The Fox and the Hound - 7 stars out of 10

The Fox and the Hound - 7 stars out of 10

There aren't many people that claim "The Fox and the Hound" as their favorite Disney film, but this hidden gem delivers a powerful emotional punch in a friendship-based story (as opposed to Disney's standard love story).  I think that this has become one of the "forgotten Disney movies" because it lacks the catchy, memorable songs that are often associated with Disney's greatest films.  Can you even name a single song from this movie?  While watching the movie, I couldn't hum the melody of any of the songs that I had already heard.  Still, they did a beautiful job of writing music for the legendary Pearl Bailey that perfectly fit her role as Big Mama.  I like Buddy Baker's hillbilly music that properly sets the setting of this film, though it fails to establish a memorable theme like "The Lion King" or "Beauty and the Beast."  As an adult, it is difficult to watch this film without seeing its strong overtones of racism, but it enhances the film's theme that society dictates what groups of people are "allowed" to be friends.  Disney films are always darker when viewed from an adult perspective, but "The Fox and the Hound" is overwhelmingly sad as childhood innocence is thwarted in order to keep Tod and Copper in their proper societal places.  This film's cast is packed with celebrities: Mickey Rooney, Jack Albertson (Grandpa Joe from Willy Wonka), Pat Buttram (Mr. Haney from Green Acres) as Chief, Paul Winchell (Tigger), Pearl Bailey, John Fiedler (Piglet) as Porcupine, and Corey Feldman (Mouth from The Goonies) hilariously plays Young Copper.  That's quite a list.  The amazing thing is that every voice is perfectly suited for their character on screen, with one exception: Kurt Russell's voice doesn’t seem to match the look of Copper's character.  I would say that they should have cast Young Copper differently to better match Russell's voice, but Corey Feldman is so hilarious that they should have just found a deep voice for Adult Copper.  The story itself has many dramatic moments, but none as poignant as the final image before the movie fades away.  "The Fox and the Hound" is a quality Disney film that is worth a watch but is often overshadowed by its fun-loving counterparts.  There may not be any princes or princesses in this film, but you'll definitely want a pet fox by the time that it concludes.