One Hundred movie reviews, I always knew I wanted my one-hundredth movie review to be special, a movie I had strong feelings for, and it boiled down to one of my favourite animated movies, or one of my least favourite animated movies. It was a tough decision, but at the end of it all, I made my choice, and I've planned on this being my one-hundredth movie review for a long time, and that is because, at the time, The Fox and the Hound was my favourite animated movie, second only to Whisper of the Heart. Don't get me wrong, it is still one of my favourite movies ever, but I think I have to give the title of "favourite animated movie" to Treasure Planet right now, so I guess it's not a really special one-hundredth review, eh? Still, The Fox and the Hound is a great movie, and it is about time I give it some much due appreciation.
We follow Tod, a young Fox, whose mother is shot by a hunter and he gets taken in by a lonely widow. Meanwhile, her neighbor, a hunter by name of Amos Slade, brings home a new puppy by name of Copper. While Tod and Copper become friends, Tod also earns the ire of Amos and his old dog, Chief, and after a long hunting trip, Tod and Copper grow up and find they can't be friends anymore. The movie, plotwise I think, can mostly be split into four parts, the stuff with Tod and Copper as kids, the stuff before Tod gets dropped into the game preserve, the game preserve, and Amos and Copper hunting down Tod. I think the only part I really am not into is the stuff in the game preserve, I dunno it just kind of becomes Bambi for a couple minutes. Barring that, the rest of the movie is pretty well done, the first third or so with the characters as kids is pretty nice, a bit slow but it's necessary to build the relationship. There has been some criticisms about the strength of the plot, specifically with things like Tod's mother being shot offscreen and Chief not dying after being hit by a train. In regards to the former, I think everyone knew that she was killed, I heard that they wanted it to be left open, like maybe she got away, but everyone knew she didn't. As for the latter, yeah, I kind of agree. I do think a lot of Copper's arc would be a lot stronger if Chief did get killed. While it does have some weak spots, as a whole the plot does a good job at getting the important stuff to us.
Even if I think that Copper's arc could be stronger, the actual characters are pretty strong. Tod is playful, and that gets him into mischief, and Copper is torn between two worlds, one where he's a hunting dog and another where he's a friend. I also really like Widow Tweed and Amos Slade as well. I can't say they have particularly strong or deep characterization, but they are identifiable, and they got the job done. You also have a bit of comic relief with two birds named Dickie and Boomer who are trying to get a caterpillar. It's cute and offers a nice distraction. It also helps that Richard Bakalyan and Paul Winchell are their voices. Speaking of, this movie is pretty star studded, Kurt Russell, Mickey Rooney, Pearl Bailey, Jack Albertson, Sandy Duncan, Pat Buttram, Jeanette Nolan, all of them turn in a pretty good performance. Honestly, Jack Albertson as Amos Slade might be my favourite underrated performance of a Disney villain, it really does add to the character. Keith Coogan and Corey Feldman are the voices of young Tod and young Copper respectively and they're fine, I can imagine worse actors getting these roles.
Animation wise this movie is actually rather special, this is the last movie that each member of Disney's Nine Old Men worked on together, also featuring some work from uncredited animators by names of Tim Burton, Brad Bird and John Lasseter. The visual look of this film is pretty nice, it isn't that clean and polished style we would get with The Little Mermaid, but it also isn't the same sketchy style from previous Disney movies, this era of Disney almost has it's own unique style somewhere between that sketchbook style and the polished style we got with the renaissance. I also like how they didn't go for a very bright and lush colour palette, how the forest is kind of grungy, fitting the environment of the coniferous forest. That doesn't make this movie ugly, in fact it has a couple pretty moments, but it is true that this isn't one of Disney's most beautiful movies... visually speaking. One thing though, the Bear at the end climax almost feels a little out of place, it is very well designed, but the way it moves is just kind of strange. I think ultimately, the visuals are good, but they do kind of die by comparison to a lot of the Disney's later work, honestly I do think that The Little Mermaid just kind of swept the late Dark Age movies under the rug.
So I have a few nitpicks about the movie, but frankly I don't think it's really the fault of this movie. It had a troubled production and it really isn't anyone's fault that a movie gets overshadowed by another. Disney wasn't doing well in the late 70s and early 80s. That being said, the pieces are still here and they still all work, really good voice acting, excellent animation, and a truly heart breaking story. Yeah I haven't really commented on the emotional aspect of this story, but that's something everyone talks about, and really it is for good reason. Seeing Tod be released into the game preserve, Copper at the end after Tod fights off the bear, these are all well done moments, and they are the reason this movie has a reputation. I think that is a large reason as to why I can't say The Fox and the Hound is my favourite animated movie anymore, because it is one of those movies you really just need to be in the right mood to watch, and that mood is "I want to shatter my heart into more pieces than there are atoms in the universe". That said, if you are in that mood, or you really love these kinds of stories, I say give it a go. Even if you aren't in the right mood, it is still a wonderful movie, and it is still one of my favourites so... what can I say? It really does deserve a High Recommendation.
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