The Fox and the Hound (1981)
The Cast
Mickey Rooney .... Adult Tod
Kurt Russell .... Adult Copper
Pearl Bailey .... Big Mama
Jack Albertson .... Amos Slade
Sandy Duncan .... Vixey
Jeanette Nolan .... Widow Tweed
Pat Buttram .... Chief
John Fiedler .... Porcupine
Paul Winchell .... Boomer
Keith Coogan .... Young Tod
Corey Feldman .... Young Copper
Watching this movie, one could find it hard to believe that it's 25 years old. Then again, switch your perspective a bit and you'll find it's hard to believe that it's not even older. I mean, Mickey Rooney as your lead voice-over actor? That just screams 1940s cinema to me, a time I only know existed because of black and white photography, which was the only kind that they had 'til someone dropped acid in the 60s and invented colours. Sorry.. I've been on a Calvin & Hobbes kick lately. Check that link out by the way. Chances are good that it'll be more entertaining than my review.
The Fox and the Hound has long been one of my favourite Disney movies of all time, which isn't really saying much since I find a lot of Disney films to be insulting to a toddler's intelligence. Every once in awhile though, Disney will shine through with a wonderful story about friendships that stand up to all adversity, with darker undertones and well-developed characters. For a recent example, see the fantastically underrated Lilo & Stitch. Granted, a lot of Disney movies do contain those underlying dark tones but they always appear to be glossed over with a talking animal or two singing about having friends or something. But I digress.
The movie occasionally feels very haphazard, like they were almost making it up as they were going along, both artistically and story-wise. Some scenes are so quietly beautiful-looking that you'll find yourself wishing that animated movies these days hadn't turned their collective backs on the hand-drawn style in favour of a bank of liquid-cooled supercomputers churning out cookie-cutter features. Sure, CGI animation gets more impressive each year, but rarely does it convey any kind of warmth or approachability in the characters (I will make an exception for Nigel in The Wild, though that's mostly due to Eddie Izzard's brilliant vocal performance).
The voice cast is an interesting mix of legends and up and comers in the business back then. Everyone tends to give good performances, though that's somewhat tempered by the saccharine-sweet dialogue they're required to churn out at points. It also would've been nice if John Fiedler and Paul Winchell didn't just recycle their Pooh characters' voices for this film. I'd go along with Kurt Russell as the best part of the cast, followed up by a very young Corey Feldman and rounded out by the charming Sandy Duncan. Her Vixie is truly the Fox of Foxes.
My love for this movie is going to be challenged by Disney's bastardization of it. In what I can only assume is going to be sub-titled Blue Collar Foxes, Disney has decided to churn out a straight-to-DVD sequel for this quarter-century old movie with a voice cast that reads very-Country-centric. Anyways, I'll always have a soft spot in my heart for this film, having been taught by it that friendships are often fraught with peril and people growing apart. *sniff* I'm still looking for my Vixie.
4 / 5