The Fox and the Hound 1981
While not in the top tier of Disney animated features, The Fox and the Hound does have its fans. Having never seen it, I wound up buying it on a pretty good sale, figuring it would be worth watching, plus it included the lesser direct-to-video sequel. Right off the bat with the killing of the mother fox, they kind of lost me. And they never really got me back, with an owl that looked like it came from Winnie the Pooh or The Sword in the Stone, and Tigger turned into a woodpecker. Plus this time period produced some really marginal animation. The line art is kind of choppy and the animals are overly anthropomorphic, with the dog in particular not looking that much like a dog. The story is kind of all over the place too with a basic idea for a story, but packed with a bunch of filler and some forgotten songs. Definitely one of my least favorite Disney movies so far, though it still has its moments. In my compilation of rankings, the movie finishes just below the middle, but I think it is polarizing, with some putting it in the top 20 and some in the bottom 20. My theory is that if you see a movie as a kid and love it, you will always have a soft spot for it. But I feel like the main story of friendship isn’t that strong, then the friendship falls apart a little too easily, while major issues are at work (the hound kills dozens of foxes during hunting season? a farmer shoots a shotgun directly at a lady in her car?). I may be overly picky, but I don’t really feel like this movie works very well.
Written: 02 Feb 2020
Owned on: Blu-ray, Digital