The Fox and the Hound (1981)

Directors:

Ted Berman
Richard Rich

Writers:

Ted Berman (writer)
Larry Clemmons (writer)

Release Date:

10 July 1981 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Drama | Family

Tagline:

Two friends that didn't know they were supposed to be enemies.

Plot:

Two childhood animal friends find themselves forced to become enemies.

Plot Keywords:

Telephone Pole | Dog | Hit By Train | Winter | Woodpecker

Awards:

1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

Mickey Rooney	...	Adult Tod (voice)
Kurt Russell	...	Adult Copper (voice)
Pearl Bailey	...	Big Mama (voice)
Jack Albertson	...	Hunter (Amos Slade) (voice)
Sandy Duncan	...	Vixey (voice)
Jeanette Nolan	...	Widow Tweed (voice)
Pat Buttram	...	Chief (voice)
John Fiedler	...	Porcupine (voice)
John McIntire	...	Grumpy Badger (voice)
Richard Bakalyan	...	Dinky (voice)
Paul Winchell	...	Boomer (voice)
Keith Coogan	...	Young Tod (voice) (as Keith Mitchell)
Corey Feldman	...	Young Copper (voice)

Also Known As:

Tod & Copper (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

83 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Photophone System)

Certification:

Iceland:L | Peru:PT | West Germany:o.Al. | Argentina:Atp | Chile:TE | Finland:S | Portugal:M/6 | Sweden:7 | UK:U | USA:G | Australia:G | Spain:T | France:U

Company:

Walt Disney Pictures

Trivia:

Co-director Art Stevens served as the live-action model for Amos Slade.

Goofs:

Continuity: We see Amos walking with the traps over his shoulder. He's holding onto them with a leather strap. Yet, when he catches up to Copper, the strap is now a chain.

Quotes:

Widow Tweed: Amos Slade, that temper of yours is going to get you into a lot of trouble someday.
Amos Slade: [turns red in the face] Temper? Temper? Woman, you ain't seen my temper! If I ever catch that fox in my property again, I'll blast him, and next time I won't miss!

Movie Connections:

References The Sword in the Stone (1963)

Soundtrack:

Best of Friends

One of the most heartwarming and bittersweet cartoons in years.

This is a film that both delighted me and deeply upset me, because it seemed so happy, and yet, so unfair at the same time. The two best friends, the "Fox and the Hound", meet again after they are fully grown adults, or, when they are old enough to face the fact that their friendship was never meant to be. That broke my heart, because it was such a beautiful friendship, unfairly tarnished by a cruel world. If only our world was a happy place, where races and cultures didn't matter, and if only we could recognize those characters as our friends, and not our enemies simply because of our ethnic differences. Years later, Spike Lee's "Do the Right Thing" brought up that same point with a vengeance. And, like "The Fox and the Hound", it shows how much that beautiful friendship between people won't last because of how society determines our friends and enemies. It makes no sense, and it's unfair. What's more, Tod, the fox, endures more than any other character in the film. Other characters, and especially the hunter, discriminated against him without thinking. And we the audience had to endure seeing him go through this misery, all because he was born a fox! It's insane! Sadly, it's true to life. And that is the main reason it was made for kids, to point out how wonderful a friendship is, and how ridiculous it is to tarnish it because of a racial or ethnic difference! And although this film runs on the standard Disney formula, with the songs, the comic relief, the love interest, and the villain, this film really touched me, because I wanted to see their friendship go on. And although it did go on in some form, there is always that feeling of "he doesn't belong" being uttered by many of the other characters. Why? Well, this film asks children and adults alike, that very question.