• Rating:
• Genre: Children's/Family
• Movie Type: Animated Musical, Family-Oriented Adventure
• Themes: Man's Best Friend, Faltering Friendships
• Director: Ted Berman
• Main Cast: Mickey Rooney, Kurt Russell, Pearl Bailey, Jack Albertson, Sandy Duncan
• Release Year: 1981
• Country: US
• Run Time: 83 minutes

Plot

The Disney animated feature The Fox and the Hound tells the story of a friendship between traditional enemies. Tod is a fox whose parents have died. His best friend is a hunting dog named Copper. As Copper grows up, he learns that it is his job to hunt foxes. Tod's caretaker Widow Tweed takes Tod to live in a game preserve where he falls madly in love with Vixey. Copper and his owner eventually enter the preserve to hunt Tod, and eventually Copper must decide between duty and friendship. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

Review

Produced during an acknowledged "slump" period after Walt Disney's death, The Fox and the Hound is a warm and amusing, if slightly dull, entry in the Disney animated canon. The story is conventional and generally predictable; in other hands, it would have been a fine framework for a cartoon, but here the characters are undistinguished and the dialogue is exactly what is expected, no more. Pacing is also problematic, with several portions of the film sluggish. These are balanced, however, by some very good moments: the sorrowful segment when Tod is taken to the game reserve, the climactic bear fight, and the final bittersweet parting. The animation in the bear sequence in particular is good, as is the extraneous (and unfortunately not very funny) running gag involving a caterpillar. Buddy Baker's score is exceptionally weak, but the invaluable Pearl Bailey still manages to make her numbers into rousers. Mickey Rooney and Kurt Russell also turn in fine vocal performances, as do Sandy Duncan and Jack Albertson in smaller roles. Two of the directors, Richard Rich and Ted Berman, would next direct The Black Cauldron, a less successful but more ambitious project. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide

Cast

• Mickey Rooney - Tod
• Kurt Russell - Copper
• Pearl Bailey - Big Mama
• Jack Albertson - Amos Slade
• Sandy Duncan - Vixey

Jeanette Nolan - Widow Tweed; Pat Buttram - Chief; John Fiedler - Porcupine; John McIntire - Badger; Dick Bakalyan - Dinky; Paul Winchell - Boomer; Keith Mitchell - Young Tod; Corey Feldman - Young Copper

Credit

Buddy Baker - Composer (Music Score); Ted Berman - Director; Ted Berman - Screenwriter; Tim Burton - Animator; Ron Clements - Animator; Larry Clemmons - Screenwriter; Vance Gerry - Screenwriter; Don Griffith - Art Director; Don Hahn - First Assistant Director; Ed Hansen - Production Manager; Mark Hester - First Assistant Director; Steve Hulett - Screenwriter; Glen Keane - Animator; Jim Koford - Editor; Burny Mattinson - Screenwriter; Ron Miller - Executive Producer; Cliff Nordberg - Animator; Wolfgang Reitherman - Producer; Henry Selick - Animator; Art Stevens - Director; Art Stevens - Producer; David Michener - Director; David Michener - Screenwriter; Earl Kress - Screenwriter; Randy Cartwright - Animator; Terry L. Noss - First Assistant Director; Ollie Johnston - Supervising Animator; Herb Taylor - Sound/Sound Designer; James Melton - Editor; Daniel P. Mannix - Book Author; Frank Thomas - Animator; Frank Thomas - Supervising Animator; Pete Young - Screenwriter

Similar Movies

Bambi; Lady and the Tramp; 101 Dalmatians; Lady and the Tramp II: Scamp's Adventure

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