The Fox and the Hound is a 1981 American animated buddy drama film produced by Walt Disney Productions and loosely based on the 1967 novel of the same name by Daniel P. Mannix. The 24th Disney animated feature film, the film tells the story of the unlikely friendship between a red fox named Tod and a hound dog named Copper. The two friends struggle to preserve their friendship despite their emerging instincts and the surrounding social pressures demanding them to be adversaries, as they are enemies by nature.
The film was directed by Ted Berman, Richard Rich, and Art Stevens, marking the directorial debuts of Berman and Rich. It was produced by Ron Miller, Wolfgang Reitherman, and Art Stevens. The ensemble voice cast consists of Mickey Rooney and Kurt Russell as Tod and Copper, respectively, with Pearl Bailey, Jack Albertson, Sandy Duncan, Jeanette Nolan, Pat Buttram, John Fiedler, John McIntire, Dick Bakalyan, Paul Winchell, Keith Mitchell, and Corey Feldman providing the voices of the other characters of the film. Mitchell and Feldman in particular voiced the young Tod and the young Copper. The instrumental musical score to the film was composed and conducted by Buddy Baker, with Walter Sheets performing the orchestration.
Walt Disney Productions first obtained the film rights to the novel by Daniel P. Mannix in 1967; however, actual development on the film would not occur until spring 1977, around the same time as the release of The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh on March 11, 1977 and just before the release of The Rescuers on June 22, 1977. The Fox and the Hound marked the last involvement of the remaining members of Disney's Nine Old Men, which included Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston. Ultimately, the film was handed over to a new generation of animators following the retirement of the old animators, though the old animators had involvement in early development of the film. As such, it was the first film for future directors including Tim Burton, Brad Bird, and John Lasseter. During production, the film's release was delayed by over six months following the abrupt departure of Don Bluth and his team of animators. Further concerns were raised over the handling of the scene in which Chief is hit by a train, which was controversially changed from his death into a non-fatal injury by which he merely suffers a broken leg.
The Fox and the Hound was released to theaters on July 10, 1981 by Buena Vista Distribution. The film was a financial success, becoming the 14th highest-grossing film of the year and earning $39.9 million in the United States. However, it initially received mixed reviews from critics, who praised the animation and voice acting of the film, but believed that the film was not groundbreaking enough. Over time, however, the film became known as an underrated classic, and it was nominated for three awards, of which it won one. At the time of its release, it was the most expensive animated film produced to date, costing $12 million.[1] It was re-released to theaters on March 25, 1988.[3] An intermediate follow-up, The Fox and the Hound 2, was released directly-to-DVD on December 12, 2006.
