Mommy Movie Review: The Fox and the Hound

Today's Mommy Movie Review features two well loved Disney animal movies: 101 Dalmations (Kristi's blog) and The Fox and the Hound.

I don't remember ever seeing this movie before borrowing it from the library. It really is a sweet movie... another Addie gift for Christmas (ooh, I am getting so excited over here!).

Tod is an orphaned fox and Copper is a puppy who was bought to be trained to be a hunting dog.  They discover a friendship and then as they are taught the ways things are supposed to be, their friendship is torn and tested.

Suzette's positives

• The theme of friendship is the main idea throughout the movie. The friendship of two innocent youngsters who are supposed to grow up to be enemies.  A fox (Tod) and a hound (Copper) find friendship before prejudices are put into them by outside sources. Children generally can strike up a friendship with just about anyone regardless of race or creed, social status or health (which leads to sniffles and colds.....).  They just see another friend to cherish for however long they are in each other's presence.
• The movie is absolutely sweet, darling, and very child appropriate.  I appreciate the child appropriate scale from when I was a child as opposed to the child-appropriate nowadays.  Certain realities of life are tastefully dealt with.
• I love that this movie was made before the animals-have-equal-rights-to-humans era.  Animals are animals in this movie.  Copper is a hunting dog and his owner is a hunter.  Todd is a fox and his mother, unfortunately, is killed at the beginning of the movie in a fox hunt. 
• Honor and justice is beautifully portrayed.  Although through the second half of the movie, Copper has a vendetta against Todd. However, when Todd saves Copper's life during the bear attack, Copper returns the favor and saves Todd's life from the hunter.

Suzette's negatives

• The bear at the end of the movie is a bit scary.  Disney likes to use the eyes of the animals to show which have personalities and which don't. The bear's eyes are very different from Copper and Todd's, and they are red to show that he is wild.
• Guns are used (not a problem since the human male is a hunter) but one time they are used a bit recklessly.
• There are two birds who are trying to catch a little caterpillar (no problem with that- birds eat caterpillars).  However, the little caterpillar goes into the little cup that protects electrical wires.  The birds begin picking at the cup and they all get electrocuted.  A child can easily view electrocution as harmless and funny.

Suzette's Rating: 9

Kristi is reviewing 101 Dalmations today.  Although we haven't gotten around to this movie yet (Addie likes to watch her movies in phases), I like the fact that the "bad guy" is very obvious (so many times in movies today, the bad guy is hard to spot because they have a good side and the bad that they do is supposedly good under the circumstances- very confusing to children).  There are also lots of dogs and other animals which small children will enjoy pointing out.