Toon Talk: The Fox and the Hound DVD
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(c) Disney
In the end, The Fox and the Hound is a pleasant if dull minor entry in
Disney animation, hardly the fitting swan song nor hint of future greatness its
pedigree would suggest.
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THE FOX AND THE HOUND: THE CAST
The Fox and the Hound featured an all-star cast of Disney
favorites:
- Jack Albertson (Amos Slade) also appeared in The Shaggy Dog,
Son of Flubber and A Tiger Walks.
- Richard Bakalyan (Dinky) co-starred in Follow Me, Boys!;
Never a Dull Moment; The Shaggy D.A.; Return from Witch
Mountain and all three Dexter Reilly movies.
- The distinctive voice of Pat Buttram (Chief) can also be heard in
The Aristocats, Robin Hood, The Rescuers, Who Framed
Roger Rabbit and A Goofy Movie.
- Sandy Duncan (Vixey) made her film debut in The Million Dollar Duck
and went on to star in two memorable TV specials set in Disneyland; she
also co-starred in The Cat from Outer Space.
- John Fiedler (Porcupine) will always be remembered as the long-running
voice of Piglet; he was also heard in Robin Hood, The Rescuers
and The Emperor’s New Groove.
- Soon after his role as the young Tod in Fox, Keith Mitchell
changed his professional name to Keith Coogan (his grandfather was silent
film star Jackie Coogan) and co-starred in Adventures in Babysitting
and Cheetah.
- John McIntire (Badger) was in Herbie Rides Again and Turner
and Hooch and voiced Rufus in The Rescuers, which also
co-starred his wife …
- … Jeanette Nolan (Widow Tweed) as Ellie Mae; she also appeared in
several Disney television shows with her husband.
- Mickey Rooney (Tod) starred in Pete’s Dragon and was most
recently heard in Lady and the Tramp II: Scamp’s Adventure.
- Kurt Russell starred as Dexter Reilly in three popular comedies and
many other Disney movies, including The One and Only, Genuine Original
Family Band; The Horse in the Grey Flannel Suit; The
Barefoot Executive; Charley and the Angel; Superdad;
Captain Ron; Tombstone; Miracle and Sky High.
- Yes, that’s Paul Winchell’s Tigger-esque voice as Boomer the
woodpecker; in addition to his many turns as Tigger, he can be heard in
The Aristocats and Adventures of the Gummi Bears.
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Disney’s 24th “Animated Classic�?, The Fox and the Hound was
first released in 1981, followed by a theatrical re-release in 1988 before
making it’s way to VHS and, eventually, DVD in 2000’s so-called “Gold
Collection�?. That edition was far from “golden�?, with a full-screen image and
murky transfer. Amazingly, the new “25th Anniversary Edition�?
(available in stores today) appears to be pretty much the same quality as the
previous release. Even with my lackluster response to the film itself, I feel it
should deserve at least a proper restoration, which it is obviously screaming
for with the muddy, washed out appearance on display here. Padded with redundant
cartoons and some leftover extras from the film’s laserdisc release, this
“Anniversary Edition�? is hardly worth celebrating (or upgrading to) and is
clearly geared to pre-promote the upcoming Fox and the Hound 2 DVD due
later this year.
