The Fox and the Hound (1981)

Written by Larry Clemmons, et al.
Directed by Ted Berman, Richard Rich, & Art Stevens

OH MY GOD. THIS MOVIE. MY HEART. IT HURTS.

Okay. Now then.

Let them play

Yes, this film tore me up, like we all knew that it was going to. I’ve seen this film exactly once before, because of this very reason. I’m serious: sad animals are, like, the hardest thing for me to stomach. And this film is RELENTLESS, taking less than five minutes to go full Bambi and kill off a momma animal. It was at that moment that I hunkered down and prayed for daylight.

There are some great things to mention about the film. Firstly, and most importantly to me, the animation is much cleaner than the films that preceded it, which was a huge bonus for me. Additionally, the backgrounds look very detailed, and really help illustrate time and place for the film...it actually looks like a place I’d like to live!

Let thEM PLAY

The film does have a creepy beginning, which is now the second film in a row to do so. My gut instinct is, either this is because of The Black Cauldron, which comes next, or these two openings were used as an argument for it. I’ve never seen it, but I’m about to, and from what I’ve heard about it, the wrong argument won that day.

The music isn’t all that memorable, mostly because the two major songs, the opening and Widow Tweed’s, are so sad that I really don’t like listening to them. They’re like “When Somebody Loved Me” from Toy Story 2: it’s great to listen to when you want a death punch to the heart.

LET THEM PLAY

I did have a slight issue with Tweed dropping Tod off at the game preserve, in that he is, in no way, equipped to live in the wild. Adding that with my extreme hatred for dropping off animals on the side of the road anyway...I got real upset. Yes, it’s a game preserve, but still...how does she expect him to survive? Also, on a more minor note, the preserve is home to Vixey, a female fox with a dumb name and dumber attitude (seriously, is she a missing Dwarf?). In our very first meeting with her, Big Mama tells her that Tod is handsome, and Vixey responds with, “He seems nice”, which...just...HAVE SOME STANDARDS, VIXEY, AND DISNEY WHY DON’T YOU HIRE SOME FEMALE WRITERS BECAUSE GOOD GOD.

THIS IS NOT PLAYING STOP IT

The plot is...the plot. We all know going into it that these two unlikely friends are gonna be pitted against one another. My issue with it is, Chief doesn’t die (in all honesty, he’s really not even all that hurt), so why then is Copper being all YOU KILLED MY (KINDA)BROTHER, PREPARE TO DIE? Like...Chief is fine. And accidents happen. It’s not like Tod was driving the train that struck him (ALSO HOW DID CHIEF GET HIT BY A TRAIN, FALL DOWN A RAVINE, STRIKE A BOULDER ON THE WAY DOWN, AND ONLY GET A BROKEN LEG?).

Anyway.

It’s a good film. It really is. I just never want to watch it again, because bawling my eyes out is not my idea of a good time.

FINAL GRADE: B