Common Sense Note
This lighthearted animal tale develops into a thoughtful examination of friendship and maturity, bolstered by vivid animation and some pleasant songs. The film is best for 6, 7 and 8 year olds. While smaller children may love the animals, the film's climactic fight with a bear may be too intense for them. Preteens will relate to some of the more serious themes the movie explores. Teens and parents appreciate the movie's artistry and the moving story.
There is a lot of loss in this video that families may want to discuss after watching it: Tod and Copper end their friendship; the widow abandons Tod in the forest to hide him from Amos. Families who watch this video may want to talk about its mature themes of growing pains and losing friendships. Has anyone in the family had to leave a friend, by moving or other means? How did they grieve that loss? How do you deal with change, as you grow and mature?
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Michael Scheinfeld
In Disney's 24th full-length animated movie, The Fox and the Hound, two best friends don't realize they are supposed to be enemies. While the movie isn't quite in the same category as some of the studio's vintage classics, it's an entertaining, touching, and vibrantly animated tale that the whole family is sure to enjoy.
A lonely widow adopts an orphaned fox cub named Tod, who soon befriends Copper, a hound puppy who lives next door with Amos, a mean hunter. They become inseparable friends, but Amos continually tries to catch Tod. Amos takes Copper and his other hunting dog, Chief, away for the winter, and he trains Copper to hunt. When they return, Tod tries to renew his friendship with Copper, but the grown-up hound is now a full-fledged hunting dog.
Copper warns Tod to stay away if he doesn't want Amos to kill him, but when Chief is injured chasing Tod, Copper angrily breaks off his friendship with the fox. As Amos is about to kill Tod, a giant bear attacks Amos and Copper. Tod fights off the bear and saves Copper, and when Amos tries to shoot Tod, Copper returns the favor and stands between his master and his friend.
The Fox and the Hound serves as a transitional movie for the veteran Disney animators, who supervised it, and a new group of young artists who would later create the blockbuster cartoon features of the '90s and beyond. The animation features a blend of old-fashioned, hand-drawn imagery with dynamic, colorful action. The depiction of forest life and its changing seasons is lush and warm, and the animation effectively mirrors the story's themes of growing up and nature's changing cycles.
The excellent voice cast includes Kurt Russell as the grown Copper, Mickey Rooney as the grown Tod, Paul Winchell (who was also the longtime voice of Tigger in Winnie the Pooh), Corey Feldman as the young Copper, and Pearl Bailey as a motherly owl who sings moving songs about friendship, falling in love, and saying goodbye.
Although the plot deals with the serious subjects of maturity and loss of innocence, there's also plenty of humor, especially in the early scenes showing the young friends frolicking together, and a running gag about two birds trying to catch a caterpillar (which naturally turns into butterfly in the end). However, the climactic fight with the bear is pretty realistic, and may be a little too intense for younger kids.
The bittersweet finale, where the fox and the hound smile at each other, then go their separate ways, knowing they can never really be friends anymore, is particularly poignant and will bring a tear to the eye of anyone who has grown up and lost a friend. The movie's timeless lessons about friendship and growing pains can serve as topics for family discussions.
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ViolenceAmos is constantly shooting at Tod. The fox and the hound have a ferocious fight with a bear. |
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Social BehaviorThe fox and the hound love and protect each other despite their differences. |
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