50 Fun Facts About The Fox and the Hound

In what year did Disney release The Fox and the Hound to theaters?

It arrived in July 1981, more than six months later than planned after a walkout of animators stalled production.

Who voiced the adult Tod?

Rooney had just finished Pete's Dragon for Disney when he was cast as the grown-up fox.

Which actor, fresh from playing Elvis on TV, voiced the adult Copper?

He was the last principal role cast and finished all his dialogue in just two recording sessions.

The film is loosely based on a 1967 novel by which author?

Mannix studied a mated pair of foxes at his own home for more than a year to get the animal behaviour right.

What kind of bird is Big Mama, the character who arranges Tod's adoption?

Pearl Bailey voiced her, and Jerry Beck singled the performance out as one of the film's highlights.

Who adopts the orphaned fox kit and names him Tod?

Helen Hayes was the first choice for the role, which went to Jeanette Nolan after Hayes declined.

What is the name of the hunter who raises Copper?

Jack Albertson voiced him in what turned out to be the actor's final film role.

What is the name of Amos's older, stubborn hunting dog?

Pat Buttram, a Disney voice regular, played him; in the novel the same dog is a younger, faster rival rather than an old-timer.

Which female fox helps Tod adjust to life in the wild?

Sandy Duncan provided her voice; Big Mama introduces her to Tod after his disastrous first night alone.

Dinky the sparrow is always accompanied by a woodpecker with what name?

Paul Winchell, who also voiced Tigger, played the woodpecker, with Dick Bakalyan as Dinky.

Which animal do Amos and Copper provoke in the film's climax?

The fight that follows, animated by Glen Keane, is the sequence animators most often praise in the film.

What strikes Chief while he is chasing Tod along the railroad track?

In the novel the hit is fatal; the film softened it to a broken leg after a long studio argument.

Which animator argued 'Chief has to die' during production?

He felt Copper had no motivation to hate the fox otherwise; management sided with director Art Stevens and kept Chief alive.

The film was the last to involve which famed group of veteran Disney animators?

Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston worked on early development before the job passed to a new generation including Lasseter and Burton.

Which animator led a mass resignation from Disney during the film's production?

He walked out with Gary Goldman and John Pomeroy, and 13 more animators soon followed them out the door.

On which birthday did the animator who led the walkout hand in his resignation?

It was September 13, 1979; the departing animators asked not to receive screen credit for the substantial scenes they had drawn.

How many additional animators followed the walkout leader in resigning?

Studio chief Ron Miller ordered the departing staff off the lot by noon the same day.

The walkout pushed the film's release from Christmas 1980 to when?

New animators were hired and promoted, with veteran assistants acting as the quality-control net.

What did the film cost, making it the most expensive animated feature to that point?

That record did not last long; the studio's next feature, The Black Cauldron, cost far more.

How much did the film gross domestically in its original release?

It was the highest initial-release gross for an animated film at the time.

In which year was the film re-released to theaters?

The March 1988 reissue added $23.5 million to its takings.

Which company distributed the film on its original release?

Buena Vista was Disney's in-house distribution arm, set up after the studio split from RKO in the 1950s.

Which short film accompanied the feature in most theaters on its original release?

The short was a compilation celebrating the studio's history, paired with a feature that marked a generational handover.

For which actor was voicing Amos his final film role?

Albertson was best known as Grandpa Joe in Willy Wonka and as Ed Brown on Chico and the Man.

Which former child star auditioned for adult Copper but left over money?

He wanted more than the studio would pay, leaving the role open for Kurt Russell.

Which actress turned down the role of Tweed before Jeanette Nolan was cast?

Nolan was the studio's second choice; she had been a regular face in westerns and had voiced roles in Disney's The Rescuers.

Who provided the growling vocals for the bear?

MacDonald was Disney's longtime sound-effects man and the second voice of Mickey Mouse.

Which 1977 Disney film had Tod's adult voice actor just finished when he was cast?

He played the lighthouse keeper Lampie in that live-action and animated hybrid.

Who was the film's original director before surrendering control to younger staff?

Co-producer Ron Miller backed the junior co-director Art Stevens in a power struggle over key sections of the film.

A cut musical number featured two swooping cranes voiced by Phil Harris and whom?

She recorded the song and live-action reference footage was shot of her in a pink leotard before the scene was scrapped as a distraction.

Reitherman picked the novel partly because one of his sons had once owned what pet?

He read the book in spring 1977 and decided it would make a good animated feature.

How was the title initially reported before the filmmakers dropped a letter?

The plural was dropped as the story focused more and more on the two leads.

Roughly how many drawings made up the finished film?

Alongside those came about 110,000 painted cels and 1,100 painted backgrounds over four years of work.

How many animators were among the 180 people who worked on the film?

Many were graduates of the studio's in-house training program who went on to drive the Disney Renaissance.

What is the name of Tweed's cow?

Don Bluth animated the milking scene himself before leaving the studio.

Which German award did the film win in 1982?

It also picked up nominations for a Young Artist Award and a Saturn Award that year.

The Saturn Awards nominated it in which category?

The Saturn Awards are given by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films.

What running time did Vincent Canby note as 'about as short as you can get'?

Canby's New York Times review called the film pretty and cheery but said it broke no new ground whatsoever.

The 1994 VHS release was the last entry in which home-video line?

It went into moratorium in April 1995 and returned on DVD in 2000 in the Gold Classic Collection.

The 2011 Blu-ray presented the film in widescreen for the first time at what ratio?

The 30th-anniversary release bundled the original with its 2006 direct-to-DVD follow-up on one disc.

In what year did the direct-to-DVD follow-up The Fox and the Hound 2 come out?

It is a midquel set during the pair's youth and was widely panned as a pale imitation of the original.

In the sequel, Copper is tempted to join a band of stray dogs with what name?

Reba McEntire and Patrick Swayze voiced the band's Dixie and Cash, Swayze's only voice role.

Which late actor's only voice role was Cash in The Fox and the Hound 2?

His co-star Reba McEntire played Dixie, the Saluki whose jealousy drives the sequel's plot.

Which future Pixar chief was among the new generation of animators on the film?

Tim Burton, Brad Bird, Henry Selick and Chris Buck were also among the newcomers who finished the picture.

Which animator's work on the climactic bear fight drew particular praise?

Leonard Maltin noted the scene received great acclaim in the animation world; Keane later animated Ariel and the Beast.

Where does Tweed leave Tod when she realizes he is no longer safe with her?

Amos and Copper trespass into it anyway, setting up the hunt that ends with the bear.

In the original novel, Copper is a crossbreed of what kind of dog?

His rival Chief is a Black and Tan Coonhound in the book, and Copper's jealousy of him drives the early chapters.

Which prize did Mannix's novel win in 1967, prompting its publication?

Disney bought the film rights the same month, yet did not start production for another decade.

Two of the film's directors, Richard Rich and Ted Berman, next directed which Disney film?

Critic Craig Butler called that follow-up a less successful but more ambitious project.

Which 2024 Simpsons short featured Amos among a gathering of villains?

Maurice LaMarche, best known as The Brain in Pinky and the Brain, voiced him for the cameo.