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Forgotten Childhood – The Fox and The Hound

Forgotten Childhood – The Fox and The Hound

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Do cartoons from our childhood stand the test of the time? Are the stories and their messages just as relevant today as they were when they first came out? ‘Forgotten Childhood’ will examine some of the most classic cartoons and animated films from the past and put them to the test, first up is Disney’s “The Fox and the Hound”.

THE INITIAL RELEASE (1981)

Disney Animation at this time period was going through a grand transition that would lead to its renaissance.  The animated world of Disney was no longer the box office Goliath it once was. Walt Disney Productions throughout the ‘70s had heavily invested more in their live action projects perceiving them to be the bigger draw.  A group of Disney Animators known as The Nine Old Men, each of whom had a hand in every Disney animated film made prior to 1981, were now on looking a group young hopeful fresh faces into their animation studio. Production of The Fox and The Hound began with this original Nine Old Men, but soon shifted towards the new crowd due to problems with production.  It is known now that they were working with a significantly less budget than they had in the past and they had been dealt a heavy blow when they lost one of their best known animators; Don Bluth, who sought out success with his own production company. [Expect to hear more about him in the coming weeks] In addition to this; Bluth took 17 animators with him. Unsurprisingly, The Fox and The Hound thus became a delayed production that was handed off to the relative newcomers to perform. The Nine Old Men had fate in their youth believing that someday the young animators would surpass them and their journey was simply starting with The Fox and The Hound. When you look back on this now, you realize that they could not have been more right.

MY FULL EXPERIENCE (199X) (2014)

The first time I saw The Fox and The Hound was on Disney Classics VHS. Sadly I wasn’t born at the time of its theatrical release, although this didn’t affect the overall immersive experience I felt as a jovial young child learning about friendship for the first time. The story of the fox and the hound was never a challenging one to grasp.

A fox named Todd and a hound dog named Cooper become unlikely friends when they encounter each other in a forest.

The tale woven is a somber story akin to Romeo and Juliet without the romance.  The two furry friends seek to be friends forever, but their friendship is torn asunder by owners who have different ideas for each of them. Coopers path was set by his owner, Amos Slade. [Honestly, how could he not be the bad guy with that name?] Coopers chosen path was to become a hunting dog through the tutelage of Slade’s older dog, Chief. This differs to Todd’s path which was merely to stay away from the hunting dogs as they may attract hunters itching for some target practice.  

This story is crafted as you would expect it to be. Whimsical sound effects accompany the charming cell-shaded animation accustomed with the stylings of old guard of Disney.

However! There’s a noticeable tonal shift when the movie brings us to the more grown up version of the friends. A darker vibe amidst the scenes lurks into the previously cheery color palette. I watch it now and it makes me feel personally that the younger generation working on this film had a greater mark on the later aspects. Sure, this sort of bleak nature had been seen previously in Disney before with The Evil Queen. This time though it had a grander air of maturity about it.[Did I mention Tim Burton was one of the animators of this?]

As a kid, it frightened me. As an adult, I understand what they were going for. They paint childhood as a time of bliss. It is when you get older the world becomes a darker place.

The films dark overtones lend very well to the older versions of the fox and hound. Upon the months that pass between youth to adulthood, their relationship has understandably changed when Todd seeks a rekindling of their past friendship.  Cooper rejects Todd and the old dog Chief chases him off; only to be injured by on an oncoming train. Cooper and his owner are fuelled by a furious vengeance when they blame Todd for causing the old dog’s injury.

This follows into a particular scene that made me very anxious with curious to see once again. I have a vivid memory of it. The emotional depth that is brought across in this scene resonated with me as a kid heavily. Todd’s owner, the old Widow Tweed goes for a drive with Todd.  She comes to a realization that she must abandon him for his own safety. At her home, he was no longer safe. She knew he would be found there. – Above everything else, this part I can recall the exact moment I first watched.  There was a soft sobbing and tears as I sat by a roaring fire in my home. I recall asking my grandmother to skip the scene upon every re-watch of the film. The burning question had been on my mind all the way up to it. How will I react now I wonder?

Well….

It was okay I guess. I found it pretty cheesy. Over the top in execution.

Hold off on those pitchforks Disney fans! For there is no denying the good job done by the actress here. She conveys the sadness of this scene beautifully and the music paves the right mood that you would be looking for. It’s just the dialogue for me. The dialogue is done in this semi-poetic fashion and to be completely honest about it; I found it bordering the line of properly being pretentious. It’s described as one of the saddest scenes in Disney history and I would agree in the sense of the circumstances surrounding the split, yet I can’t help have that lingering feeling of how well it could have been done if there was more realistic dialogue to the narrative it was trying to tell.

On the lines of realism, I will now explain the best scene in the entire movie.

The quest of vengeance sought out by Cooper and his owner comes to a head with a thrilling chase that sees an intense fight break out between the two feuding buddies. An amped up background track gives a sense of urgency to the event unfolding. The fight lasts momentarily, but is vicious in its execution. No winner is seen in it as the fox flees from the hound along with his very tacked on female fox girlfriend that literally appeared two scenes before this for a few minutes.  Fortunately this completely unneeded romantic subplot is left on hold as we lead into our films climax. Differences are cast aside among the friends. A ferocious bear attacks Cooper and Slade. The moustached hunter gets his gun conveniently out of reach. Cooper fights the bear in a quite intense fight and gets tossed aside. His friend Todd to return to help him out. The Fox battles along with the bear until the two careen across a waterfall landing in a small body of water below. The Bear is nowhere to be seen.  Todd is weakened and floating above the water. The Hunter Slade recovers his gun. A tentative final showdown occurs. The gun is pointed at Todd. In a moment of silence, No music is heard as Cooper steps in front of his friend urging his owner not to shoot.

Breathtaking.

The final hurrah of the movie goes the familiar Disney Route. The hunter doesn’t shoot. The friends exchange a smile. A scene of them as kids is reshown as we go to credits. This final scene is legitimately one of the best visually, emotion driven endings you will see in any animated film. I can not be more complementary of this ending. Words can only say so much and I urge you to watch the ending yourself if you have not seen the film.

This entire revisiting of Fox and The Hound has overall given me a bigger admiration that I had before. I understand more of what they were trying to do. They painted a wonderful blend of past and present. The Nine Old men of Disney gave us a beautiful canvas laden with their friendly playful style and the youth movement of Disney inspired added a new edgier flair. This was a passing of the baton from the old class to the new class. Illustrated greatly in this simple story that took a risky generally realistic approach. The old dog, Chief shows his reluctance to teach the young dog, Cooper about his ways, although eventually he comes around. I can’t help but think this was a metaphor for the process they had behind the scenes during the production stage. This was the last film that had The Nine Old Men work on it and its genuinely one of their best. Forget the romantic subplot. Forget the occasional corniness. This is a classic for a reason and I can say without any nostalgic bias that it truly stands the test of time.

Check out The Fox and The Hound or show it to your kids, because the morals thought in this film teach you  that when you become an adult things may be darker, there may be more hardship – but that’s okay, because as long as you keep strong and remember who your friends are, everything will be alright.

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