For the sake of this review, there are two different types of Disney animated features: originals and sequels. Thanks to the total disrespect Disney had for its own franchises in the late 90s and most of the last decade, there’s a collection of half-baked sequels to many of their most beloved films. The amount of effort that went into them often was as little as reversing the character roles of the original and rehashing it all over again. In their release of The Fox and the Hound on Blu-ray we get one of each type, as they’ve also seen fit to include the half-assed, direct-to-video 2006 sequel, The Fox and the Hound 2, which might be one of the worst as it actually destroys the atmosphere of the first and has animation with nowhere near the beauty of the original. It would stand to reason then that most will be buying the Blu-ray set for the original with the sequel as sort of a bittersweet bonus, but really it’s not even that great a deal.
The story, starting with an off-screen maternal death all too reminiscent of Bambi, quickly moves into the rich friendship of a young fox named Tod (Keith Coogan) and hound dog pup named Copper (Corey Feldman, that develops before either knows the truth about their place in the world. As Copper’s owner, Amos (Jack Albertson), gradually trains him to be a proper hunting dog, Tod enjoys the camaraderie of his adoptive mothers, the human Widow Tweed (Jeanette Nolan) and the owl Big Mama (Pearl Bailey). After Copper goes with Amos and the elder hunting dog Chief (Pat Buttram) on a long hunting journey, he returns older (and voiced by Kurt Russell) and with an understanding that he and Tod (now voiced by Mickey Rooney) that they can no longer be friends. The abruptly ended friendship receives a darker edge when it’s believed Tod is to blame for an injury that puts Chief out of commission, and Tod’s realization of the natural order of things is complete. The forbidden friendship of The Fox and the Hound is one of Disney’s most sobering themes, and it warrants a viewing every few years.
Sigh, and then there’s The Fox and the Hound 2, which mercifully wasn’t saddled with a secondary title like “…and the Foxy Dog Band” or “Country Jamboree”, but really they didn’t need to. Taking place in that short span of time when Tod and Copper were still young, the sequel is the saccharine story of a trip to a county fair where Copper’s invited to sing with a band of dogs and, in the excitement, forgets to spend time with Tod. The whole thing escalates predictably, only to end up with everyone back where they were (they do have to keep it within the frame of the original) with a musical number that ties everything together. What’s really so irritating about this mid-sequel is that it cheapens the hard lesson taught by the first film. Assuming they watch them in order, the children just had to come to terms with the fact that friendship is a very complicated thing that doesn’t always work out in the end – and here comes a half-baked sequel with an overly simplified lesson that says “Actually, friendship is as simple as ABC.” It’s the animated legacy version of betrayal, never mind that the writing has been “updated” to appeal to the younger generations with language that cheapens it further. Let sleeping dogs lie, Disney.
The Fox and the Hound is something of an animated feature hodgepodge, with voices, plot elements, and animation styles pulled from every direction. Anyone familiar with classic Disney franchises, especially Winnie the Pooh, will notice Paul Winchell’s trademark Tigger voice used unaltered as one of the comic relief birds, Pat Buttram using his Sheriff of Nottingham from the animated Robin Hood, and John Fiedler doing the same with Piglet’s voice as a porcupine. Instances like those abound in the film’s sound department, but most importantly is the stupendous voice work by Jeanette Nolan as Tod’s caretaker, Widow Tweed. Her acting along with the remarkable animation by the likes of Don Bluth, Brad Bird, Tim Burton, John Pomeroy, Gary Goldman, and Henry Selick make The Fox and the Hound a film with great character expression and jaw-dropping detail in the hand drawn cells. Especially astonishing is the giant black bear which they instill with such menace by making it a hideously large, looming monstrosity that may be one of the scariest things Disney committed to animation. When you look at that list of animators (every single one of them uncredited) that created The Fox and the Hound, you have a selection of some of the most brilliant minds in animation and design still working today. It might not be a top Disney film, but the talent assembled to bring it to life is second to none.
Of course, the animation of the original only looks that much better when compared to the sequel whose comparatively cartoonish appearance looks so simple as to be an insult to the original vision of those aforementioned animators. The sequel is something of a slap in the face in every way conceivable, from the plot which has no place and makes no sense in the context of Tod and Copper’s friendship to the aesthetic to the voice casting inclusion of Reba McIntire, who can barely act to start with, but who sounds impossibly bland when you don’t have her body language to work from.
The first feature looks fantastic in Blu-ray, even as some of the very simple background and foreground overlays are a bit more obvious than they should be. The textures inlaid to tree bark and rocks makes the detailed resolution of HD a worthwhile investment. The audio doesn’t benefit too much as this isn’t one of the heavily sing-songy films in Disney’s arsenal, but the voice acting of Nolan, Buttram, and others is great enough to make up for it. The second feature looks and sounds like over-produced garbage no matter how you look at it.
Blu-ray Bonus Features
The discs are divided as a Blu-ray with both features on it, and then as two DVDs, one dedicated to the original and the other to its sequel. On the Blu-ray there’s only one extra, and that’s a little clip about mutualism in the animal kingdom (i.e. two species with unlikely bonds to one another). The DVD for The Fox and the Hound has a sing-along feature for the song “The Best of Friends” and a solid making-of featurette. The second DVD has a Lucas Gabriel music video and a featurette on the creation of the music in the sequel.
"The Fox and the Hound and The Fox and the Hound 2" is on sale August 9, 2011 and is rated G. Animation, Children & Family. Directed by Richard Rich, Ted Berman, Jim Kammerud. Written by Daniel P. Mannix (book), Larry Clemmons & Ted Berman & David Michener & Peter Young & Burny Mattinson & Steve Hulett & Earl Kress & Vance Gerry, Rich Burns, Roger S.H. Schulman. Starring Corey Feldman, Jack Albertson, Kurt Russell, Mickey Rooney, Patrick Swayze, Reba Mcentire, Jeanette Nolan.
