Sherrill777 The Bad:So I've heard that the "hidden theme" of this movie was inter-racial friendship. If so, it was a VERY hidden theme as I don't think anyone would realize this without being told. Also, it has an extremely poor message of pro-segregation, if you were to analyze the film this way. However, since I don't think any small child is going to grasp that kind of message, I think it's worth ignoring that theme and taking this film more literally – evolving friendship and loss that happens to all of us over time. And since that theme is a good thing, so I'll address it more in the next paragraph. Moving on to other 'bad' things: the music in this is...folksy. Not a style with a huge following, and not one I care for. The animation is not particularly beautiful either. There is a bit of an anti-hunting message, but again, not strong enough to be a problem for those who disagree, I think. The love interest is very bland and there's no lead-up to the pair falling in love, but I don't think you can expect much from a pair of foxes!The Good:Coming back to the movie themes, I find the idea of childhood friends growing apart and ending up in different places (literally or metaphorically) is a realistic and important idea to explore in film and I think this movie does an okay job at that. Granted, there's an interlude of serious antagonism before the resolution, which hopefully won't be found in our children's relationships, but the bittersweet ending is one that I think can resonate with children who have moved or known grief. This is also one of the most realistic of Disney's animated films (talking animals not withstanding). There's no magic, no real villains (not even the dog's owner is really a bad man). Just two animals who are figuring out how the world works and what their place in it is. And, coming back to themes, there is the underlying sense that without outside interference, the animals would have stayed good friends. But that's life – no one lives in a bubble and things outside our control can impact us. The ending isn't a happy one, but it is a realistic and satisfying one. The Mom View:I feel like this is a forgotten Disney classic. Not one of their most famous films, and it probably deserves to be ranked somewhere in the lower middle range of their animated movies. But I still like it and feel it's worth ensuring my kids are familiar with. The friendship that defies the normal way of things is a cute, sweet part of the movie. The depth of misunderstanding (which is never adequately resolved, but is forgiven) can get overly intense and the bear can be down-right frightening for young children, so I'll have my kids see this when they are middle elementary age. Overall, not my favorite Disney animated movie and not one a child would miss if they never saw it, but it's not bad and worth renting. 6/10

Vimacone After Walt's death, the Disney animation studio struggled to stay in business and produce wholesome entertaining pictures. While they were harmless and enjoyable entertainment, films like The Aristocats and Robin Hood lacked the cohesive narratives of the films that had Walt's involvement (this was remedied with the release of The Rescuers). The style and look of films had stagnated as well. The xerox technology that streamlined the animation process gave the films a scratchy and unfinished look. This was the style of the Disney films for nearly 20 years with no change nor progress.The release of The Fox and the Hound changed the studio had been going. This was the last film to have prominent involvement of Walt's top artists and writers, some of whom had worked at the studio since the 1930's. Many new artists had been working at the studio for a few years. Thus this film was a transitional film from the old guard to the new. Although from many insider accounts, this transition was not a smooth one. Don Bluth, one of the top artists from the new guard, decided to form his own studio and take many of the animators with him. This delayed the release of this film by a few months.Fortunately, these complications did not affect the overall film. Like The Rescuers that preceded it, this film turned out a strong cohesive narrative. I'm surprised that it hasn't been mentioned much in recent years, but the story has a darker and more mature tone and theme to it than most Disney films of the previous decades. While great liberties were taken in adapting the source material, the writers managed to create a compelling theme of two friends who aren't aware they're naturally supposed to be enemies and how they confront the issue as adults.The artistry of the Disney films finally started to show progress starting with this film. The animation no longer has an unfinished look. I presume the xerox photography had advanced so that they were able to xerox colored lines like those that appeared in the features in the 1940's and 50's. This artistic progression would continue at a great rate for the next several years.While it was critically acclaimed at the time of release and a subsequent reissue, this film hasn't been held in high esteem by fans or the Disney company itself in recent years. The films greatest strengths are the theme of a strong friendship threatened by external circumstances and the fact that there isn't a happy ending, but a bittersweet one, which is unconventional for a Disney film in a way. Definitely worth watching, like most features released after Walt's death, this one is underrated.

Shawn Watson The concept of this story could have worked as a dialogue-free Fantasia piece, but Disney's attempt to mold it into a "family movie" spoils whatever credibility it might have had. Tod (short for toddler) is a newly-orphaned baby Fox adopted by Big Mama, who lives out in the wilderness. He soon meets his neighbor Copper, a bloodhound owned by a cantankerous old codger who mistreats and kills animals for fun. Tod and Copper are supposed to hate each other, not as much as I hated suffering through this.There are some lovely forest backdrops and occasional atmosphere in its favor, though this ranks close to the very bottom of Disney's animated movies. Why on Earth was 147-year-old Mickey Rooney cast as the voice of Tod? Who in their right mind thought that this was a good idea? Kurt Russell also has very recognizable vocal chords but casting him as Copper simply doesn't work. The score by Buddy Baker (who?) is obnoxious, loud, intrusive, and does the film no favors. Several character concepts are obviously Shanghaied straight from Winnie the Pooh. Strange to think that this is the first Disney movie to utilize CGI animation though, if only very briefly.I just didn't feel that there was much at stake to give a damn about any of this. The Fox and the Hound really is one of Disney's laziest "efforts". As I said, a Fantasia segment that sticks close to Daniel Mannix's novel or even a Silly Symphonies short would have been better than this tedious bore. I can't believe it took EIGHT writers to adapt this into such a weak screenplay. Most certainly the kind of movie you watch on a grey Sunday afternoon in February.

lisafordeay The Fox & The Hound is directed by Richard Rich who also directed one of my favourite non-Disney movies of all time The Swan Princess. The story of this movie however The Fox & The Hound is about a orphan fox named Tod(voiced later by the late Mickey Rooney from Night & The Museum)who is reared by an elderly woman in a farm. Later he meets a hound called Cooper(played by Goldie Hawn's partner Kurt Russell)who befriends Tod and the two become inseparable. Of course Cooper's owner is a fox hunter and he goes off till next spring. Years later they are both grown up and become rivals but can the two ever become best friends again.Now I saw this after a long long time as I bought it on DVD as I am trying to buy some of the Disney classics as there is a deal now at the minute where you can collect every Disney movie now at a reasonable price and I picked this up because I haven't seen it in a long time like I said. So what did I think of it well I saw it with my brother last night and he teared up where Cooper left Tod and when the old widow lady left Tod in the woods and he was in tears saying its so sad. It was a very heartbreaking scene but I didn't cry at it. Also I loved the animation as Glen Keane(who is my favourite animator from Disney before his retirement) and also it has Chris Buck(who would later become a director and direct the highly overrated film Frozen). Overall this was a very nice heartwarming tale about a fox befriending a hound and you see them grow up and later reconcile later on in the film.Also in this film is the woman who voices Queen Uberta in The Swan Princess Sandy Duncan as Vixiy(Tod's love interest).For me I give this movie 5 stars and a 10/10