Fox And The Hound (DVD)

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I wish I could say the songs were OK, too, but I found them thoroughly unimpressive. "Best of Friends" is probably the best of the lot, but that's not saying much. Even after seeing this movie several times, I can't remember anything about the tunes or lyrics of "Lack of Education," "A Huntin' Man," "Appreciate the Lady," or "Goodbye May Seem Forever."

Yes, "The Fox and the Hound" is very sweet and no doubt a delight for children, but I found it quite slow and tedious. Not only do the filmmakers oversimplify its story, making its characters innocuous and its spirits changeable, it is often gushy and sentimental, trying too hard, too consciously, to tug at our heartstrings. Then, in the final sequence, it tries too much to be exciting, even scary. Of course, it's Disney, so expect a happy ending. Buddies are buddies, after all.

Video:
Have we gone back in time ten years? Is this the beginning of the DVD era all over again, when studios were still trying to decide if the public wanted their late-model movies in the original widescreen of their theatrical release or in a fullscreen pan-and-scan that would fill up a standard television? As more and more people bought widescreen TVs, I thought that question had been settled long ago. But here it is 2006, and the Disney studios are giving us a movie in 1.33:1 that was shown in theaters at 1.75:1. I dunno.

The Internet Movie Database says the original camera negative was 1.66:1 for an intended ratio of, as I say, 1.75:1. Maybe the IMDb is wrong. But I doubt it. It doesn't look like it. The sides appear clipped.

What's more, there is no mention on the keep case that Disney restored or remastered the movie for this 25th Anniversary Edition, so I'm going to have to assume that we're getting pretty much the same transfer Disney used some years ago for its regular edition. The video engineers transferred the picture to disc at a high bit rate, but there are still some scenes, especially at the beginning of the film, that are a touch soft, the Technicolor a tad faded, compared to Disney's best DVDs. Still and all, when it's good, the image is sharp and bright, with very few indications of age and only hint of a fine grain. I cannot understand that picture size, though. Maybe they were just being cheap, or they figured this was a kids' movie and children wouldn't care.

Audio:
The sound is pretty nondescript, actually. The Dolby Digital 5.1 sonics seem more like two-channel stereo most of the time, there is so little surround activity. There is a also a small degree of edgy hardness to the music. Otherwise, it's fine, if somewhat limited in frequency extremes and dynamic range.

Extras:
In honor of the movie's twenty-five anniversary, the Disney folks have included a few more bonus materials than they did on their previous edition, most of the extras geared to the younger set, as one might imagine. Things begin with a sing-along, "The Best of Friends," with printed captions to, uh, sing along. Next, there's a "Forest Friendship" game, which you can play either in a "Find the Friends" or "Find and Match" mode. Either way, it's a sort of "Hide-and-Seek" affair. After that is a DVD storybook, "New Best Friends," where children can either read along with a narrator or read it for themselves. Moving on, we find "Passing the Baton," a six-minute featurette about the old line of Disney's animators handing the reins to a new, younger group of artists; and "The Fox and the Hound" art gallery. Finally, there are two classic Disney cartoons, about eight minutes each: "Lend a Paw," with Mickey and Pluto, and "Lambert the Sheepish Lion."

Accompanying the movie we also find twenty scene selections and a chapter insert; Sneak Peeks at ten other Disney titles; English, French, and Spanish spoken languages; and English captions for the hearing impaired. A beautifully embossed and illustrated slipcover completes the package.

Parting Shots:
I can't say I've ever been too taken by "The Fox and the Hound." Although it was a pleasant return to the old days, trying to emulate some of the magic of a film like "Lady and the Tramp," Disney so clearly aimed it at children that as an adult I've always had a hard time sitting through it. If you have very young children in your family, you might consider "The Fox and the Hound"; but you might want to warn them in advance about the movie's climactic chase sequence and fight scenes, and you might also want to discuss with them afterwards the implications of the film's message.

Why am I still bothered by that screen size?

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