I've always enjoyed this film since I was little. The story, voice work, and animation are wonderful! There is real emotion in it, and it has some funny moments as well. A very well balanced film. :)

Halfway through production, Don Bluth mutinees, taking most of Disney's best animators with him. Another bunch resign. One dies. Drawings are stolen. Production is delayed endlessly. You would think that if ever a Disney feature were destined for disaster, this was it. Instead, 'Fox and the Hound' is probably the best Disney animated feature of its generation. You could clear a space about 10 years either side of it before you ran into something that gave it serious competition.

We start with an orphaned fox kit - pardon me as my jaw doesn't drop in amazement. There have been, what - TWO Disney films where both parents survive? And, well, he is adopted by an elderly widow named Tweed, he develops a friendship with a hunting dog owned by Widow Tweed's crochety neighbour, and he starts to grow up, and life suddenly becomes very difficult, dangerous, and emotionally complicated.

I won't give it away, in case you haven't seen it, but for my money this movie has close to the saddest, most desolate, tear-jerking scene in any Disney film I can think of. But don't worry, it bounces back well and truly. This is a long way from being a morose film. In fact it's an excellant balance of drama, action, pathos and humour. My only minor complaint is that there are a couple of comic sidekicks in this movie that are pretty annoying and contribute just about nothing to the story. This knocks it down to about a 9 out of 10, but rounded off, that's a comfortable four stars.

Coming after 'The Recuers', 'The Fox and the Hound' might have been the start of a Disney resurrection, but perhaps Bluth's departure really was a body blow. As it is, 'Fox and the Hound' is a moment of beauty and brilliance in the otherwise relatively unspectacular first 20 years after Walt's death.

Although it didn't cause much of a stir at the time, it has developed a deserved base of loyal fans in the twenty-three years since it was made.

The film tackles themes of conflicting loyalities, friendship, love, identity, and somehow does it with a minimum of schmaltz and a maximum of heart. It's one of Disney's best, and you owe it to yourself to see it.

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HistNote: Mickey Rooney, who was a child star in the 20's, plays the adult Tod, the fox in 'Fox and the Hound'. According to Rooney's 1991 autobiography, when he was 5 years old he wandered into an office at Warner during breaks between shooting, and introduced himself.

" 'Who are you?' I asked the guy working there. 'My name is Walt Disney,' he said. 'Come over and sit on my lap.' So I went over and sat on his lap, and there was a mouse he had drawn. 'My gosh, that's a good-looking mouse, Mr. Disney.' 'It sure is, Mickey,' he said, and he stopped and looked into space for a minute. 'Mickey, Mickey,' he said. 'Tell me something, how would you like me to name this mouse after you?' "

Rooney insists it's a true story. In any case, to think that more than 50 years later... ah, it just tops it off nicely, doesn't it?

I see that every one likes this movie but for some reason I don't. I saw it once and that was enough to satisfy me. Sure, it was a good movie, but I always expect the best from Disney. I thought that it needed more. Yes, it was a good movie, but nothin to rave about.

This is one of the best Disney features ever.This tale of the seemingly impossible friendship between Tod,a fox and Copper,a hound is truly a moving experience.

The two first meet when they are very young and become fast friends. They are then taught,as they grow older,that they must become enemies. After the near fatal wounding of Chief,Copper's mentor,the two indeed become foes,but this is resolved in the nail-biting climax.

Besides Tod and Copper,my other favorite characters are Chiefthe old hound dog,Big Mamathe fat and wise owl,Vixeythe pretty girl fox who becomes Tod's mate,and the zany
bird duo of Dinky (a sparrow) and Boomer (a woodpecker). Amos SladeCopper's master,is one of the very few Disney villains to actually reform at the end. The only other really villainous character in the film is the huge grizzly bear that both Copper and Tod battle at the film's climax,but he is really no more a villain than a natural predator,like the rat in Lady & the Tramp.

The songs are good,my favorites being 'The Best of Friends','Goodbye may Seem Forever',
and 'Appreciate the Lady'. I still feel that one of the first two songs should have been nominated for an Oscar back in 1981.

The animation is lush and beautiful,although maybe not up to the same standards as the likes of Snow White,Bambi,etc. Some scenes are very striking.

I highly recommend this movie to everyone.

I'm glad to review this wonderful film again here on Keyframe and here is my new, if not improved, version.

I have seen many animated movies. Whether it's Disney or anime or another western company, I have cheered many movies and have been disappointed by many movies in all three areas. However, no matter how many times I see a new movie that gives me a wonderful feeling, I still always come back and choose this movie as my number one favorite of all time. The Fox and the Hound, to me, represents the pinnacle of not only Disney but animated movies in general. A lot of people say that this movie came out of Disney's dark period when the movies were "average" and "poorly animated". I don't think this so called dark period exists, but this is especially untrue of The Fox and the Hound. It is the first and last of the old school Disney movies after the old school way of Disney's storytelling died out in the 60s.

One of the things I admire about The Fox and the Hound is its animation. The 60s had a very stylized form of animation. The 70s had a very sketchy form of animation. The 80s more or less was too experimental. During the 90s Disney hit gold when they settled into a successful formula. However, the animation soon became increasingly cartoony(not that this is a bad thing). With The Fox and the Hound, Disney tried to return to the detailed realism of the 50s, 40s, and 30s. Naturally they don't reach the level of grace and sparkle seen in movies like Bambi and Lady and the Tramp, but the animation in The Fox and the Hound is far from being average or sketchy. In fact it's actually quite vibrant and dynamic. Yes, The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast boasts some pretty impressive color schemes and character animation and sense of solidity. There's no doubt about that. However, one should really take a close look at the animation in The Fox and the Hound. It is startlingly beautiful in the way it conveys motion and emotion. It is wonderfully realistic and fluid, and I was surprised at the amount of attention given to the emotional expression in the eyes and in the body langauge. Sure, The Lion King has some pretty dramatic and emotional dialogue. But I like the whole feel of all the characters looks and how they express themselves. Tod is easily one of the most expressive characters in any Disney movie, and one character doesn't say anything at all.

Another thing I admire about this movie is its whole feel and atmosphere. Most Disney movies are grand and a bit over-the-top, especially the modern Disney movies, which emphasize Broadway style songs and scenes where a lot of things are going on at once. Even the classic Disney movies usually open up with a song of some kind. But if you watch The Fox and the Hound for the first time, you'll most likely be surprised that the movie opens up to almost complete silence. We're also treated to a wonderful shot of a quiet, misty forest. This is the nature of The Fox and the Hound. It is laid back and quiet, almost folksy in parts, unlike most modern Disney movies, which emphasize hipness and near hyperactivity. But that's not to say that this movie doesn't have excitement or drama. In fact this movie has probably the best drama I've ever seen in a Disney movie. All throughout the movie, the drama is often very internalized, powered by very strong, dynamic characters, unlike many Disney movies which have sometimes external sources of conflict and drama. Take a close look at the sequence where Tod is carefully walking through the forest and ever closer to the hunter. This is a wonderfully animated sequence, as are the scenes that follow. Suspense was commonplace in classic Disney movies, but seems to have become a rarity in modern Disney movies. Yet in this particular sequence you can almost cut the tension with a knife. Also, while most Disney movies feature seriousness in some form or another, The Fox and the Hound clearly treats death as always being real and very grim. Nowhere does it interrupt a fight scene or a moment of drama with unnecessary quips or jokes. And if you thought the fight between Simba and Scar in The Lion King was intense, the fights in this movie make The Lion King one look like a pillow fight. And when Tod gets injured, he doesn't magically come back to health. You can almost feel the pain in his body. Also, I applaud Disney for using an almost bittersweet ending instead of a traditional happy one. It plucks at my heartstrings all the time.

But the thing I admire the most about The Fox and the Hound are the characters. Many people claim that the characters in The Fox and the Hound are weak. Well if by weak they mean lacking in any form of pigeonholing character cliches then the characters in this movie are guilty as charged. But in my opinion the characters in this movie are actually very strong and quite dynamic. When I first watched this movie, I was amazed at how these characters were unlike most other Disney characters I've seen. They gave the movie a very natural feel. Here in this movie, there are no good guys are bad guys, heroes or villains. I liked this difference between this movie and the other Disney movies. It certainly doesn't mean that the characters are boring. In the beginning, Tod and Copper are charming characters as they develop their fond friendship. But towards the end when they become bitter enemies, it is heartbreaking to the viewer because they're both still equally likable characters, yet they both have realistic reasons to fight each other. This adds to the drama and makes their fights that much more charged than if they were a typical all good hero and an all bad villain going at each other. And even if you look at the mean hunter of the movie, Amos Slade, he's still not a stereotypical villainous, destructive hunter. He's not even evil at all. Sure, he's cranky and a bit of a trigger-happy loose cannon. But he also has more things going for him. He hunts not to destroy, but because he makes a genuine living off of it. And even though the things he does in the movie are clearly wrong, he is motivated by revenge stemming from a true love of his dogs. If you watch the end of the movie, you can tell right there that he's not a monstrous villain but just merely a grouchy old man. The other characters in this movie are also great. Widow Tweed is a kind and caring old woman who's not weak or absent-minded. In fact she can be tough when she needs to be. Big Mama is a wonderful character who teaches Tod about the cruel ways of the world through song and some very powerful words. And Dinky and Boomer are genuinely funny as they forever try to catch the caterpillar. To me, they were great and funny because they seemed like real characters trying to do their own thing instead of silly sidekicks spouting off annoying schtick. In fact I love the whole gentle, old school feel of this movie's humor, where much like the Disney movies of old the characters made us laugh with their charm, instead of with hip attitudes or slapstick. Then there's Vixey, who's the typical romance interest. Yet I still like her because even she feels natural and strong.

I could go on and on about why I love this movie. To me, nothing could be or ever will be better. I guess that's why my review went on so long, because I feel like I need to endlessly praise and defend this wonderful and underrated movie. It's just so different from the other Disney movies and it's made so right. Yes the songs are too laid back for their own good, but big Broadway songs just wouldn't fit in such a well wrought movie. Songs aren't what make this movie great to me. It's the wonderful mix of childlike innocence and terrifying drama, electrifying majesty and gentle folksy charm, messages that don't get hammered into my brain, and scenes that send shivers up my spine or take my breath away. It's kind of hard to describe, because by the end of the movie all I get is a gentle smile instead of a broad grin. But in my heart is always the feeling that something so utterly right and perfect just unfolded before my eyes, something as magical and simple yet awe-inspiring as watching a sunrise or a butterfly stretch its wings. It's the feeling that I just watched one of the best animated movies ever made. And that feeling will never go away.

An orphaned fox cub is adopted by a lonely old woman...who lives next door to a hunter who has just brought home a new hunting dog puppy. The two make a pair of unlikely friends. Unfortunately, the puppy is taken away to be trained as a hunter...and they meet as adults, deadly enemies.

This is an often overlooked Disney film which is sweet and original and has some excellent scenes in it. You'll probably cry in this one. The chases and fights are suspenseful, and the ending is satisfying and enjoyable.

Not to say it has no flaws, though. Most of the music is pretty bad. The romance has a definite touch of cornball. Big Momma can probably be viewed as a black stereotype.

But still a very enjoyable film, from a time period when Disney films were on the verge of complete badness.