The Fox and the Hound 2

DisneyToon released a sequel to The Fox and the Hound in 2006, aptly named The Fox and the Hound 2. Directed by Jim Kammerud, it starts Reba McEntire, Patrick Swayze, Jonah Bobo, Harrison Fahn, Jeff Foxworthy Vicki Lawrence, and Stephen Root. It was also the last direct-to-video film released before Disney started releasing movies on Blu-Ray.

Taking place during the youth of Tod (Bobo) and Copper (Fahn), the latter joins a band of singing stray dogs at the state fair. Copper is popular with most of the band members, save for the dramatic Dixie (McEntire) who conspires to get him out.

As stated above, this was directed by Kammerud, and it was his first film to direct solo on (and his last). It was also produced by Frell Barron and written by Roger S.H. Schulman. And it’s painfully obvious that none of them had ever seen the original film and even if they somehow watched it before making this movie, the film’s message soared over their heads, rendering them clueless about anything. Because if they did care about it, then this film would have been radically different. Or nonexistent.

But to be fair, the original did have some humor. Because boy, did it need it. But that humor was interspersed and provided by two birds, one of whom very dimwitted, trying to catch a caterpillar. Here? Slapstick, peanut butter mouth, runaway Ferris Wheel, Amos Slade getting brained by a beehive. It does a huge disservice to the tone of the original.

And then there’s the story. In the original, the duo were torn apart by expectations and natural law. They didn’t want to be separated, but they were and it lead to the demise of their friendship. In this film, Copper’s popularity goes to his head and Tod becomes jealous because he’s losing his friend. In no way would the characters of the original film become so contrived to let this happen.

And even then, by the time the film’s over, the characters are right back to where they were in the first film and nothing changes. At all. 

It’s a crime this was made. #117