Rewind Back to 1981: “The Fox and the Hound” (45th anniversary)

For this week’s review slate, I took a look at a couple family movies for my ongoing Rewind Series that are still enjoyed by families. This review will be for a Disney film that is celebrating its 45th anniversary this year and is one of the most touching animated stories ever - the 1981 film “The Fox and the Hound.”

After his mother is killed, Tod the Fox is taken in by the kindly Widow Tweed. He soon befriends the neighbor’s new hound dog, Copper. The two are inseparable, but their friendship is hampered by their masters and by the fact that they are, by nature, enemies.

They grow apart as they grow older, Copper has become a strong hunting dog and Tod, a wild fox. The pair must overcome their inherent differences in order to salvage their friendship.

“The Fox and the Hound” is a beloved animated classic that is known for its emotional, mature story about an unlikely childhood friendship tested by not only natural instincts but also societal expectations. The film has also been heavily praised for its powerful dramatic shift as the memorable animal companions grow into adversaries.

The innocent bond between young Tod and Copper provides a high level of charm and plenty of warmth early in the film, making their eventual conflict all the more powerful. The most stand-out moments of young Tod and Copper center on innocence, playful discovery and a legendary promise of lifelong friendship.

One of the most iconic moments of this Disney classic involves Copper wandering away from his home after tracking a strange, unfamiliar scent through the grass. He crawls through a log and jumps straight into Tod and, instead of fighting, the two innocent animals exchange names and play a game of hide and seek.

Not only does “The Fox and the Hound” bring us some great warm moments, but this classic film is also one of the devastating, emotionally complex and heartwarming films in the studio’s entire history. While many Disney films feature sad moments (like the deaths in “Bambi” and “The Lion King”), a lot of audiences think that this film hits differently because it deals with the slow, realistic, and relatable pain of growing apart from a best friend due to societal pressures.

The scene where Widow Tweed is forced to take Tod to a wildlife preserve is widely considered by audiences (and myself) to be the most tear-jerking moments in the entire film. The scene plays over the melancholic poem and song “Goodbye May Seem Forever” and the absolute silence and raw sadness of a loving caretaker abandoning her orphaned pet - knowing it’s for his own good - is almost unbearable to watch, even for adults.

There’s also the final major emotional peak that occurs during the climactic bear attack

and its immediate aftermath, when Amos corners a weakened Tod and Copper steps in front of the hunter’s shotgun to protect Tod. Now, while Disney didn’t give the film a neatly wrapped, overly cheerful ending, we see the animals share a final, knowing smile from afar - which audiences can find this subtle acknowledgment of mutual respect and distant love incredibly poignant.

Audience and critical reception to Disney’s “The Fox and the Hound” is overwhelmingly nostalgic and emotional, remembered as a bittersweet, mature turning point for the studio.

Despite a messy production, the film was an absolute triumph at the box office. Costing $12 million to make (the most expensive animated film ever produced at the time), it brought in $40 million domestically, cementing it as the 14th highest-grossing film of 981 and proved that Disney animation could survive in a post-Walt Disney world. 

MPA: Rated G   (runtime 83 minutes)

Initial release date: July 10, 1981

Streaming service: Disney Plus/various PVOD services   (as of working on this review)

https://youtu.be/TpnWMd8IMnk?si=AXt2aKwo2gBTBTNn

• The final Disney animated feature to simply end with a "The End; Walt Disney Productions" credit, as with all previous Disney animated films after Alice in Wonderland (1951). (All of the credits were at the beginning.) The next Disney animated feature, The Black Cauldron (1985), which was also directed by Ted Berman and Richard Rich was the first one since with full closing credits as Alice in Wonderland (1951) used only the voice actors.

• An uncredited Tim Burton did the character animation for the character Vixey. She was so different from the dark and Gothic-loving Burton's style that he initially only animated her with distant shots; the closeup of her was done when Burton "grew to like her."

• The Bear's snarl is the same snarl as Shere Khan the tiger from The Jungle Book (1967) and Brutus and Nero the crocodiles from The Rescuers (1977).

• Production was delayed a year after many of the young animators left to join Don Bluth's studio.

• Producer Wolfgang Reitherman brought his son's pet fox to the studio as reference for the animators.

• Contrary to popular belief, Kurt Russell did not record his lines for the film in his costume for Escape from New York (1981), which was released the same year as this film. Russell actually recorded while filming Elvis (1979), which was shot in 1978. According to writer Steve Hulett, Russell recorded the entirety of his dialogue in only two recording sessions.

• The last VHS in the "Walt Disney Classics" line (released in early 1994). Starting with the video release of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) later that year, the home video releases were under the "Walt Disney Masterpiece Collection" until mid-to-late-1999.

• Jack Albertson's last theatrical film, released four months before his death, as well as his only animated film.