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The Fox and the Hound is a 1981 animated feature produced by Walt Disney Productions which premiered in the United States on July 10, 1981. The twenty-fourth animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series, the film is loosely based on the Daniel P. Mannix novel of the same name and centers on the story of two unlikely friends, a hound dog and a red fox, who struggle to preserve their friendship despite their emerging instincts. At the time of release, it was the most expensive animated film produced, costing $12 million. It was the last "Walt Disney Animated Classics" movie to have no end credits, and the last Disney film in which Don Bluth was involved in its production. A midquel film, The Fox and the Hound 2, was released to DVD on December 12, 2006.

Plot

After a young red fox is orphaned, Big Mama (Pearl Bailey) the owl, Boomer (Paul Winchell) the woodpecker, and Dinky (Richard Bakalyan) the finch arrange for him to be adopted by the Widow Tweed (Jeanette Nolan). Tweed names him Tod (voiced by Keith Coogan), since he reminds her of a toddler. Meanwhile, Tweed's neighbor, Amos Slade (Jack Albertson), brings home a young hound puppy named Copper (Corey Feldman) and introduces him to his hunting dog Chief (Pat Buttram). Tod and Copper become playmates, and vow to remain "friends forever." Slade grows frustrated at Copper for constantly wandering off to play, and places him on a leash. While playing with Copper at his home, Tod awakens Chief. Slade and Chief chase him until they are stopped by Tweed. After an argument, Slade says that he intends to kill Tod at his first opportunity. Hunting season comes 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 are natural enemies, but Tod refuses to believe her.

Months pass, and Tod and Copper reach adulthood. On the night of Copper's return, Tod (Mickey Rooney) sneaks over to meet him. Copper (Kurt Russell) explains that he is a hunting dog now and things are different between them. Chief awakens and alerts Slade, a chase ensues and Copper catches Tod. Copper lets Tod go then diverts Chief and Slade. Chief maintains his pursuit onto a railroad track where he is struck by a train and wounded. Copper and Slade blame Tod for the accident and swear vengeance. Tweed realizes that her pet is no longer safe with her and leaves him at a game preserve. Big Mama introduces him to a female fox named Vixey (Sandy Duncan), then Slade and Copper trespass into the preserve and hunt the two foxes. The chase climaxes when Slade and Copper inadvertently provoke an attack from a bear. Slade trips and is caught in his own trap and drops his gun just out of reach. Copper fights the bear but is no match for it. Tod battles the bear until they both fall down a waterfall. Copper approaches Tod as he lies in the lake below when Slade appears, ready to fire at the fox. Copper interposes his body in front of Tod, and refuses to move away. Slade lowers his gun and leaves with Copper, but not before the two former adversaries share one last smile before parting. At home, Tweed nurses Slade back to health while the dogs rest. Copper, before resting, smiles as he remembers the day when he became friends with Tod. On a hill Vixey joins Tod as he looks down on the homes of Copper and Tweed.

Production

The story was loosely based on Daniel Mannix's 1967 novel 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 film; 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.

Production of the film began in 1977. The film marked a turning point in the studio: Walt Disney's "nine old men" did initial development of the animation, but by the end of production the younger set of Disney animators completed the production process. Wolfgang Reitherman was producer, and championed staying true to the novel, and Larry Clemmons was head of the story team. Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston did much of the early development of the main characters. The newer generation of animators, such as Don Bluth, Ron Clements, Glen Keane, and John Musker, would finalize the animation and complete the film's production. These animators had moved through the in-house animation training program, and would all play an important role in the Disney Renaissance of the eighties and nineties.

Early in production, Don Bluth left Disney, taking 11 Disney animators with him to start his own rival studio, Don Bluth Productions. Bluth had animated Widow Tweed and her cow, Abigail, and his team worked on the rest of the sequence. With 17% of the animators now gone, production on The Fox and the Hound was delayed.

Four years later the film was finished. Approximately 360,000 drawings, 110,000 painted cels, 1,100 painted backgrounds made up the finished product. A total of 180 people, including 24 animators, worked on the film. The co-directors for the film were Ted Berman, Richard Rich, and Art Stevens.

Distribution

The Fox and the Hound premiered in theaters on July 10, 1981. It was re-released to theaters on March 25, 1988. Its first home video release, to VHS format, came on March 4, 1994. On May 2, 2000, it was released to Region 1 DVD for the first time. S 25th anniversary special edition DVD, featuring a remastered version of the film and a disc of extras, was released on October 10, 2006. The film is now in the "Disney Vault".

Reception

The film was considered a financial success,. It was awarded a Golden Screen Award at the Goldene Leinwand Awards in 1982 and it was nominated for a Young Artist Award and the Saturn Award for Best Fantasy Film. The film was generally well-received by film critics. It has a "fresh" 70% rating on the aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes based on 20 reviews. Craig Butler from All Movie Guide stated that the film was a "warm and amusing, if slightly dull, entry in the Disney animated canon." He also called it "conventional and generally predictable" with problems in pacing. In his book The Disney Films, Leonard Maltin noted that the film generated a "good news/bad news" reaction. 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 film 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, Richard Corliss of Time Magazine, praised the film for an intelligent story about prejudice. He argued that the film shows that biased attitudes can poison even the deepest relationships, and the film's bittersweet ending delivers a powerful and important moral message to audiences. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Times also praised the film, saying 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."

Midquel

A direct-to-video midquel, The Fox and the Hound 2, was released on December 12, 2006. The film takes place during Tod and Copper's youth, and therefore does not follow the events that occur at the end of this film.

References

1. ^ The Official Disney Trivia Book: Paperjacks, date 1988, pages 63-64 , ISBN 07701-1002-9 info on cost and book source story info'
2. ^ "The Fox and the Hound (1981)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2008-09-20.
3. ^ Roger Ebert's review of the film
4. ^ "The Fox and the Hound Movie History". Disney Archives. Retrieved April 23, 2009.
5. ^ Finch, Christopher: "Chapter 9: The End of an Era", pages 260-266. The Art of Walt Disney, 2004
6. Variety information on Disney Animation school and new animators starting with this film
7. Reference from Animation World Magazine, reference for this section
8. "Don Bluth Ireland". Cataroo. Retrieved April 23, 2009.
9. "Biography". Don Bluth Official Website. Retrieved April 23, 2009.
10. "The Fox and the Hound Movie Review". Answers.com. Retrieved April 23, 2009.
11. Maltin, Leonard (2000). "Chapter 3: Without Walt". The Disney Films. p. 275. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |ibsn= (help)
12. Time magazine review.

External links

• Template:Bcdb title
• The Fox and the Hound at IMDb
• The Fox and the Hound at Rotten Tomatoes

• Articles needing cleanup from July 2009
• Cleanup tagged articles without a reason field from July 2009
• Misplaced Pages pages needing cleanup from July 2009
• 1981 films
• Films about dogs
• Coming-of-age films
• Films about animals
• Films based on novels
• English-language films
• Disney animated features canon
• Films directed by Richard Rich
• Films featuring anthropomorphic characters