Award and the Saturn Award for Best Fantasy Film. It has a "fresh" 73% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 20 reviews with a 6.7 score,and an even better score of 87% among users of RottenTomatoes with a 7.1 score.

JB of "Thestuffyougottawatch" said the movie has aged like "fine wine", and went on to say, "Like all great Disney films, THE FOX AND THE HOUND is populated with wonderfully characterized secondary players who get their share of the spotlight, such as the two birds Dinky and Boomer, voiced by Richard Bakalyan and Paul Winchell, who spend most of the film trying to catch and eat one measly little caterpillar who eludes death time and again. There is also Big Mama the Owl, played deliciously by Pear Bailey, who gets to sing a handful of pleasant if forgettable tunes.

The one real weakness of THE FOX AND THE HOUND comes once again from the Disney people pulling their punches when it comes to tragedy. One character was supposed to be killed while chasing Tod, thus leading to Copper swearing eventual vengeance. Yet, as in THE JUNGLE BOOK and LADY AND THE TRAMP, the character turns out only to have been injured, thus undermining the emotional impact of Copper's hatred for his former friend. With all that the film does offer, it is easy to overlook this lack of courage on the part of the filmmakers, but it does get a little tiresome to see the same cheap trick used over and over."

The Book
The Fox and the Hound is most famous as a movie, but it is also a 1967 novel by Daniel P. Mannix. It is about the lives of two characters who are forced to be against each other, a hound named Copper and a fox named Tod, and is Mannix's best-known work.

It follows Tod from his first contact with humans as a kit and Copper from his first encounter with Tod. They are living in a changing world; the wilderness present at the beginning of the book gradually gives way to a more urbanized setting, causing problems for Copper, his Master, and Tod.

It changes between Tod and Copper's point of view. Of the ten chapters in the book, four are from Copper's point of view and six are from Tod's. Both of the animals are presented as smart if not on a level with humans, and the book constantly emphasizes the point that both are creatures who rely on their sense of smell as much as humans rely on sight, particularly Copper.

Copper's chapters focus on his relationship with his Master as he assists him in hunting, primarily for Tod; Tod's actions kill the Master's favorite dog early in the novel. Tod's chapters focus on his life as a wild fox, avoiding death both natural and man-made while attempting to father pups. The novel ends with the death of both main characters. Tod's lifeless pelt is hung and Copper is shot by his owner.

Midquel
A direct-to-video midquel, The Fox and the Hound 2, was released on December 12, 2006. The movie takes place during Tod and Copper's youth, in which Copper is tempted to join a band of singing stray dogs, and therefore does not follow the events that occur at the end of this movie.

Soundtrack listing

 * "Best of Friends" Music by Richard Johnston, Lyrics by Stan Fidel, Performed by Pearl Bailey
 * "Lack of Education" Music and Lyrics by Jim Stafford, Performed by Pearl Bailey
 * "A Huntin' Man" Music and Lyrics by Jim Stafford, Performed by Jack Albertson
 * "Appreciate the Lady" Music and Lyrics by Jim Stafford, Performed by Pearl Bailey
 * "Goodbye May Seem Forever" Music by Richard Rich, Lyrics by Jeffrey Patch, Performed by Jeanette Nolan

Credits

 * Story Adaptation: Larry Clemmons, Ted Berman, David Michener, Peter Young, Burny Mattinson, Steve Hulett, Earl Kress, Vance Gerry
 * Creative Assistant to the Producers: Melvin Shaw
 * Supervising Animators: Randy Cartwright, Glen Keane, Ron Clements, Cliff Nordberg, Frank Thomas, Ollie Johnston
 * Animators: Ed Gombert, John Musker, Dale Oliver, Jerry Rees, Ron Husband, Dick Lucas, David Block, Jeffrey J. Varab, Chris Buck, Chuck Harvey, Hendel Butoy, Phil Nibbelink, Darrel Van Citters, Michael Cedeno, Phillip Young
 * Effects Animators: Ted Kierscey, Jack Boyd, Don Paul
 * Coordinating Animators: Walt Stanchfield, Dave Suding, Chuck Williams, Leroy Cross
 * Key Assistant Animators: Sylvia Mattinson, Tom Ferriter
 * Production Designer: Don Griffith
 * Layout: Dan Hansen, Glenn Vilppu, Sylvia Roemer, Guy Vasilovich, Michael Peraza, Jr., Joe Hale
 * Color Stylist: Jim Coleman
 * Backgrounds: Daniela Bielecka, Brian Sebern, Kathleen Swain
 * Production Managers: Edward Hansen, Don Duckwall
 * Assistant Directors: Mark A. Hester, Terry L. Noss, Don Hahn
 * Supervising Sound Editor: Herb Taylor
 * Film Editors: James Melton, Jim Koford
 * Music Editors: Evelyn Kennedy, Jack Wadswoth
 * Music Composed and Conducted by Buddy Baker
 * Score Orchestrated by Walter Sheets
 * Produced by Wolfgang Reitherman and Art Stevens
 * Executive Producer: Ron Miller
 * Directed by Art Stevens, Ted Berman and Richard Rich

Spanish dubbing
The dubbing in Spanish (1981) was in charge of the Mexican Francisco Colmenero. The dubbing is used and distributed in every Spanish-speaking country.
 * Tod (child): A. Mendoza
 * Tod (young): Arturo Mercado
 * Copper (child): E. Mendoza
 * Copper (young): Juan Antonio Edwards
 * Big Mama: Carmen Donadío
 * Widow Tweed: Beatriz Aguirre
 * Amos Slade: Francisco Colmenero
 * Boomer: Luis Manuel Pelayo
 * Dinky: Héctor Lee
 * Vixey: Diana Santos
 * Porcupine: Polo Ortín
 * Badger: Pedro de Aguillón
 * Sqweeks: P. Larrañaga

Titles in other languages

 * Arabic: الثعلب والكلب
 * Chinese: 狐狸与猎狗
 * Danish: Mads og Mikkel
 * Dutch: 'Frank en Fray''
 * Esperanto: La Vulpo kaj la Ĉashundo
 * Finnish: Topi ja Tessu
 * French: Rox et Rouky
 * German: Cap und Capper
 * Greek: Η αλεπού και το λαγωνικό (I Alepou kai to Lagoniko)
 * Hebrew: השועל והכלבלב
 * Italian: Red e Toby - Nemiciamici
 * Japanese: きつねと猟犬
 * Korean: 토드와 코퍼
 * Polish: Lis i Pies
 * Portuguese: O Cão e a Raposa (Brazil), Papuça e Dentuça (Portugal)
 * Russian: Лис и охотничий пёс
 * Spanish: Tod y Toby (Spain), El zorro y el perro, (Literel English Translation), and El zorro y el sabueso (Argentina and Latin America)
 * Swedish: Micke och Molle
 * Thai: เพื่อนแท้ในป่าใหญ่
 * Welsh: Y Cadno a'r Helgi

Supervising animators

 * Cliff Nordberg
 * Ollie Johnston
 * Ron Clements
 * Frank Thomas
 * Randy Cartwright
 * Glen Keane (The Bear)

Exteral links

 * Movie review
 * An essay on Disney in the 1980s, focusing on The Fox and the Hound and The Little Mermaid
 * Ultimate Disney page