The Fox and the Hound (1981) - A Heartwarming Disney Movie

"The Fox and the Hound": A Nice, Heartwarming, Uplifting, Dull Disney Movie

The Disney movie "The Fox and the Hound" (1981), directed by Ted Berman, Richard Rich and Art Stevens, marked a very subtle passing of the torch. Producer Wolfgang Reitherman, who had been an animator at Walt Disney Productions since the "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" days and had directed every animated Disney movie from "101 Dalmations" through "The Rescuers," made this his last Disney movie, this time as a producer. He was still heavily involved in the Disney movie creative process, and even brought his son's pet fox in to help the animators model their characters. One of those animators was a talented young man just starting out named John Lasseter. Young Mr. Lasseter had his first animation assignment contributing to "The Fox and the Hound"'s climactic fight scene. Today, John Lasseter runs the whole animated Disney/Pixar Film show, just as, in his own way, Reitherman did in his day, and arguably is the single most powerful man on the creative side in animation since Walt Disney himself. Competition from the Pixars and the DreamWorks, the Rankin/Basses and the Ghibli Studios come and go, but transitions like that show the continuity at Disney and why it maintains its hegemony over the years. Disney thinks in terms of decades when other studios struggle to see past their next project.

Copper is so cuddly

Widow Tweed (Jeanette Nolan) takes in the orphaned red fox Tod (Mickey Rooney) because he reminds her of a child. Her neighbor, Amos Slade (Jack Albertson), is a hunter who around the same time brings home Copper (Kurt Russell), a hound puppy, to join his hunting dog, Chief (Pat Buttram). Tod and Copper become fast friends and intend to stay that way forever. They play together all the time, which isn't such a good thing for their owners.

Why, nice to meet you!

Slade places Copper on a leash because Copper always is leaving to play with Tod and is never around when Slade wants him. When Tod comes over to play anyway, he awakens Chief, who along with Slade chases him back to Tweed's house. Slade threatens Tweed and tells her to keep Tod away from his property. Tweed explains to Tod that dogs like Copper and Chief are born and bred to kill red foxes like him, so Tod has to stay away from them henceforth. Tod still wants to be best friends with Copper.

Could it be... true love?

When hunting season arrives, Slade goes out with his dogs. When they return, Tod goes to visit as usual, but Copper stiffly tells him that he is a hunting dog now, and he can't be friends with a fox. Slade and Chief find Tod there and almost catch him, but Tod runs outside. Chief chases Tod to some train tracks, but gets hit by a passing train and badly wounded. With Slade and Copper blaming Tod for the accident and wishing to destroy him, Tweed decides to leave Tod at a game preserver for his own safety.

Happy times for the Fox and the Hound

At the preserve, Tod meets Vixey (Sandy Duncan). Slade and Copper are determined to kill Tod and his new companion, so they enter the game preserve illegally and track them through the forest, setting traps. When a bear startles Slade, he falls into his own trap and loses his gun. Copper can't protect Slade from the bear, and things look bad for both of them. Tod intervenes to save them both, though, falling with the bear over a waterfall. Copper and Slade then appear, Slade with his gun, and it is unclear whether he will kill Tod or not.

Say your prayers, varmint

"The Fox and the Hound" was an adaptation of a 1967 novel by Daniel Mannix. Almost everything was changed from the novel, which was very dark with a lot of killings, but it did provide a central structure. Production commenced around the time that the previous animated feature Disney film, "The Rescuers," was released. The studio went through a lot of turbulence during this Disney film's development, as the old guard led by Reitherman was moving on and a new crop of animators was being ushered in. Veteran Don Bluth, who had played a key role on the animation of "The Rescuers," raided the Disney film animation ranks for his own new enterprise (which resulted in "The Secret of NIMH" not long after "The Fox and the Hound" was released), delaying release of the Disney film by a year as the studio rushed to train new animators. There were conflicts between one camp led by Producer Reitherman and the other led by Director Art Stevens, with Stevens eventually winning. Riven by factions, the studio barely survived the turmoil. In the end, the animation in this Disney film was of the usual high quality, but the harmony that had existed for fifty years was gone.

Do what I want or you'll be pushing up daiseys!

In terms of the quality of this Disney fillm, there are many who love it, and others who are bored by it. Unlike the animated Disney film features before it, "The Fox and the Hound" hammers home a message about how society shapes us into who we are and what we can do. Disney films aren't usually "message" movies, so it was somewhat surprising that the studio would go that route. One can read into this Disney film cautionary notes about prejudice and the importance of getting along. There are no tragic occurrences like in "Bambi," and it is a good family Disney film that makes some cry at the end in joy, not sadness, but there is an underlying sense of sadness that pervades this Disney film.

You can hear him cackling

A sequel, "The Fox and the Hound 2," was released in 2006, one of the last of the non-theatrical Disney film sequels before that process was terminated by Lasseter and the other reigning bosses at Disney. It covers happy times when Copper and Tod played together as youngsters, before the real world intruded. The Blu-ray edition came out on the film's 30th anniversary in 2011 and includes the sequel "The Fox and the Hound 2" as well as a lot of new bonus material.

That is a pretty cool bear animation

"The Fox and the Hound" is heart-felt and contains a strong message, which makes it ideal for the sentimental viewer and less so for those looking for a little unpredictability and adventure. It will make you think and relate to the characters in ways that are unusual for a Disney film. It isn't quite the classic that some would like to think it is, but rather a solid Disney film that lies somewhere in the middle of the Disney film pack.

Below is the theatrical trailer.

2013

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Robin Hood (1973) - The Merriest Menagerie

Robin Hood: Did You Know They Are Doing A TV Series With Robin Hood and His Band of Merry Men As Women?

Walt Disney Production's great success with animal-centric animation films such as "The Jungle Book" and "Lady and the Tramp," as opposed to the so-so or downright poor performance of features showing human characters, such as "Sleeping Beauty" and "The Sword in the Stone," led it to go one step further: for the first time ever in a Disney feature, in "Robin Hood" (1973), directed by veteran Wolfgang Reitherman, it would take a tale about historical human beings and portray them as cute anthropomorphic animals. Ken Anderson worked on the story, and it is said that he wept when shown the finished product. The public adored seeing Robin Hood as an amiable Fox, though, and - with barely anyone noticing - a quiet revolution in animation was achieved.

Robin Hood playing around

Minstrel rooster Alan-a-Dale (Roger Miller) relates this story about a medieval English outlaw and his gang which "steals from the rich and gives to the poor." Robin Hood (Brian Bedford) and his right-hand man Little John (Phil Harris, voicing a bear as with Baloo in "The Jungle Book" and thankfully not evem attempting an English accent) live in Sherwood Forest, near Nottingham, England. They are outlaws chased by the Sheriff of Nottingham (Pat Buttram, a wolf), who can never catch him.

A dancing rooster as our animator

Prince John (Peter Usintov, a lion) and his sidekick Sir Hiss (Terry-Thomas, a snake) hypnotized John's brother Richard the Lionhearted (Ustinov) to make him go off on the Crusades. This allowed John to usurp the throne. Robin and Little John rob John, which makes John put a bounty on their heads and send the Sheriff after them.

Mirror, mirror....

Robin, being charitable, gives his hat and bow and arrows to young Skippy (Billy Whitaker, a rabbit), who lives with his family in Friar Tuck's (Andy Devine, an American badger) house. Skippy accidentally sends an arrow into the castle of Maid Marian (Monica Evans, a vixenish fox), and when he and Toby (Ritchie Sands, a turtle) go in to retrieve it, they meet Marian and her attendant Lady Kluck (Carole Shelley, a chicken). Marian tells them she was once Robin Hood's childhood friend.

The bare necess... oops. sorry

Friar Tuck finds out about an archery tournament, the winner to kiss Maid Marian. Robin disguises himself as a stork, while Little John pretends to be a member of royalty, the Duke of Chutney. Robin wins the tournament, but his identity is revealed and John sentences him to death. A fight results, with Robin, Maid Marian and the others escaping.

Skippy and Toby

Robin and Marian renew their relationship, while the townsfolk mock John for being an usurper. John responds by raising taxes and jailing those who can't pay. Even Friar Tuck is arrested in order to serve as bait to draw in Robin Hood.

Little John and Robin

Robin does intervene, and manages to free the prisoners and steal John's tax collection. Sir Hiss and the Sheriff corner Robin and in the process set fire to the castle. Prince John despairs, but much worse is in store when his brother returns.

Skippy meets Maid Marian

Though it is not obvious from watching it, this production followed the trend of Disney making cheaper animation films. Material was re-used from as far back as "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," and every means possible was used to cut costs. Viewers still enjoyed the film, and it received an Academy Award nomination for Best Song, but the art was in a retrograde phase at the studio. "Robin Hood" is a cute and colorful film that has adorable animals that kids love, while enough substance to keep adults watching.

There's that mirror again!

For a Disney feature film, the animation is weak. However, the characters are clearly defined and endearing, while the voice actors are outstanding. Peter Ustinov steals the film as Prince John, by turns either horribly nasty or crying for his mother like a true tough guy. Brian Bedford oozes charm as Robin, who is extremely likeable. Roger Miller as the narrator is sort of the stand-in for the then-contemporary Woodstock generation, giving a laid-back, "let me take a few puffs first" narration that is wonderfully earthy. His song "Not in Nottingham" is a favorite of many fans of this film.

Left is Robin Hood; right, a scene from Aristocats

People who obsess too much about Disney films - such as myself - can't help but notice things that the casual viewer couldn't care less about, but which reflect the deterioration going on behind the scenes. Little John is a wonderful character, amiable, a good friend, somebody who comes through in the clutch - and the exact same character as Baloo in "The Jungle Book," voiced in exactly the same style by the same actor. Sir Hiss as drawn (nobody does Terry Thomas' voice the same way) bears an uncanny resemblance to the snake in that film, too. A musical interlude or two features a group of animals playing instruments exactly as they did in "The Aristocats."

Thank you, boss!

There is more (woe betide the Disney character who is so vain as to look in a mirror!), and this continued in later films, too, but it doesn't matter to somebody picking this off the shelf and watching it. The characters are fun, the songs are catchy, the action is non-stop. Whether or not you can see black lines around everything because of the cheaper animation process in use since the early '60s is kind of beside the point, because everyone else was doing that, too. This is the first Disney project completely without Walt's involvement, and it shows, but not in such a way that it detracts from the viewing experience.

Robin Hood rescuing Little John

Perhaps the biggest problem with the film - besides the bargain-basement animation - is the lack of a coherent plot. Robin, our hero, basically is just reacting throughout the film. Sir Hiss is the funniest and most clever character in the film, but Prince John doesn't listen to him. It all has a cheesy, disjointed feel, as if the Disney animators were trying to edge towards imitating the Saturday morning cartoons that then were in vogue (those cartoons would start early and continue past noontime on all three networks and feature hour-long programs of "Scooby Doo" and so forth).

En guard!

Despite these flaws, the film is funny and enjoyable. Simply seeing which animal they chose to represent each character is hilarious and makes you think. Prince John and Sir Hiss have a sort of Dr. Smith/Robot relationship from "Lost in Space," with Prince John delivering alliterative put-downs ("Procrastinating python," "slithering serpent" and the like) when things don't go his way. The music by Disney veteran George Bruns mixes amusing new material with a sprinkling of classics and is very entertaining. The love story between Robin and Marian is quite touching, too.

Aw, isn't that cute!

It is somewhat sad to see the state to which Disney animation had fallen in the years after Walt's death, but "Robin Hood" is by no means a bad film. It hasn't aged as well as some others such as "Sleeping Beauty" and "Peter Pan," but few films do. It may not be in their league, but it is a film adults and kids alike will likely enjoy.

Below is the promo for the "Most Wanted" edition:



2012

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