Produced during an acknowledged "slump" period after Walt_Disney's death, The Fox and the Hound is a warm and amusing, if slightly dull, entry in the Disney animated canon. The story is conventional and generally predictable; in other hands, it would have been a fine framework for a cartoon, but here the characters are undistinguished and the dialogue is exactly what is expected, no more. Pacing is also problematic, with several portions of the film sluggish. These are balanced, however, by some very good moments: the sorrowful segment when Tod is taken to the game reserve, the climactic bear fight, and the final bittersweet parting. The animation in the bear sequence in particular is good, as is the extraneous (and unfortunately not very funny) running gag involving a caterpillar. Buddy_Baker's score is exceptionally weak, but the invaluable Pearl_Bailey still manages to make her numbers into rousers. Mickey_Rooney and Kurt_Russell also turn in fine vocal performances, as do Sandy_Duncan and Jack_Albertson in smaller roles. Two of the directors, Richard_Rich and Ted_Berman, would next direct The_Black_Cauldron, a less successful but more ambitious project. Craig Butler, Rovi

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