The Fox and the Hound (1981) Mickey Rooney, Kurt Russell, Pearl Bailey, Jack Albertson Movie Review

The Fox and the Hound (1981)   3/53/53/53/53/5


The Fox and the Hound (1981)

The Cute and the Adorable

After his mother is killed by a hunter, a young fox cub by the name of Tod is taken in by a kindly old woman who raises him. As a youngster Tod befriends Copper, a young pup and these young whipper snappers become best friends, enjoying exploring the woodland together. But neither realise that their futures could end up driving them apart as Copper is a hunting dog and of course as a fox Tod he is his prey.

I wonder when the bigwigs over at Disney decided to make "The Fox and the Hound" that they placed being adorable at the top of the list of must haves because that is what this is with almost a feel of classic Disney with young characters with cute voices and fun musical numbers. You almost get a sense that those who were behind "The Fox and the Hound" set out to intentionally try and recapture the magic of Disney animations from the bygone years with not just the characters but also the look with those beautiful backdrops which were as much a part of a Disney animation as were the characters.

But here's the thing about "The Fox and the Hound", it feels like whilst they tried to recapture the essence of bygone Disney they tried to do it on a lower budget. I don't know if that is the case but that is sadly how it comes across and it comes down to it lacking a certain grandeur. Maybe it is because so much of it feels familiar from the character types to the cute voices or maybe it is that the musical numbers are not overly memorable. There is something simply lacking which stops this from feeling like one of the great Disney animated movies just an entertainingly cute one.

What this all boils down to is that if you want some adorable fun in a classic Disney style then "The Fox and the Hound" will entertain. But for me whilst it ticks many of the boxes when it comes to a Disney animation it lacks something to make it a great animation.


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