Disney's Best Anti Villain - Appreciating The Fox And The Hound

God help me long live the cake [Music] like a panther [Music] greetings Mortals I'm Keith and there wasn't already obvious I haven't been too impressed with Disney's more recent content and this is coming from someone who grew up with their movies in fact despite myself I still often get the tinglies whenever I hear that old intro yeah but we're not here to talk about how bad I think things have gotten this time instead I want to talk about a movie that I don't think has talked about too much and in particular a certain character from that movie [Music] the story of The Fox and the Hound is well known for being an allegory for war and Prejudice and that's going to be relevant moving forward however there are other themes I've played during this film and it's those I really want to talk about I may also be so bold as to say that the Fox and the Hound is on the list for the most underrated Disney films from what I can tell it is mostly fine on Louise and it made some money with home video sales but this film came out during Disney's dark period where the company was on the verge of shutting down hard to believe nowadays and no one really talks about it allies compared to the Golden Age Renaissance or modern day movies and I think that's a shame since there's a lot of really good character writing that's packed into it at the very least I hope you'll agree that this film was more unique than maybe most people remember we'll get all of that in good time now obviously I'm going to spoil the whole film so if you've never seen it before why not go watch it I'm not going anywhere just uh make sure you come back with that being said let's Dive In [Music] so straight away this movie's intro tells us exactly what we're in for it gives us an idea of how terrifying the light of a fox must be always on the run from dogs and Hunters of course it helps other visuals are accompanied by an excellent score that demonstrate the feeling of desperation and panic [Music] boy that escalated quickly after that brutal opening credit sequence we see that the fox kit has been left alone in a last-ditch attempt by his mother to keep him alive you know you're gonna need some caring for it's only due to the charitable efforts of some clever birds that this baby fox gets to live and here we're introduced to the first human character of this film well bless my soul [Music] right it's a baby fox [Music] Widow Tweed or the Widow as the movie never actually tells us her name decides to look after Todd since he's definitely not going to make you on his own she ends up quickly growing attached to the fox and names him Todd which is appropriate since male foxes are actually known as Todd's fun fact around the same time that Todd has adopted we see that just across the Widow's house her neighbors bring something back home [Music] and here he is the man of the hour this is Amos slate a hunter and farmer by trade it would seem who like the Widow lives alone with his now two dogs so now we've met the only two human characters in this whole film that actually brings me to my first point there are no other people here only Amos and the Widow we can plainly see that while she has farm animals to attend to the Widow seems very lonely and the amount of Joy she gets from looking after Todd it's clear she may have been a widow for quite some time I'm not going to be so lonesome anymore Amos on the other hand seems very much in his element we can see he has no one else around either but is content with only having his dogs for company this will be important later I promise but let's move on also did you know that a voice actor for Amos slate is none other than Grandpa Joe from Willy Wonka this is also the actor's last theatrical role before he died it's not really relevant to the conversation or anything just a fact I decided to throw in my radiator you're achieved in a swindler you're an inhuman monster I said good day anyway Sun time passes and we can see that while Todd is well looked after and the Widow is happy things aren't exactly perfect on the farm so taught being only a kid goes around looking for something to do unfortunately every wild animal he knows is too busy to play with him after all most animals aren't lucky enough to have a human looking after them oh God I just can't stay angry with you it seems inevitable then that he would eventually run into the only other person his own age copper a young Hound you probably know the rest right they hit it off and have fun completely unaware of their situation [Music] it's a cute scene but you already know it's foreshadowing future events this carries on for a time under everyone's noses but of course problems start occurring that interrupt their play time for reasons beyond their understanding eventually their friendship gets them into trouble and as the way to Copper's actions begin to get Tighter and Tighter it culminates into what I call the first offense it's a box [Music] due to a misunderstanding Chief and his master start hunting Todd and this is one of the reasons why Amos is Well written simple as his character is his actions make sense we know the audience that toddler's only here to play but Amos doesn't foxes steal chickens Hunters hunt boxes hijinks ensues luckily for our protagonists this Chase is played for Laughs like a Looney Tunes skit but it also serves as a second clue to what the film's trying to tell us this lifestyle Todd has in human society it's causing a lot of problems it's dare I say rather fragile wow this would have been a very different film if his aim had just been a little bit higher [Applause] [Music] slave you'll trigger happy lunatic give me that look at her face She's So Satisfied women [Laughter] dagnabbit woman your favorite Fox was after my chickens now to be fair he hasn't done anything particularly villainous yet I mean besides property damage and trying to kill the main character but don't forget context matters however we're starting to see the cracks form ation not knowing what else to do the Widow decides to keep Todd inside which she knows is not a great solution it's a shame I have to keep him cooped up but luckily for her and Todd Amos is leaving for a seasonal hunting trip so all is well for now time passes and we see copper learning all there is to know about tracking and hunting and he seems to be very good at it much of the disappointment of amos's other dog chief and we can see on the way back that copper has taken juice place by his master's side time for a quick tangent now I like dogs but I've never owned one nor do I know much about raising them so maybe there's something to this I'm just not guessing however it bugs me seeing Chief knock down from this place sure copper may have done better on the trip and you want to reward that but Chief is still the alpha canine he's a senior I don't know it it rubs me the wrong way not really a flow of the movie though what this does is inform the character's actions later also I like how copper shrugs achieve here I'm pretty sure dogs don't have a skeleton for that we move on to see that Todd has also grown to adulthood and when I watch this movie again to prepare this video I thought about something I hadn't before copper had a lot to keep him busy but what was Todd doing this whole time I said before that while Todd seemed happy to live with the Widow life was pretty dull I mean he's got plenty of food warmth and space to run around and explore but no one to play with or even talk with I imagine Big Mama the owl must have made things a bit more bearable being basically a secondary mother figure is but things were probably much more fun with his friend around which leads me to believe he might have just been counting the days until copper returned with that context it makes the next scene or more hard to watch look don't worry I'll be careful I'll go over tonight when Chief and the hunter are sound asleep he sneaks over by Nightfall to see copper but not before we get a brief interaction with copper and chief it's great to be back home isn't it chief let's talk a bit about Chief shall we we can see that he's still a bit miffed about copper outdoing him on the hunting trip so copper being the good boy he is tries to cheer him up a bit and it works for a few seconds then Chief turns the tables and berates copper for goofing off too much you know that was your trouble on the hunt ah come on Old Timer you treat me like a pup you know that now this scene is pretty short but it actually gives us a surprising amount of stuff to chew on it should be obvious that Chief is more than a little jealous of copper maybe even worried that he's going to get replaced by him but have you noticed how he's not really being all that means to Copper cranky and irritable yes but he's not lashing out at him here he's still giving him what he believes to be genuine advice I I think I've done real good tracking down the environments for you smelling and tracking ain't enough you gotta think nasty now as far as supporting characters go in this film Chief is the one that learns the most way towards character development namely for copper he's kind of what big mama is for Todd an elder animal who's experienced the kind of life that Tober and copper have only topper and conquer the kind of life that Todd and copper have only just begun to as much as Chief might want to hate copper and what he represents he doesn't it didn't take long for them to bond when copper arrived and he goes out of his way to support him during the hunting trip to show copper how things are done and he's still doing that even now despite how much cop has already grown in such a short amount of time there is still the other element of his character the one that wants to prove he's still got something copper doesn't his wisdom and he probably brings her up to make himself feel better so no it's not like he's completely selfless but I like how rounded he is he's got a bit more going on than big mama in terms of character however his character's story in this film isn't perfect there's something right around the corner that bugs me about Chief and if you remember how the next few scenes go you might be able to guess what it is [Music] once Chief and copper falls asleep Todd decides to go show himself and once again we're showing just how strong Copper's sense of smell truly is at first Copper's face lightens up as seeing his old friend again but he isn't a puppy anymore he understands fully now why Todd was driven off by his master in Chief before that their natural born enemies Todd asks will the worried look if they're still friends we're still friends aren't we hmm it's as if he already knew the answer coming here and yes copper has to shut him down and Todd's face has an error of depression disappointments anguish honestly I wasn't sure what to write for my scripts but I think all of those work I also like how Copper's face screws up when he confirms as if more to himself than Todd that he's a hunting dog now And yet when he sees a look on Todd's face his demeanor swiftly changes he knows that situation sucks and it's obvious he wishes things were different that they could be buddies again so much of this scene and the movie as a whole in fact is told through facial expressions and body language it's a trademark ability of a good actor when you can tell what they're thinking or feeling just by seeing their face and body language you don't need dialogue to explain any of that or a narrator's disembodied voice to dumb it down for the audience I hate you so much I'm just trying to make some friends you know [Music] I'm sad sorry sorry making fun of the dialogue of Kingdom Hearts is like kicking a sick puppy I'll uh I'll stop but this is why I adore animation so much because with an actor even a really good one they can only ever perform to the best of their human ability but an illustration an animated character it's like a puppet that you can control at 100 percent the only limit to their visual performance is what you can draw sculpt or rig the catch is that it takes a long time to do it well like a long time copper goes on to one Todd that they can't hang out like this with Chief and the hunter around to which Todd says showing us that he still doesn't understand the gravity of his situation that he still doesn't take danger seriously despite almost getting shot last time and Big Mama and the other birds giving him a lesson in song form no less lack of Education yeah but you can't blame him though unlike other foxes he was raised in a domestic environment he hasn't had to worry about things like survival or avoiding enemies he is a farm boy unfortunately for Todd his actions are going to have consequences this time in what I call the second offense the presence of Todd wakes up Chief who immediately does what any good hunting dog would do and alerts the hunter that has a fox on the farm and Amos true to his word to the Widow leaps right into action and the chase is on only this time copper is a trained hunting dog and the Widow isn't around to save the day [Music] but despite being naive and having lived such a sheltered life Todd still has the instincts of a fox and immediately runs into the knights to escape of course the one leading the charge is none other than chief who's been given a second chance to catch the same Fox this is his moment to prove he's just as good a hunting dog as copper despite this though Todd gives him a slip for the same trick doesn't fool copper with his Keen sense of smell [Music] as his master starts to catch up copper makes a split second decision and chooses friendship over loyalty get killed giving Todd a chance to escape by luring the hunter in the wrong direction but Chief hasn't given up and cash is Todd off guard now it's up to him to catch the fox forcing Todd to use the railroad track to escape this isn't the first time we've seen this bridge by the way it was right there in the background during the opening credits chase scene this film is full of foreshadowing and it would seem that Todd's Reckoning has finally come that is until wow where do I begin first off talk about brutal imagine seeing your dog get hit by a train then plummet off a bridge hitting the cliff as he goes like I said the movie's intro told us exactly what kind of ride we'd be on and the stakes have just been cranked up there's no going back now copper looks up to see it's hard Furious that he got out of the unarmed but he's not just angry at taught more likely he's angry with himself it was his decision to let Todd go if he had done what had been trained by his master to do what Chief advised him to do this never would have happened this is exactly what happened when they were kids their friendship got them both into trouble only this time it was Chief who paid the price not copper it's simple yet effective drama you can't blame any of these characters for the decisions they make it's just a set of unfortunate circumstances and now copper feels that he needs to make rights by Chief and fix his mistake Todd if it's the last thing I do I'll I'll get you for this now if by chance you're watching this and you haven't seen this film first of all thank you but secondly you've probably noticed this film's pretty dark isn't it I mean there's no blood and only one death and that was off screen and I don't mean this movie is literally dark no no I mean thematically dark it's not your average by today's standards fluffy kids movie remember when kids movies would have some grit some challenge not enough to score your kids kind of challenging but not holding their hand either it's sad is all this era of Animation will probably never return no more secret of Nims or Watershed Downs only safe and secure content not that safe means automatically bad or anything just yeah we should uh we should move on so Chief is definitely dead right well no no he survived he has a broken leg um if I could point out the biggest flaw I think this film has it would probably have to be this one now don't get me wrong the rest of the movie works well regardless but Chief should have died if he had died failing to catch this fox it would have learned even more narrative weight to future events also just look at this with no memes this time yeah he's dead he's dead here's my big brain Theory I think he did die in an earlier draft of the script I mean but I imagine it was changed for fear of it being a bit too raw for Target audiences uh Hey post edit key here I thought to check out the original version of the story from the novel and yeah Chief does get killed by the train so my theory was probably right also the novel way more brutal than a Disney film like really bloody brutal Jesus Christ it's a really small problem I know on the other hand just goes to show how tight this film is if this was the biggest floor I could find if I'm right anyway moving on after Amos makes sure the chief's been fixed up we can see him storming the Widow's house with Todd safely back inside in a rage he tries to barge in but she's having none of it it's then he drops a massive truth bomb that say yours almost kill Chief you can't keep him locked up forever and it becomes clear from her expression she knows he's right and she might have known that this day was going to come sooner or later time to do what's best for Todd after all he's not a kid anymore and she needs him a lot more than he needs her and yeah the scene's still rough to watch I imagine if any of you watching have had to say goodbye to our pets for one reason or another this might hit a little too close to home [Music] it's a good thing I don't have any feelings otherwise this might get to me the next few scenes show us Todd trying to adapt to his new environment with difficulty but with the help of big mama he meets a female fox his own age he's young about your age and handsome handsome oh say gee uh he sure sounds nice and after a rough night in the forest suddenly things aren't looking so bad for Todd [Music] getting interesting [Music] nice so all's well and good now right no Amos was paying attention when the widows hooked on away and when she came back without him we see the gears in his head start to turn off in the game preserved as we enter into the final hunt we're given yet another foreshadowing clue as to what's going to happen only it isn't a hunt anymore it's payback Amos says as much himself low hunting well now we ain't gonna do another that are we copper we're just gonna get us a no good Fox it's all been building up to this throughout the whole film characters have been warning told it was going to happen and we've had countless references to the conflict that's about to unfold notice how the music here has the same harmonica from Copper's theme only here it's in minor key as opposed to upbeat major key enforcing the idea that copper is still the same character there isn't the naive puppy from before of course copper eventually picks up Todd's scent and the trap is set it'll be coming right through here hidden for water but he won't be drinking any I have said it before and I'll say it again God is the music good this is bordering on horror movie with the amount of tension it builds up [Music] the tension is so thick you can cut it with a knife foreign though I suppose it doesn't make too much difference totals on high alert by the time you got close so eh and just like that barely dodging the traps the foxes on the run with the hounds in high Pursuit are characters turning to savagery with the music changing to this chaotic track to reflect it foreign [Music] might have missed it goes by pretty quick but if you watch Todd actually gets a shot at Copper's neck he could have actually killed him here but he lets go and runs I like to think even now he doesn't want to fight copper and only gets aggressive to protect his mate [Music] the stakes continue to get higher and higher as the chase goes from the woods to the borough to the Mountaintop with the foxes just barely one step ahead until it seems that Todd and vixi may have given them a slip with copper hot on their Trail disaster strikes and a third party enters the hunt [Music] suddenly the tables have turned and the hunters become the hunted copper being the best boy he is throws himself at the bear to save his master and what should happen to Amos but to walk right into one of his own traps now I'm going to bring up a quote from the Widow that I didn't show before if yours is going to get you into a lot of trouble someday Denver how poetic it is that he should fall prey to his own trap because of his unrelenting desire to kill this fox once and for all that is anger and hate led him straight into the cause for Bear he quite literally fell on his own sword despite Copper's best attempts there's no way to win against a grizzly bear and as he's getting pummeled Todds can hear the cries of his friends I'm going to praise the animators again for the attention to detail you can see by the look on his face he's pausing contemplating leaving copper to his death he doesn't go into hero mode and rush in to save the day no after all if the bear kills them both he and vixi are home free on the other hand copper is still his friend he doesn't make the decision straight away [Music] but as it turns out Todd chooses friendship over Instinct and rushes in to draw attention away from copper whether it was from guilt over what happened to Chief or merely the fact that he didn't want Copper to suffer such a violent death he manages to use hit and run tactics to lure the bear away but eventually gets hit with one swipe which is enough to fling him onto the fallen tree the bear eager to kill this annoying pest slashes down breaking the tree and hurling them both into the lake below in another poetic reversal Todd is now in the position that Chief was in copper arrives shortly to find Todd who is completely spent anchor no longer run the chase is over Amos quickly arrives thereafter gun loaded and ready this scene right here this is why I made this video well the main reason at least even with me this far so I ask that you buckle up there's a lot to unpack here now finally Amos can avenge his dog and this obsession with Todd will end after spending the entire film wanting to end this damn Fox as any good Hunter would but before he can deliver the killing blow come on copper get out of the way after everything these characters have been through copper chooses to defy his master and refuse his commands now there are themes of prejudice and War present throughout this film but I imagine stem from the original novel and I can't speak for the books since I haven't read it but this film portrays an extra layer of tasty themage over everything else I'm talking about how it portrays the concept of loneliness and loss remember back at the beginning when I mentioned how Amos and the Widow were the only people that lived on their Farms the Widow being called a widow must have had a significant other Once Upon a Time having taught around made her happy as much as a handful as he was despite just being a fox letting him go must have been just as hard as losing her loved one when you've been lonely for long enough it's understandable Todd was a fish out of water growing up in a human world he was bored and lonely until he met copper the Hound was the only one there his own age and he was completely oblivious that Todd's existence here was weird or wrong and when it came time for both of them to grow up Todd was afraid of losing that friendship afraid to go back to that sinking pit of isolation then to make matters worse he ended up losing his home and loving owner in the process creating an even bigger hole in his life Amos and copper are a little different they were content with their lives together the problems only started when they nearly lost chief at that point they both responded with anger and Hate but both of them the driving Factor was the fear of loss it's where it all stems from but having seen Todd give up his life for coppers despite trying to kill him just moments ago all for the sake of their past friendship it makes the feelings of grief rage and hatred Melt Away and now he's going to do the same for him even if that means going up against this loving owner witnessing this act we see Amos pause for the final time I'm going to praise the animators we see this man go through the motions just by looking at his face starting with hatred for Todd as he's about to shoot to anger at Copper ignoring his commands to bewilderment that copper is still standing between them next we see a look of sorrowful contemplation and then finally acceptance and relief all of this accomplished with a series of quick fluid transitions this is difficult by the way to put that much reflection of emotions into an illustration and I think it's deserving of praise now I think the takeaway that most people would get out of this exchange is that copper and by extension Amos let Todd go because he saved them from the bear but I think it goes much much deeper than that the message copper was trying to convey to his master was that killing Todd would change nothing it wouldn't help either of them feel any better in other words the character Arc Amos had to go through was to let go of his anger he nearly lost Chief because of his Vendetta against this one fox and he nearly got copper and himself killed by continuing the hunt but after all it isn't a hunt anymore it's murder he knows it he knows it's wrong and it took him his own hunting dog to make him finally see to just Let It Go after this he simply Pats his hunting partner on the head and starts for home copper breathes aside and starts to follow but not before he and Todd share one final non-verbal Exchange before I conclude my thoughts on the fox and the hounds I have a confession to make the title of the video is that Amos is Disney's best anti-villain but I cheated a little bit now I do believe he fulfills the criteria of being an anti-villain and I do think his character is Well written but here's the cheese I think he's actually the only anti-villain in Disney's roster am I wrong to be fair I haven't watched some of the more recent movies so maybe this statement is now out of date but I have watched like nearly all of the animated films I mean what comes close maybe man and Bambi but man is less of a character and more of an off-screen Force yeah I really can't think of another character that fits the same criteria as Amos Slade his actions in this film make sense he has justifiable reasons for what he does but that doesn't make him right nor even make him a neutral character he actively decided to take copper and hunt the fox down despite knowing he was taken to our Wildlife Preserve where he would no longer be a threat to his livestock these are villainous actions no matter how Justified he believes he is so then what about other antagonists like Ursula or scar wouldn't they count as anti-villains they probably think they're justified in what they're doing right well the difference is motivation scar might think he'd make a better King that he deserves it more and he'd probably tell you as much if you asked him directly but then you see him act out towards other characters in this film you can't do that I am a king I can do whatever I want you know the law never ever mention fat name in my presence I am the king if you were half the King Mufasa was you I'm 10 times yeah he did us out of jealousy he's envious and prideful look at those green eyes he jelly you jelly and Ursula was a psychopath who wants to tear down Triton and take over the ocean because he banished her probably for being a villain [Music] insignificant yeah she probably wasn't very nice to begin with can't wait for the live-action Ursula movie to tell us why she's not bad actually [Music] therefore I fear Amos in the anti-villain category or at least he's in a very dark gray area if anything because forgive me if you think I'm wrong but I don't see taking revenge for your dead uh sorry critically Injured Dog as being quite in the same league as the rest it was done out of love essentially for a fallen family member get back in there before I break your other leg [Music] after that harrowing series of events we cut back to the farm where we see some slight changes the biggest change is that the Widow and Amos seem to be getting along now she's even tending to his injuries cracking jokes all the while you'll soon be yourself oh landsakes I don't know if I like that [Laughter] though he seems to be right back to his usual grumpy self he lets her help him which implies that he probably Bears no ill will against her we also see that Chief seems to be in Better Health and copper happily beside him once again we listen to Todd and Copper's theme as it transitions to the Widow's farewell theme only now it's a major key almost as if the music is trying to tell us that this was the best outcome having needed to watch this film a few times to make this retrospective I noticed copper probably Smiles right there and then because he could smell Todd was close by and the film leaves us with somewhat of a bittersweet ending the Widow had to separate herself from Todd but it seems that she's going to open up more to her neighbor that she's able to move on she doesn't need to be so lonely Todd managed to fill the hole in his life in the end with his new mate Amos goes back to his simple life with his two hounds and copper as the satisfaction of knowing that though they may never see each other again he and Todd got to part ways not his enemies but as friends [Music] and there you have it I have to apologize for all the Disney bashing I did earlier well sorry not sorry I do honestly think that the magic has completely drained out of the house and mouse at this point what with all their remakes and reboots and IPS I just wanted to appreciate something from the past that I think gets overlooked but hey if there's a silver lining at least there won't be a live-action remake for this one but never say never I guess [Music] foreign [Music]

Channel: KeyTheLich

Views: 1,377,458

Keywords: Disney The Fox and the Hound, The Fox and the Hound Villain, Fox and the Hound Character Study, Disney Anti-Villain, Fox and the Hound Retrospective, Disney Retrospective, Anti-Villain Character Study, Disney Villains, Disney Villain Character Study

Id: 17nsLMYVVx0

Length: 44min 29sec (2669 seconds)

Published: Tue Sep 13 2022