The Fox and the Hound

"Copper, you're my best friend."
"And you're mine too, Tod."
"And we'll always be friends, forever, won't we?"
"Yeah, forever."

For me, these lines from this movie really capture a lot of what I think of when I think of classic Disney films and movies I watched a lot when I was a kid.  That scene is just so endearing, and full of childhood innocence, and just so sweet.  I remembered the beginning of the movie a lot better than the second half of it, though.

First of all, I think the old woman that took Tod in made a big mistake.  Who has a fox as a pet?  It's just not right.  And then the hunter, I think his name was Amos, he was completely insane.  I don't know why she didn't call the cops on him.  He tries to kill her pet, break down her door, and shoot all over the place.  And then he goes hunting in a game preserve, where it's not allowed.  What a jerk.

Overall I feel like Tod is the much better "person" throughout all of this.  He really doesn't do anything wrong at any point.  Copper kind of turns his back on him though.  Even though he lets Tod go once, he gets so upset about what happened to Chief that he takes it out on Tod.  If the hunters hadn't been all crazy to get Tod in the first place, it never would have happened.  Then Copper goes again to help kill Tod in the game preserve.  Despite all that, Tod still chooses to fight a BEAR to save Copper's life.  He could have easily walked away, knowing he was keeping his own life and the dog getting attacked by a bear was trying to kill him anyway.  Sure, Copper finally defends Tod at the end, but he had better, after what Tod did for him.

The Music
The Fox and the Hound makes a half hearted attempt at providing music within its movie, kind of like in The Sword and the Stone or 101 Dalmatians.  It has two songs, both sung by Big Momma.  One of them, "Lack of Education," is pretty forgettable.  The other, "Best of Friends," is more memorable and easily associated with the movie.  Not an instant classic, but a good tune.

The Villain
Amos Slade.  He's kind of a scary villain because he's just so crazy.  He is so intent on killing Tod, no matter what.  The thing is, Tod didn't even do all that much.  He appeared to be attacking his chickens one time, but I guess that's enough to get Amos on the warpath.  His dedication is frightening.

The WDW Connection
Try as I might, I really can't come up with anything.  They may make an appearance somewhere... maybe in some art work in the parks or the resorts, but I don't know of anything off hand.  It seems this film has been pretty neglected by the theme parks. If anyone has a reference let me know!

Becky's rating:  7.5 out of 10
Jason's rating:  8.5 out of 10