Movies - The Fox and the Hound

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	Movies - The Fox and the Hound

The Fox and the Hound is the twenty-fourth animated feature in the Disney animated features canon. The film was first released in the USA on July 10, 1981. A sequel, The Fox and the Hound 2, will be released in Winter 2006.

Plot summary

A young fox kit is left orphaned when his mother is killed. A kindly owl, named Big Mama, arranges him to be adopted by the compassionate Widow Tweed as a pet on her farm and names him Tod. Shortly after that, Tweed's neighbour, an ill tempered hunter named Amos Slade, brings home a young hound puppy named Copper.

The two young animals meet and quickly form a fast friendship they feel will last forever. However, Tod's visit to Slade's farm goes disasterously wrong when he inadvertantly wakens 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.

However, the matter is shelved for the moment with hunting season commencing and Slade takes his dogs into the wilderness for the interim. Months pass, and Copper becomes an excellent hunting dog while Tod refuses to believe that his friendship with him will be gone when the dog returns. Upon Copper's return, Tod meets him only to find that his friend can barely tolerate his presence beyond a warning to keep his distance from now on for his own sake.

However, Chief awakens and chases Tod along with Slade while Copper reluctantly deciding to relent in his assumed role in his hunting role to divert Tod's pursuers. However, 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. Finding Chief wounded, Copper swears revenge on Tod.

Realizing that Tod cannot safely stay on her farm now, Tweed leaves him at a nature preserve. 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.

However, the vengeful Slade and Copper trespass into the preserve to kill Tod with leg traps and guns. The result is a harrowing chase throughout the forest that climaxes when Slade and Copper inadvertantly provoke an attack from a disturbed bear. Against his better judgement, Tod intervenes to save his friend and lures 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 relent 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.

In the end, Tod and Copper reconcile that they can never be together again, but their love can still be cherished.

Critical reaction

The Fox and the Hound remains unusual among Disney films in that it does not have a traditional happy ending.

Although the film was a financial success, the general reaction by film critics to the film was mixed. Many were disappointed that the predominantly young creative staff, many of whom had only recently joined the company, had produced a film that seemed very conservative in both concept and execution. Other critics, like Richard Corliss of Time Magazine, praised the film for its intelligent story about prejudice. He argued the film shows that prejudiced attitudes can poison even the deepest relationships, and the film's bittersweet ending delivers a powerful and important moral message to audiences.

Information

The storyline was based on the novel of the same name by Daniel Mannix.

The co-directors for the film were Ted Berman (December 17, 1919 - July 15, 2001), Richard Rich and Art Stevens.

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

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Movies - The Fox and the Hound

Plot summary

Critical reaction

Information

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