The Challenge to the Idea of Friendship
By the late 70s, the animation department of Walt Disney Productions had saved itself from foreclosure, especially after the unexpected success of the Rescuers. While a new generation of animators were proving that they may be the answer to a revolution, the remaining “Old Men” were providing supervision on their collective final film. And the changing of the guard ended up being much more tumultuous than first believed.
Way back in May ’47, Disney bought the film rights to the award - winning novel the Fox & the Hound by Daniel P. Mannix. Oddly, the project sat untouched for ten years and director Wolfgang Reitherman dusted it off in late ‘77 to make it Disny’s next animated film. Their retirement fast approaching, Reitherman, Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston, together with animator Cliff Nordberg, assisted with early pre production work before handing it over to the new gang.
The group of new animators included John Musker, Ron Clements and Glen Keane, who were all riding high after the success of the Rescuers. Entering the game for the first time were John Lasseter, Tim Burton and Brad Bird, all just graduated from California Institute of the Arts, and all of whom should be instantly recognisable as future superstars of film and animation.
An immediate power struggle broke out between co - director Art Stevens and Wolfgang Reitherman; who was pushing for a more faithful adaptation of the darker elements of the book, while Stevens wanted to adapt a more family friendly narrative. Reitherman wasn’t used to sharing the task of co - director after directing a consecutive string of recent films on his own. So Ron Miller, the co - producer and future CEO and President, attempted to settle the constant arguing by consistently siding with Art Stevens. But Wolfgang had been at the studio for decades and didn’t feel like trusting the work of the new team. So he started pushing his own ideas and designs rather than allowing the animation team to flourish as they deserved.
THE STORY
An old farmer named Tweed finds an abandoned fox pup in her garden after his mother has been killed by a hunter. So she adopts the pup and calls him Todd. Meanwhile, her neighbour, another hunter named Amos Slade, introduces his old coonhound Chief, to a bloodhound puppy who he names Copper. A few weeks later, Todd and Copper meet, and without knowing that they are natural enemies, they become best friends, and continue to play around with each other despite the best efforts of Slade to keep Copper tied up at home. From there, I won’t spoil anything.
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Tensions between Reitherman and the studio culminated with animators Don Bluth, Gary Goldman and John Pomeroy entering Ron Miller’s office and handing in their resignations, declaring Reitherman out of touch and that their work was being largely ignored. Despite Miller’s pleas, those three men and thirteen others walked away. So Miller was forced to push the film’s release frrom Christmas 1980 to summer 1981, just to allow the studio more time to adjust to a sudden loss of 16 people. From here, Don Bluth and Gary Goldman would create their own animation studio, which would release such films as the Secret of NIMH, An American Tail and my personal favourite, the Land Before Time, and which would be the first genuine challenge to Disney’s mantle as the home of family entertainment. This pushed Disney to completely re - evaluate their outlook on animated cinema, with incredible results.
Stevens felt the adaptation worked best as another cute animal film focusing on love, friendship and family, just like The Aristocats and Lady & the Tramp. Copper and Todd would now become best friends as pups who would struggle to maintain their connection despite the demands of social pressure that they be enemies. The studio was still unprepared to take true risks and Art’s family - friendly vision ignored the darker elements of the novel. Especially the death of Chief.
It was a major point of contention in the studio when Stevens changed an earlier version of the script which saw Chief die in a train accident like he did in the book, which birthed Copper’s hate for Todd. This change angered many younger animators who felt the lack of a death scene made the entire third act of the film pointless. But Stevens stuck to his guns and declared “We’ve never killed a main character in a Disney film and we’re not starting now!”… HA.
The loose adaptation still kept a handful of key plot points from the book, namely the opening sequence. And in a move designed to tug at your heartstrings, that human is Tweed, a kindly, lonely widow voiced by acting veteran Jeanette Nolan, who raises Todd as a domesticated pet, and truthfully, her pseudo son. And Todd also has help from a menagerie of new animal characters including Big Mama, an owl voiced by the late, great Pearl Bailey. Screen legend Mickey Rooney was cast as adult Todd, and Kurt Russell, as adult Copper. Now, Russell wasn’t Disney first choice for that role, but Jackie Cooper was demanding more money than the studio was willing to fork out, so he pulled out.
MY VERDICT
This film is far from anything groundbreaking, in animation or plot, but the message is perhaps a bit better than I originally gave it credit for. This is the first Disney project with a real social conscience, at least since the Jungle Book. It’s about two former friends who, even when societal expectations pit them against one another, they break free of those expectations and become practical brothers. At it’s core, this film is about prejudice and how it can be bred from our proximity to others, especially our parents who may have outdated ideals.
Is Fox & the Hound A Disney Classic? Like I said, this film is nothing groundbreaking, but it’s message is one that bears relearning over and over again. Especially in the current world. So, if anything in this questionable period of the Walt Disney Company comes close to a Disney Classic, it’s probably this.
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