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The
Fox and the Hound
is a key animated
feature in Disney
history. It’s one of
the transitional
animated features
that the studio
released where the
old hands in Disney
animation started
and the newer regime
of animators
finished. Don Bluth
even worked on the
movie until he left
in the middle of
production to form
his own studio. The
feature is more than
a cute story about
talking animals,
it’s a story about
breaking the mold of
social expectations
and doing what’s
right instead of
what you’re supposed
to do. Disney’s
released
The
Fox and the Hound
on Blu-ray and they
bundled it with
The
Fox and the Hound 2.
The animated feature
bundle is a great
Blu-ray pick up.
In
The
Fox and the Hound,
the movie starts out
when hunter shoots a
young fox cub’s
mother. The cub is
looked after by a
group of birds
briefly until they
get a human to adopt
and take care of the
young cub. She calls
the cub Tod and he
grows to be a
playful animal.
While out playing he
runs into a hound
dog pup by the name
of Copper. The two
go through an
afternoon of playing
and decide they’ll
be friends forever.
Friendships aren’t
always easy to keep
though, and the two
go on their
predetermined paths.
The woman who adopts
Tod eventually urges
him to move on to
the wild.
Copper is raised by
his owner to become
a hunting dog.
Eventually Tod goes
to see Copper, and
the other dog-
Chief- owned by
Copper’s owner Amos
Slade gets gravely
injured chasing away
the Tod. Copper vows
to get revenge, but
eventually they mend
things in an
incredibly dramatic
fashion.
In
The
Fox and the Hound 2,
young versions of
Todd and Copper
discover the fair
coming to their town
and they become
instantly enthused
with the event. They
love the lights, the
rides, the sounds,
and the food.
Eventually they get
drawn towards a
group of singing
strays led by Cash
(Patrick Swayze) and
his romantic
interest Dixie(Reba
McEntire.) Copper
discovers that he
can sing,
friendships and
relationships are
tested and
eventually
everything works
out. It’s a basic
Disney Classic
sequel.
The
Fox and the Hound
is great because it
accurately portrays
friendship in an
animated feature.
I’m not sure that a
movie has ever more
accurately shown two
best friends and the
real life conflict
that can happen
between them. People
grow and evolve and
move around and
apart… just like Tod
and Copper. Disney’s
story of friendship
between the two that
weren’t supposed to
be friends is why
this is a classic.
If
I’m being honest,
The
Fox and the Hound 2
pales in comparison
to
The
Fox and the Hound.
There’s not nearly
as much originality
to it and really
where
The
Fox and the Hound
is more than a movie
with talking
animals,
The
Fox and the Hound 2
is basically just
that. It’s a cute
story, but again…
it’s not nearly as
good as the
original.
The
transfer of both
films to Blu-ray is
worth talking about.
The
Fox and the Hound
was originally
released in 1981 and
it looks flawless on
Blu-ray. The DVD
version didn’t
approach the quality
that the Blu-ray
version… maybe
that’s mostly
psychological, but
here it really seems
like this story
comes to life on Blu-ray.
The
Fox and the Hound 2
was originally
released in 2006 so
of course, it’s
perfect and ready to
go with the digital
version anyway.
As far as extras go
with this set,
there’s a short
feature from Disney
on friends who
weren’t supposed to
be friends in the
animal kingdom and
that’s about it.
There aren’t any
real bonus features
on the Blu-ray disc
(the DVD’s do
feature some bonus
material) but that’s
what you give up to
get two features on
the same Blu-ray.
The
Fox and the Hound
on Blu-ray is
something for all
families to enjoy.
It was one of my
favorite movies when
I was a kid because
it taught me a bit
about friendship and
it’s one of my
favorite Disney
animated features as
an adult because of
how it depicts it.
It’s not viewed by
all the critics to
be a Disney classic,
but it after your
family watches it
you’ll probably
disagree.
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