The Fox and the Hound

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It has been long enough for me since I last watched this that I had pretty well forgotten it altogether. It was definitely a treat to feel like I saw a movie like this for the first time again. I can't help but appreciate how good an example this is of how to make a story both deep and simple. Like a lot of Disney movies, one may find a concept or two a bit dated. But in my case, I found the problem overshadowed by something else that sort of saves it (which I'll get to later). Regardless, this is a particularly good story, and it leans a bit more towards the dramatic side than the comedic, which is often a breath of fresh air.

It all starts in 'Bambi'-ish fashion, as we experience a pretty breathtakingly animated sequence that is robbed from us when the victim of a hunter is shot. In this case, we have a mother fox, who carries her cub to safety before things go down. He is taken under the wings (pun totally intended) of Big Mama the owl (Pearl Bailey), Dinky the finch (Richard Bakalyan), and Boomer the woodpecker (Paul Winchell). The trio drop the baby fox on the doorstep of the kindly Widow Tweed (Jeanette Nolan), who takes him in and names him Tod - short for "toddler". (Keith Coogan/Mickey Rooney). The pair develop a very friendly and loving relationship, and he helps her with her loneliness.

Meanwhile, Tweed's Neighbour, Amos Slade (Jack Albertson) has adopted a new hound puppy named Copper (Corey Feldman/Kurt Russell), and his regular hunting dog, Chief (Pat Buttram) is assigned to take care of him. Eventually, as Tod's out playing and Copper is out tracking something (which ends up being Tod), the pair meet, play, become best friends, and pledge to be so forever. Soon, though, Slade takes Copper and Chief away to learn the ways of the hunt. This is after Slade finds Tod hanging out with Copper on his property, and accusing him of raiding his chicken coop. It all turns into a question of whether or not Tod and Copper will be able to be friends in the future - and that friendship really does get its fair shake of testing, often through misunderstanding.

Now, to revert back to what I mentioned earlier about the "problem" and the "overshadow", it basically boils down to how Slade sees Tweed - basically as a dumb, useless female. I'm not sure he says those exact words, but the message is clear. The overshadow, however, is Tweed, herself. She's actually a rther strong female character, not afraid to stand up for herself, and able to make extremely hard decisions with Tod in the interest of Tod's safety. I think, speaking as a pet owner, she's extremely easy to relate to as well as empathise with. The guy being a jerk about things is just that - a very unlikable jerk. I might not label him as a villain, but he's definitely the everyday stubborn asshole we all know in one way or another.

Setting that whole deal aside, this viewing was, again, like seeing it for the first time. Though critics tend to kind of meet this one in the middle, as there's nothing particularly ground-breaking about it, it's that simplicity that I think makes this so good. This is a story that tells valuable lessons the young watchers are learning about friendships, and the tests that they may inevitably endure one day. I know I've been to Hell and back with a few close friends, and it's something one should probably have a heads up about at an early age. To some degree, it's saying "one day, your friendships will be tested", but another way to look at it is that if things do fall apart, you can still hold on to those fond memories of that friendship.

I think this is another one to be strongly considered for a Top 10 of these Disney animated films. It quickly rose up the ranks for me on this viewing, and although there's no real nostalgic attachment to it for me, it does make me think of a lot of the solid friendships of my youth. Some are still around, some have moved on, and some, I've even lost. But this film really did manage to spark a lot of those happy memories I had with these people. It definitely got deep with me, and gauged just about every emotion. It does it all with ease, but impact at the same time. For yours truly, this is one of Disney animation's better titles... and yes, I do realize how bold that statement is, but honestly, I loved this movie.

5/5

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