The Fox and the Hound (1981)

Today we are going to look at some of the movies from the 1980s, starting with The Fox and the Hound.

The Movie:

The Fox and the Hound is the 24th movie in the Disney Animated Canon.  It is part of Disney's Dark Age and the first canon film initially released in the 1980s.  This was the last movie with work by some of Disney's Nine Old Men.  During the production of this movie, Disney lost 17 percent of its animation staff when Don Bluth and his team resigned after disagreements about the project.  As a result, the release of the movie was pushed back six months.  At the time, The Fox and the Hound was the most expensive animated movie ever, a record that was blown away four years later by The Black Cauldron.  The Fox and the Hound received mildly positive reviews and is still a sentimental favorite of some people.

The Fox and the Hound is based on the book of the same name by Daniel P. Mannix.  The fox is Tod, who is discovered as an orphaned pup by the kind Widow Tweed.  At the same time, her neighbor Amos Slade brings home a new Bloodhound puppy, named Copper, to be trained as a hunting dog.  One day Tod wanders next door and meets Copper, and the two vow to be the "best of friends."  Amos, though, vows to kill Tod, and Tod's bird friends Big Mama, Dinky, and Boomer warn Tod that his friendship with Copper may change once Copper is properly trained.

This movie is ok.  I had seen The Fox and the Hound as a kid a few times, but it was never my favorite.  (I mainly remembered the song "Best of Friends.")  Watching it as adult for the first time, I found the movie to be rather laid back, which somehow seems appropriate.  This movie takes place in the country, and the laid back attitude fits the setting and characters.  However, as a result, the pacing is weird and rather slow in the middle.  The characters are likable and nicely voiced, especially Pearl Bailey as Big Mama.  While at times the animation is nice, at other times it is rather inconsistent.  Overall, while it does has its charms, this movie is best described as "It's alright."

The Fox and the Hound isn't a musical in the traditional sense, but with Pearl Bailey involved you know there's going to be some singing.  She sings three songs, the Jim Stafford penned "Lack of Education" and "Appreciate the Lady," and the aforementioned "Best of Friends," sung over scenes of Tod and Copper playing.  The latter was written by Stan Fidel, and it really is the movie's signature tune.  In truth, it's the only memorable song in the movie.  Jim Stafford also wrote "A Huntin' Man," a short song sung by Amos Slade.  (It is so short that didn't even realize it counted as a song.)  Slade was voiced by Oscar winner Jack Albertson, best known to most people as Grandpa Joe from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.  The final song, "Goodbye May Seem Forever," written by Jeffery Patch, is mostly spoken word over music with a chorus at the end.

The score for this movie is very 1970s, in a good way of course.  It just has enough of that schmaltz from family films of that time, which makes sense, since it was written by Buddy Baker, who did many of Disney's live-action films of the 60s and 70s.  Baker also did some music for the theme parks, including the eerie background music and "Grim Grinning Ghosts" for The Haunted Mansion.

Presence in the Parks:

Like most the 1980s canon films, The Fox and the Hound doesn't get much love at the Disney Parks.  So in honor of Buddy Baker, I'll just post a couple of pictures from the queue of The Haunted Mansion.

The Haunted Mansion queue, Magic Kingdom, May 2015