28th Jun 2024 by The Disney Purist

#61 Strange World (2022)

BACKGROUND

The 2020s have, so far, been a difficult time for Disney Animation.

With the COVID-19 pandemic and the launch of streaming services making the viewing of new content easier and more convenient, it’s been hard trying to get audiences back into movie theatres. Film studios are ever hopeful that their movie will be the one to coax people out of their homes, but so far, only a handful of movies have done this.

At the Disney Studios, this issue is continuing to cause problems, with neither Encanto (2021) nor Wish (2023), both being “safer” musical movies, having succeeded in this endeavour, although Encanto did succeed in becoming a major success after its release to Disney+. We’re still talking about Bruno.

So, it’s not really a huge surprise that with Disney Animation “turning left” in making Strange World, i.e., choosing to go to Adventureland and not Fantasyland, with an action-packed, non-musical movie, that the viewers just did not come.

When Disney Animation made a string of non-musical movies in the 2000s, during their “Post-Renaissance Era”, many of these did not do well. Think of Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001) or Treasure Planet (2002); those movies are now considered “cult classics”, but they underperformed at the box-office and ultimately led to the downfall of traditional 2D animated Disney movies. Strange World is similar in both its genre and its aftermath.

I was not excited to watch Strange World. After seeing the trailer, I didn’t think it looked particularly interesting, and it reminded me of DreamWorks’ film The Croods (2013), which I was never bothered by and have never seen.

But because its Disney, I knew I had to watch Strange World – just not in the cinema. Luckily, in December 2022, a month after its release in theatres, it came on to Disney+ and I decided watching it at home, over the festive period, would be the best option.

Strange World certainly is not terrible, as some reviews have unfairly claimed, but it is different. Unfortunately for Disney, their adventure-type films have not been seen as the best throughout their history. In actual fact, Strange World isn’t bad. It’s not exactly what you might expect to see from Disney Animation, and it’s not a film I want to rush back and see, but I quite liked it in places. I went into Strange World expecting an adventure film, and that’s exactly what I got.

PLOT

The plot of Strange World follows the Clades, a famous explorer father-son duo. Their community of Avalonia is completely encircled by mountains. Many have tried and failed to get through the mountains, to seek out Avalonia’s future, but one man, Jaeger Clade, is determined to do so. Alongside him is his son, Searcher, an unwilling participant in these journeys. Whilst out on the latest expedition to go beyond the mountains that enclose Avalonia, Searcher Clade discovers a strange, electric plant, which him and the rest of the crew decide must be the legacy to bring back to Avalonia. Jaeger Clade disagrees, wanting to push forward to explore past the mountains as planned. Disappointed nobody wants to join him, Jaeger Clade continues the mission on his own – and is not seen again.

The movie then jumps twenty-five years later where this plant, now named Pando, is the main power source for all of Avalonia, and a whole new way of living was founded off the back of its discovery. Searcher is now a farmer, farming the Pando plant for the city, and is married to Meridian, a pilot. Together, they have a sixteen-year-old son, Ethan, who is soon to be trained in farming, as Searcher wants his son to take over the business someday.

Then, a huge airship, the Venture, lands in Searcher’s fields, and it turns out to be Callisto Mal, the president of Avalonia and one of Searcher’s crewmates on their expedition twenty-five years earlier. She needs Searcher’s help in discovering why the Pando plant is dying and how it can be reversed. Ethan wants to go on this journey, but Searcher refuses to allow him to go along. Searcher, Callisto, and the rest of the crew start their mission by following the Pando roots, which run deep underground. However, Meridian soon flies down to them to say that Ethan, along with the family’s three-legged dog, Legend, has stowed away on the airship. As this happens, all of them are attacked by pink pterodactyl-type creatures, with the pilot of the airship being killed in the process. Meridian takes control and they crash land on a subterranean, strange “world”, with Searcher and Legend being thrown overboard and separated from the crew. Ethan wants to look for his father, but is told that he needs to wait until the Venture airship is repaired, since they know nothing about this place.

Meanwhile, Searcher runs into a blue blob that steals his handkerchief. The blue blob then proceeds to show this handkerchief to some tentacled creatures that attack Searcher. He is saved in the nick of time by a huge, hairy man with a flamethrower. It turns out this man is actually Jaeger, Searcher’s long-lost father! It takes a while to convince Jaeger that he has been reunited with his son; it’s kind of an awkward moment. Jaeger then runs toward the Venture as he needs the airship to get to the other side of the mountains, as per his original mission, which he still has not completed after being stuck in this place for years.

Ethan has managed to sneak away from the crew, and, using a skiff, races around the area looking for Searcher. He soon comes across the same blue blob from earlier, which he names Splat. Splat has Searcher’s handkerchief still, and Ethan asks Splat to lead him to his father. As this is going on, Searcher catches Jaeger up on what he’s missed over the last twenty-five years of his life! Jaeger is disappointed to hear that Searcher is “just a farmer”, dismissing all of Searcher’s achievement. But this argument is soon stopped as Jaeger spots one of Ethan’s playing cards on the ground. He tells Searcher that Ethan is in a lot of trouble, about to be lured to his death. They race to find him.

Ethan has indeed been lured to the Reapers, those tentacled creatures, but Jaeger comes along to burn them with his flamethrower just in time. Except there are too many of them, and Jaeger makes all three of them jump onto what seems to be a river of fish. The Reapers continue to chase the trio, and when all looks lost, Callisto and Meridian arrive to drive them away on their skiffs. They get away from the Reapers by using Pando bulbs Ethan collected earlier which electrocute the creatures.

Now safely back on the Venture, the crew can investigate what’s causing the Pando to die by using a sample of its root. But family tensions continue to boil over, as Searcher becomes jealous of Ethan and Jaeger bonding, believing that Ethan will want to be more like Jaeger instead of like him. In attempting to get father and son to communicate better, Ethan suggests they all play a game called Primal Outpost, which is an environmental based game. All this does is cause further argument and, frustrated, Ethan walks away. See, the Clades are just like every other family when the board games or card games come out!

The crew arrive at the Burning Sea, which seems to be a lake of acid. With Splat the blue blob now on side to help, it communicates with these little green things to drive the airship through the area, to avoid the acid sprays. More Reapers come for the crew, and the team use their Pando bulbs to keep them away. Continuing to follow the Pando roots, they see that the roots are getting stronger the deeper down they go. As they get nearer to the heart of Pando, the crew believe they are about to be attacked by more Reapers and those pink pterodactyls – but they go straight past them, on to the heart of Pando. Searcher believes that those creatures are pests, with Pando diverting its energy to fighting them off instead of keeping its crops alive on the surface. Crushing some Pando bulbs and putting the dust into Jaeger’s flamethrower, he sprays these pests, killing them. They believe this must be how they are meant to save their Pando plant.

As the crew set about making their pesticides, Ethan starts to feel that this isn’t right, that they shouldn’t be killing these creatures. Searcher reminds Ethan that this is what farmers do, to which Ethan responds that he doesn’t even want to be a farmer, wanting to explore new lands instead. Searcher thinks this is all Jaeger’s fault, filling Ethan’s mind with these ideas, but Ethan says he’s just trying to lead his own life, and jumps off the airship, onto the river of fish. Searcher follows him in a skiff to apologise, saying that he never wanted to be like his father, trying to force Searcher into following his exploring legacy, but in fact, he is forcing his own legacy onto Ethan. As this conversation has been going on, their skiff has gone across to the other side of mountains. Searcher and Ethan discover that Avalonia is just surrounded by water. But then they notice the mound behind them is moving, and turn around to see an eye looking back at them! Avalonia was built on top of a living creature, so the “world” they’ve been going through is actually this creature’s insides. Eww…

Searcher and Ethan quickly realise that the Pando plant is an infection, attacking this creature’s heart, and that the strange creatures they are planning on poisoning and killing are actually the immune system, trying to keep the being alive. Realising their mistake, they set out to destroy the Pando instead and save the creature. As Searcher and Ethan explain their discovery to the others, Jaeger gets annoyed, and just wants to finally finish his mission of getting to the other side of the mountain, and sensing he’s not wanted, goes alone. Callisto locks all the Clades in a cupboard, so that they will not stop the original plan; Avalonia needs Pando and this is the only way to keep it alive. Luckily, by using Legend the dog, and Splat, they get Legend to open the door and free them. Searcher and Ethan then get on the back of one of the pterodactyls and ride to the heart, whilst Meridian takes control of the Venture once more.

At the heart, Searcher tries to dig a hole into the Pando root, so that the immune system creatures can get direct access to heal the creature’s heart. Ethan is told to round up as many Reapers as he can. Searcher is electrocuted whilst attempting to dig this hole and his shovel breaks. Jaeger then comes back to help, saying that his legacy was never about his mission, but is actually Searcher. They both work together using an axe to get to the core. A hole opens up and Reapers fill the area, destroying all of the Pando root. But it wasn’t enough; the heart is not healed. When all looks lost, a flurry of little orange creatures rush over the surface of the heart. They are there to restore the heart back to health. After some time, the heart is revived again, and starts beating. The plan worked! The team then head back up to the surface – after making a quick pit stop to the other side of the mountains, so that Jaeger can finally complete his mission.

One year on, Ethan has become an environmentalist, studying and collecting resources from the Strange World alongside his partner, Diazo, and Avalonia has moved on to using wind energy as its primary energy source. Jaeger and Searcher are now closer, and Searcher continues to run his farm alongside Meridian, growing normal crops this time. A final shot shows the camera zooming away from Avalonia and showing the turtle-like creature that Avalonia was built upon swimming over an ocean-covered planet.

CHARACTERS & CAST

Searcher Clade is the middle generation character. It’s clear from the start of the movie that he is very different to his explorer father and that the path he is going on at that point is not for him, and that he needs to find his own purpose. He seems to really thrive in the farming industry, with the Pando plant discovery being credited to him by the people of Avalonia. He tries to push his son Ethan into following in his footsteps, but soon realises he is doing exactly what his father did to him and knows for Ethan to be happy, Searcher has to let that dream go. Searcher is a good father, albeit quite a protective one, who is also embarrassing at times, as we see when Ethan is trying to talk to his crush, Diazo, and Searcher butts in, introducing himself and generally being weird.

Searcher was voiced by Jake Gyllenhaal, who said the personal story behind the film appealed to him the most as it was clear it had come from a true place. He also was able to bring in his own family experiences to the character. Gyllenhaal has had roles in movies such as The Day After Tomorrow (2004), Brokeback Mountain (2005), and Disney’s Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010). More recently, Gyllenhaal portrayed the villain Mysterio in Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019); and Dalton in Road House (2024).

Jaeger Clade is the eldest Clade, and though he is a great explorer, very determined and brave, Jaeger also knows it, so he finds it difficult to check his ego at times and just be a father and grandfather without that determination getting in the way. He is completely fixated on his own mission, to get to the other side of the Avalonia mountains, that he doesn’t initially want to help Searcher and the others with their mission to save the Pando plant because he’s spent a large part of his life on this one expedition, foregoing his responsibilities as a father and a husband, and is still upset that Searcher did not want to be an explorer like him. In the end, though, he realises that he needs to be with his family and that he can’t always think of himself, and he repairs his bond with Searcher.

Jaeger was voiced by Dennis Quaid, who was incredibly enthusiastic about the role. Quaid said the Clades felt like a real family, with real issues and that some of the conversations and conflicts they have are reminiscent of any family at the Thanksgiving dinner table. He liked that Disney were being very open with these discussions, but also making them funny. Quaid also starred in The Day After Tomorrow (2004), as the father of Gyllenhaal’s character. He has starred in numerous movies throughout his career, including Innerspace (1987), alongside Meg Ryan and Martin Short; The Rookie (2002); and G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009). In 2024, Quaid will portray Ronald Reagan in the movie Reagan. And, for all the 90s kids out there, you’ll know Quaid from The Parent Trap (1998), where he played Nick Parker, the father of the twins.

Ethan is the youngest family member at sixteen-years-old, and is Searcher’s son and Jaeger’s grandson. Ethan is at a point in his life where he’s trying to figure out who he wants to be and what he wants to do with his life. He knows that he doesn’t want to be a farmer, and that he wants to experience what else is out there, beyond Avalonia. His father struggles with this idea, and thinks that, whilst out on this mission, that Jaeger has spent time trying to convince Ethan to be an explorer, not listening to Ethan and what he wants. Ethan perseveres though, and doesn’t give in, explaining to his father that it’s his life and he should do what he wants with it. Ethan is also the peacekeeper and the environmentally-conscious one in the family. He finds happiness in the end, researching and resourcing from the strange world. Ethan is the first openly gay character to feature in any Disney work. Ethan’s family are wholly accepting of his sexuality, so this isn’t even a story about him having to seek approval from his parents as you might expect.

Comedian, actor and writer Jaboukie Young-White voiced the role of Ethan. Young-White has written for shows such as Big Mouth (2018-present) and American Vandal (2017-18), and appeared as a correspondent on Trevor Noah’s The Daily Show from 2018 to 2021. Young-White also released his debut music album in August 2023.

Meridian is Searcher’s wife and Ethan’s mother, but is also a pilot, and ends up playing a pivotal role in the expedition as the original crew pilot is killed by a creature whilst the airship is crash-landing. She was only there to try and retrieve Ethan who she knew had snuck aboard the ship. She is a very caring mother, and a very experienced and brave pilot, having to get them through multiple scrapes and navigate difficult terrain. She knows that Ethan is loving exploring this new area, and that he seems to have found what’s right for him; Meridian is the voice of reason and understanding. Originally, Meridian was going to have a backstory, which involved her being a stunt pilot. She loved to fly, but after a crash which she was lucky to walk away from, she had been scared to fly again, having to fly a plane once more to save her family. This backstory ultimately was not used[1].

Meridian was voiced by Gabrielle Union, who was drawn to Meridian’s strength and parenting approach, feeling that it was similar to her own self. She has done voice work for Disney previously, as Nala in The Lion Guard (2016-19), but she said to be able to do a full Disney animated feature was a “dream come true”. She liked how she could contribute to the character, with many of her adlibs kept in the final cut, and she was pleased that Meridian looked like her, with authentic hair and Afrocentric features[2]. Union first appeared in “teen movies” such as She’s All That (1999), 10 Things I Hate About You (1999), and Bring It On (2000), moving on to other roles such as Special Agent Burnett in Bad Boys II (2003); Mary Jane Paul in the series Being Mary Jane (2013-19); Zoey Baker in the remake of Cheaper by the Dozen (2022); and Jenna in the Netflix film The Perfect Find (2023).

There is also Callisto Mal, the president of Avalonia and leader of the exploration. She is a strong leader, but very set in her ways and the aims of the mission. Once the Clades realise the Pando plant is killing the creature that Avalonia sits atop, Callisto does not stop trying to kill the creatures (now shown to be an immune system) and even locks the Clades in a cupboard on the airship as they try to get the other crew members to stop what they are doing. Eventually, though, Callisto sees sense when the Clades show her exactly what the plant is doing to this creature and she helps makes things right again. At one point, the writers were unsure how many of the crew on the expedition should survive, and whether they should all be killed by monsters, except Callisto, who would be the sole survivor in order to “break her” and give her some emotional depth[3]. This idea was not realised.

Lucy Liu voiced Callisto. Liu rose to fame as one of the three Charlie’s Angels, alongside Cameron Diaz and Drew Barrymore in the 2000 film and its 2003 sequel. She also played the role of O-Ren Ishii in Kill Bill (2003) and its 2004 sequel. More recently, Liu appeared in the Netflix film Set It Up (2018) as difficult boss Kirsten, and as Kalypso in Shazam! Fury of the Gods (2023). For Disney, Liu has also voiced characters such as Mei for Mulan II (2004) and Silvermist in the Tinker Bell series of films.

A couple of other actors to mention are Karan Soni and Alan Tudyk. Soni voices the very funny, but kind of minor, character of crew member Caspian. He has some great lines, delivered with perfect comedic timing. It’s a shame Caspian wasn’t used too much in the overall story. Soni rose to fame in the role of Dopinder in Deadpool (2016), going on to reprise this role in its sequels. He also appeared in the movies Ghostbusters (2016); Detective Pikachu (2019); and Not Okay (2022), as well as having a voice role in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse as Pavitr Prabhakar. On television, Soni had a role in each of the four series of anthology comedy series Miracle Workers (2019-23).

Alan Tudyk has had a role in every Disney animated movie since 2012. For Strange World, he voiced the very brief role of the pilot on the Venture who dies right at the start of the mission, as well as the narrator at the start of the film. Tudyk’s other Disney voice roles include: King Candy in Wreck-It Ralph (2012), Duke of Weselton in Frozen (2013), Alistair Krei in Big Hero 6 (2014), KnowsMore in Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018), and Valentino in Wish (2023). Outside of voice acting, Tudyk was the voice and motion capture for Sonny the robot in I, Robot (2004), and also appeared in the films Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (2004), as Steve the Pirate, and Trumbo (2015), as Ian McLellan Hunter. He also portrays the title character of “Harry” in the series Resident Alien (2021-present).

PRODUCTION

After Moana was released in 2016, Don Hall started working on a new project to direct. Strange World was just one of a few ideas that he had been working on and had pitched to Disney. The idea for the movie came from the question: what kind of world did we inherit from others, and what world will the new generation inherit from us? It was to be a generational story of how the world has been developed, or harmed, at various points in time, although the very first pitch was about what would you do if you found out you were living on a living thing. Clearly, both of these ideas made it into Strange World in some form.

The story was originally being developed with Chris Williams, who had co-directed Big Hero 6 (2014) with Hall, however, Williams left Disney to work on The Sea Beast (2022) for Netflix. Roy Conli came on board as the producer for Strange World in 2018, and had previously collaborated with Hall on Big Hero 6. He liked the father-son angle of the story. To get writer and co-director Qui Nguyen to join the project, Hall called the movie Indiana Jones meets National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983).

Strange World was inspired by multiple movies from completely different decades of film-making. For example, Hall stated that he was inspired by movies of the 1970s and 1980s, like Star Wars, as well as Disney animated films, like Peter Pan (1953) that were all about adventure. They were also inspired by the “pulp fiction” era of the 1900s to the 1950s, where magazines were printed onto cheap wood pulp paper – hence the name – as well as movies like King Kong. These choices gave a nostalgic feeling to the adventure film[4].

Work on the film was going well, however, in 2019, Raya and the Last Dragon (2021) was announced at the D23 Expo as the next Disney animated film release, so Strange World was put aside so that Don Hall and Qui Nguyen could come onto the project as director and screenwriter, respectively, for Raya and the Last Dragon instead. They both felt they knew the story of Strange World well enough to leave it for a while and focus on Raya[5].

Creating the world of Strange World, or sub-Avalonia as it is also called, was a complex challenge, since the area had to look like the most bizarre landscape ever, and yet also refer to the plot-twist of the movie by showing that everything within this landscape is alive. The team working on Strange World consulted with biologists and scientists, and researched ecosystems, organ functions, and cell structures so that everything that exists within Strange World would be grounded in real science, although it was never meant to exactly replicate the anatomy or internal workings of any creature or a turtle specifically, despite this being the creature Avalonia resides on.

They chose a jungle-like landscape for sub-Avalonia but did not use the colour green. The pinks, blues, and purples of the scenery is in stark contrast to what would be expected. Strange World includes some of the largest environments created at Disney Animation and they had to include everything: from the smallest blade of grass, to the biggest structures. Disney also had to make this place feel alive, in both the backgrounds and the characters.

Everything had to feel like it was a part of the overall environment, since this place is constantly in motion, so the ground can suddenly give way, as Ethan finds out when he thinks he’s landed on solid ground but he is actually on top of an organism that flies away, and the trees even breathe; the trees were made to represent bronchial tubes as the first organ that the crew falls into is the lungs. This means that the Burning Sea with its oceans of acids is actually the stomach, and the creatures that seem to attack the crew are parts of the immune system. The flying fish that the Clades travel across whilst trying to avoid the Reapers are actually the bloodstream, with a red channel and a blue channel to mimic oxygenated and deoxygenated blood.

Some of the creatures that exist within Strange World include the Filterlope, which is a six-legged deer which filters and purifies everything that it comes into contact with; the Nub McNubbins, which are the little orange things that ride around on the six-legged dinosaurs, looking for damage tissues that they can repair, so they represent stem cells; the Reapers with their long tentacles are part of the immune system, looking to swallow any foreign objects to keep away harm; and the T cells, the pink pterodactyls, are another part of the immune system, seeking to destroy harmful particles, working similarly to white blood cells[6].

Splat, the blue blob, is a form of dendritic cell, which scouts out the area, finding antigens so that it can defend its organism. That is why when Splat first meets Searcher, he takes his handkerchief and tries to lead him to the Reapers so that they can destroy him[7]. Splat’s not being mean, that’s just what he’s been trained to do. In the end though, Splat sees Ethan as a friend, because Ethan heals Splat after he is terribly burnt by a Pando bulb – that scene actually made me really sad; I don’t like seeing things getting hurt, especially when they’re cute, like Splat. Splat’s character design looks simple but it was quite challenging, since it has so many limbs and all of them stretchy.

The difficulty in animating the worlds of Strange World was in keeping it relatable, grounded in reality, but also beautiful, just not so appealing that it detracted from the story. It couldn’t pull focus but needed to be imaginative. I think the animators did a great job in creating this bizarre world, and the science behind it and all the creatures was fascinating. In contrast to sub-Avalonia, we also see the city of Avalonia, which, despite being a technologically progressive place, contains quite an old style of architecture with many stone buildings, kind of reminiscent of towns in Spain or Italy, which I found to be an interesting twist on a futuristic world.

MUSIC

Composer Henry Jackman wrote the music for Strange World, having previously worked on Winnie the Pooh (2011), Wreck-It Ralph (2012), for which he won the Annie Award for Music in an Animated Feature Production in 2013, Big Hero 6 (2014), and Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018) for Disney. Jackman has also composed music for non-animated action films including Kick-Ass (2010) and its 2013 sequel; Captain Phillips (2013); Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014) and its 2017 sequel, and Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017) and its 2019 sequel. Hall and Nguyen wanted Jackman to evoke the adventure mood of the film.

The score definitely evokes the feeling of adventure and peril. Some of my favourite instrumental pieces include “The Fate of Strange World” and “Resurrection”, which play as Pando is destroyed and the creature’s heart is revived. This is the big emotional scene in Strange World. Naturally, I pay more attention to the score in those quiet moments when you’re being made to think, and those are my favourite types of pieces. I also like “A New Perspective”, which plays during the final scene.

There is only one song in Strange World, and it’s a bit of a strange one. “They’re the Clades!” plays as we are given some backstory into the explorer family of the Clades, as a documentary-style film plays. The music was written by Jackman, with lyrics by Kevin Del Aguila. It does fit the comic-book style opening scene that the movie has, being quite loud and exuberant, and it throws you straight into what the Clades do. It’s kind of catchy, but it’s not going to go down in Disney history as one of their best songs! “They’re the Clades” has a reprise at the end of the movie as well, during the End Credits. These songs are performed by James Hayden.

RECEPTION

Strange World was released in theatres on 23^rd November 2022 – in some countries. Disney decided not to theatrically release their movie in certain territories, such as the Middle East, China, Turkey, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Pakistan. This is due to the inclusion of LGBTQIA+ content, with the character of Ethan, which Disney did not want to have to edit out to make it fit the culture of these areas. Pixar’s movie Lightyear, released in June 2022, had been banned in a few countries, like the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Malaysia, and Indonesia, due to controversy over a brief scene of a same-sex couple kissing[8].

The inclusion of an openly gay character was not only seen as “problematic” in these areas, but also within the United States. A teacher in Florida was reported to the school board by a student’s mother in 2023 after showing the movie Strange World to her fifth-grade class. The parent reported the teacher for “indoctrination” and an official investigation was set in motion after this complaint, as it was in possible violation of the Parental Rights in Education Act, which banned the teaching of gender and sexual identity in schools in the state. The teacher had felt that Strange World was an appropriate movie for her class to watch as it related to their studies on Earth science and the ecosystem, and did not choose to show it to her students for any other reason, having also received permission slips from the parents to allow their children to see the PG-rated movie[9].

This just shows how divisive Strange World has become, although many critics did like the progression of including a gay character in a Disney movie. The environmental message was also praised by some, although others found it slightly too preachy. In general, audiences liked the bright, colourful animation, and the overall themes of the movie, around family dynamics, exploration, and understanding each other, but felt that the movie’s plot was “dull” and lacked drama.

Strange World was not nominated for Best Animated Feature in any of the major award ceremonies, and was only nominated for a couple of awards for storyboarding at the Annie Awards in 2023. It was also nominated at the Visual Effects Society Awards in 2023, but again, did not win.

Potentially because of the controversy around the LGBTQIA+ content, and for the lack of desire by viewers to see movies in theatres, Strange World became a box-office bomb. Despite being released around Thanksgiving, generally considered a very good time to release new movies, especially family-friendly ones, Strange World only made $18.6 million in that five-day window[10]. Globally, the movie only grossed $73.4 million, and with an estimated budget of $180 million, plus its advertising costs, that was a big loss.

Strange World was then released just a month later on Disney+ on 23^rd December 2022, just in time for the festive season, where it became one of the top 10 most streamed films on the platform in its first three weeks[11].

LEGACY

To promote the release of Strange World, the Disney Parks offered some limited time experiences from November 2022 to January 2023. These included a sneak peek of the movie at Walt Disney Presents in Disney’s Hollywood Studios at the Walt Disney World Resort, as well as at Disneyland Paris.

At Disney California Adventure, guests could learn how to draw Splat and the Clades’ dog Legend at the Animation Academy, and photo opportunities were available at Disneyland’s Tomorrowland. These included “magic shots” of Splat appearing in Disney PhotoPass photos. There was also some merchandise available for Strange World, including play sets, books, and plush toys of Splat.

Since Strange World was not a successful movie for Disney in terms of box-office results, and to some extent reviews, very little else related to Strange World has been seen at the Disney Parks, although surprisingly, Ethan Clade as a meet-and-greet character made his debut at the runDisney 10-miler race in April 2024, standing in front of a sign for Clade Farms. This appears to be the first time that any character from Strange World has been spotted at the Disney Parks as a meet-and-greet opportunity. Whether or not that changes soon, and more characters from the movie will be seen more frequently or even just at Special Events remains to be seen.

FINAL THOUGHTS

It is a shame that Strange World was not received as well as hoped, or as well as previous “Revival Era” animated features, especially after having read some interviews with the cast and creators for this piece, as it’s clear just how much passion and emotional experience went into the making of the movie.

Disney have tried to be more progressive in their characters, and have been much more diverse in their casting choices and ethnic representations recently. Even a decade ago, this was not the case. It is disappointing to find that people haven’t warmed to this film as much as they did with 2021’s hit Encanto, possibly because Strange World is not a musical, and adventure films are not as widely popular with a large audience.

I do think Strange World needs to be seen a couple of times to fully appreciate the artistic talent that went into creating that world, and the emotional arcs that take place. There is a lot going on, and it is difficult to figure out where to focus initially, whether that’s on the family aspect, or the environmental theme.

If anyone is unsure about whether to watch Strange World or not, I say be brave like the Clades and give it a go.

REFERENCES

[1] Credit: Disney, “Deleted Scenes: Lightning Lynx”, from Strange World (2022), Disney+ (2023).

[2] Credit: Alison Stateman, ‘Behind the Scenes of Disney Animation’s Strange World’, D23.com, 17^th November 2022.

[3] Credit: Drew Taylor, ‘Making ‘Strange World’: The Origin, Evolution and Progressive Representation of Disney Animation’s Sci-Fi Adventure’, TheWrap.com, 25^th November 2022.

[4] Credit: Camille Jefferson, ‘Behind the Scenes With the Makers of Walt Disney Animation Studios’ Latest Film, Strange World’, Disney News (online), 14^th October 2022.

[5] Credit: Drew Taylor, ‘Making ‘Strange World’: The Origin, Evolution and Progressive Representation of Disney Animation’s Sci-Fi Adventure’, TheWrap.com, 25^th November 2022.

[6] Credit: Disney, “Creature Feature”, from Strange World (2022), Disney+ (2023).

[7] Credit: Disney, “Strange Science”, from Strange World (2022), Disney+ (2023).

[8] Credit: Jamie Lang, ‘Disney’s ‘Strange World’ Skips Markets Where LGBTQIA+ Content Is Banned Or Censored’, CartoonBrew.com, 22^nd November 2022.

[9] Credit: Ed Pilkington, ‘Florida teacher defends showing Disney movie: ‘I’m just being accepting’, The Guardian (online), 14^th May 2023.

[10] Credit: Anthony D’Alessandro, ‘The Biggest Box Office Bombs of 2022: Deadline’s Most Valuable Blockbuster Tournament’, Deadline.com, 14^th April 2023.

[11] Credit: Amanda Lamadrid, ‘Strange World Ended An Incredible 30-Year Disney Movie Rating Streak’, ScreenRant.com, 14^th April 2023.

19th Apr 202427th Jun 2024 by The Disney Purist

#26 The Great Mouse Detective (1986)

BACKGROUND

The 1980s were a difficult time for Disney Animation. New management from “outside studios” had come in and didn’t understand the concept of making an animated movie, nor did they particularly understand the animators. This caused a few years of conflict and misunderstandings between the two opposing sides.

On top of that, 1985 brought the Walt Disney Company one of their worst ever financial flops with the release of The Black Cauldron, a movie quite unlike anything that Disney Animation had ever produced before; it took years, and cost a fortune, to make. By pushing the boundaries with this film, they pushed many of their core audience anyway, who were not expecting this mish-mash of fantasy, adventure, and even light horror.

The pressure was on. Disney’s next movie had to change all that, and bring those families back to the theatres to experience a charming movie, reminiscent of those made during Walt Disney’s time in charge of the Disney Studios. It also had to be convincing enough for new management to believe animation was still worth it.

Luckily, The Great Mouse Detective, released in 1986, just a year after The Black Cauldron, did make positive steps towards a renewed animation department. It is yet another adaptation of the Sherlock Holmes stories to sit alongside those movies and television series of earlier decades, like Basil Rathbone’s series of films, released between 1939 and 1946, and those of more contemporary times, like the BBC series Sherlock (2010-17), starring Benedict Cumberbatch as the man himself, and the 2009 movie Sherlock Holmes and its 2011 sequel, with Robert Downey Jr. portraying the famous detective.

The Great Mouse Detective wasn’t a huge hit, nor was it a particularly smooth process getting the movie made, but overall, it was certainly a move in the right direction, getting back to Disney’s basics of good story-telling, likeable characters, and being progressive with their use of technology.

Sadly, The Great Mouse Detective has not been referenced at the Disney Parks for many years, and it isn’t generally remembered even amongst Disney fans, unless they had a love for the film as a child. It’s been surpassed by the amazing movies of the “Disney Renaissance”, as well as some of the more contemporary blockbuster hits like Frozen (2013) and Encanto (2021), which seem to have more “star quality” than poor Basil.

I personally really like The Great Mouse Detective. My family never owned it on VHS for some reason, but I remember always watching it at friends’ houses, or borrowing their VHS tape, so this was a film that I did not grow up with, like many of the “Disney Renaissance” films, but one that I gradually came to enjoy. It has an easy-to-follow plot, unlike some adaptations of Sherlock Holmes that can be difficult to keep up with. The Great Mouse Detective also benefits from strong characters and good music, in my opinion.

PLOT

The story of The Great Mouse Detective follows Basil, a mouse detective – funny about that – who is basically the Sherlock Holmes of the mouse world, living underneath that famous apartment, 221B Baker Street in London in 1897. He is asked to investigate a case brought to him by a young mouse, Olivia, whose father has been captured. Olivia was brought to Basil by Dr David Q. Dawson, a surgeon who has returned to England after being in Afghanistan for military service. Basil cleverly deduces this purely from the clothes Dawson is wearing – how very “Sherlock” of him. Basil is initially reluctant to help Olivia, not caring much that she has lost her father. But when she mentions that he was taken by a bat with a pegleg, Basil is immediately intrigued, as this bat is the henchman of Basil’s most troublesome nemesis, the evil Professor Ratigan.

Ratigan has ordered the capture of Olivia’s father, Hiram, as he is an accomplished toy maker. Ratigan wants a model robot of the current Queen, Queen Moustoria – like Queen Victoria, get it? – and he expects Hiram to do it. Ratigan plans to use this robot so that it looks like Queen Moustoria herself is giving the order for Ratigan to be the “Supreme Ruler of all Mousedom”, because naturally, a Disney villain’s ultimate goal is always for world domination. Under the threat of his daughter being kidnapped, Hiram gets to work.

Meanwhile, Basil, Dawson, and Olivia set out to find her father, with the help of Basil’s dog Toby, who can get them to places much quicker than a little mouse can, after seeing Fidget, the bat with the pegleg appear at his window. Basil orders Toby to follow his scent and they find themselves at a toy store. Here, Fidget has been told by Ratigan to collect gears, uniforms, and Olivia, so that the plan can be carried out correctly. He takes gears and uniforms from the toys in the shop, and then proceeds to take Olivia whilst Basil and Dawson are distracted by all the toys coming alive.

Basil is annoyed at himself for letting this happen. But Dawson finds a clue – Fidget’s checklist. Back at his apartment, Basil uses his lab equipment and discovers that this piece of paper came from the “Rat Trap”, a tavern by the sewers. Disguised as sailors, Basil and Dawson head over there to try and get some information on the whereabouts of Ratigan. On mentioning Ratigan’s name, the bar maid and locals become suspicious of the two, and Dawson accidentally drinks the drugged beer that was served to them. After he starts a bar fight, during the performance of a bar singer, Basil ushers Dawson out of the tavern, as he has seen Fidget heading to supposedly Ratigan’s headquarters; they follow the bat.

But when they reach the headquarters, they discover it was all a trap and they have been captured too. They also see Olivia is there, trapped inside a bottle. Ratigan believes he’s won, and ties Basil and Dawson to a mouse trap. And, much like the board game Mouse Trap, he has rigged the mouse trap to be squashed after a series of contraptions have been set off, which will all begin once Ratigan’s song, saying farewell to Basil, finishes on the record player. Basil seems to have lost all hope, but Dawson inspires him to work out how to escape this trap. He manages to do so with some quick-thinking, simultaneously freeing Olivia from her bottle prison. The three quickly head to Buckingham Palace.

At Buckingham Palace, Ratigan and his henchmen have successfully supplanted the Queen with their robotic figure, and the real Queen is set to be fed to Ratigan’s Persian cat, Felicia. However, Basil and the others arrive just in time to save her. Toby chases Felicia away, and Basil ties up Fidget and the henchmen. Meanwhile, Ratigan has been named the Supreme Ruler and is detailing his list of rules to those in the palace. Basil manages to take control of the robot and announces that this was all a ruse by Ratigan.

Angry at Basil for ruining yet another of his great plans, Ratigan and Fidget escape on his dirigible, and take Olivia hostage. With Olivia’s father, Basil and Dawson create a rudimentary airship, using a matchbox, balloons, and a flag, and set off after Ratigan. Basil jumps onto Ratigan’s ship, and the ship crashes into Big Ben. Ratigan, Basil, and Olivia are thrown into the clock. Inside, Basil tries to rescue Olivia from being squished by one of the mechanisms, whilst also dodging Ratigan’s pursuit of him. Basil manages to hand over Olivia to her father on the makeshift airship, but Basil is attacked by Ratigan on the hands of Big Ben. Soon, the clock strikes 10, with the noise causing Ratigan to fall seemingly to his death – but not before he grabs Basil to take him down with him. Dawson, Hiram, and Olivia look on helplessly, believing their friend to be gone for good.

However, this is Basil we’re talking about, and we soon see that in the process of him falling, he grabbed some of Ratigan’s broken airship and managed to create some contraption that brings him back up to Big Ben. He boards the airship and they head home.

Olivia and her father leave for their home, thanking Basil and Dawson for all their help. Despite Basil’s initial dislike for Olivia, and children in general, it is quite a tearful goodbye for him. Dawson is about to leave Basil as well, when a new client arrives needing Basil’s help. Basil introduces Dawson as his investigative partner, so Dawson decides not to leave, and the two continue to work together solving further cases for the mice of London.

CHARACTERS & CAST

Though The Great Mouse Detective may appear to just be a loose adaptation of The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, in actual fact, the movie is inspired by a children’s book series, a five-part series titled Basil of Baker Street, written by Eve Titus. The books were published between 1971 and 1982. This series was clearly based on the Sherlock Holmes stories, with the characters of Basil and Dawson being based on Sherlock and Dr. Watson, and Ratigan being inspired by Moriarity. The Disney film bears little resemblance to Titus’ books though, except for the location and time setting of Victorian England, and the three main characters of Basil, Dawson, and Ratigan, with some differences. Dawson, for one thing, is actually an intelligent resource in the books, whereas in The Great Mouse Detective, Dawson is a bit of a bumbler. Ratigan in the books is meant to be a big mouse who is frequently mistaken for a rat, whereas in the film, Ratigan is actually a rat, who insists on being referred to as a mouse. Only, one of his henchmen forgets this rule when he gets drunk and ends up being eaten by Ratigan’s cat, Felicia… “Oh, my dear Bartholomew. I’m afraid that you have gone and upset me.”

But Basil of Baker Street still remains as the key figure of the story, the professional detective who never gets anything wrong. Most of the time. Originally, Basil was going to be like the Sherlock Holmes of the novel world; a cold, detached man, albeit one of unmatched intelligence, who reacts abnormally to social situations. In the BBC series, Sherlock (2010-17), Holmes even refers to himself as “a high-functioning sociopath”, rightly or wrongly. When Disney tried this approach with the character of Basil, it didn’t work, nor did their attempts to make him more like Bing Crosby. In the end, the basis for Basil’s character actually came from actor Leslie Howard’s portrayal of the strict, arrogant Professor Henry Higgins in the film Pygmalion (1938), along with the voice performance of Barrie Ingham[1]. Basil of Baker Street is quite egocentric and unfeeling at the start of the movie, ignoring Olivia’s pleas for help, being too busy with his deductions and experiments to notice that this young girl is completely lost without her father. As the story progresses though, Basil becomes more caring. He saves Olivia’s life in the clockwork of Big Ben; is visibly pleased to see her returned to her father and heading home, even though he still doesn’t know or can’t pronounce her surname, a recurring joke in the movie; and he clearly values the friendship of Dawson because he quickly gives him a job as his assistant to stop him from leaving. Basil goes through a lot of character development and personal growth in the film.

As I’ve just mentioned, Basil was voiced by English actor Barrie Ingham. Before The Great Mouse Detective, Ingham had performed on stage with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal National Theatre, as well as performing in musicals, such as in the 1973 London production of Gypsy alongside Angela Lansbury, and in the 1981 revival of Camelot with Richard Harris as King Arthur; Ingham played King Pellinore. After The Great Mouse Detective, Ingham starred in the Josh Kirby… Time Warrior! Series of films from 1995 to 1996, and in Jekyll & Hyde – The Musical (2001) as Sir Danvers Carew, after appearing in the Broadway musical of the show from 1997 to the 2001 closing. Ingham was also in the final cast of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical Aspects of Love on Broadway, from 1990 to 1991, as Sir George Dillingham, alongside Sarah Brightman. Ingham passed away in January 2015, with his final screen role being in the sci-fi miniseries The Triangle (2005).

Despite Basil not being quite like Sherlock Holmes, you will hear Sherlock Holmes in this movie. He is seen in his apartment, 221B, and the lines are from an actual recording of Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes in a 1966 telling of “The Red-Headed League”. Rathbone was most known for playing the character of Sherlock Holmes in film. There were originally financial disagreements over using the recording in the movie but a last-minute deal was made to keep it in. Basil of Baker Street is named after Basil Rathbone[2].

You can’t have Sherlock Holmes without Dr. Watson, so in this case, you can’t have Basil without Dr. Dawson. Major Dr. David Q. Dawson has returned to England after serving in the Queen’s 66^th Regiment in Afghanistan, something that Basil deduces immediately on seeing Dawson for the first time. Although Dawson can be a bit of a fool, getting him and Basil into more scrapes than necessary by being clumsy and overly trusting, he is very warm and caring, being very protective of young Olivia when Basil gets too caught up in the thrill of the chase. Dawson is very different to Dr. Watson, who generally doesn’t cause Sherlock problems by tripping over things, or drinking drugged beer! He is a good opposite to Basil though, and the two complement each other more so than they disrupt each other. The appearance of Dawson was modelled, in both appearance and behaviour, after animator Eric Larson, one of Disney’s “Nine Old Men”, who worked at the studios from 1933 until his retirement in 1986. Larson had trained many of the animators working on The Great Mouse Detective, and was the animation consultant on this film, his final role with the company before his retirement. Larson died two years later in 1988[3].

Val Bettin provided the voice for Dawson. After appearing in a few movies in the 1980s and voicing Dawson for The Great Mouse Detective, Bettin became a voice actor, taking over the voice role of the Sultan from Douglas Seale for the direct-to-video sequels Aladdin: The Return of Jafar (1994) and Aladdin and the King of Thieves (1996), as well as the television series Aladdin (1994-95). Bettin also voiced characters in the television series’ Mighty Ducks (1996-97) and Hercules (1998-99), as well as voicing Professor Porter in the 1999 Tarzan video game. Despite being American, Bettin was adept at British accents.

We also have the two Flavershams: Olivia and Hiram; the ones whose case the whole plot revolves around. Hiram is an only parent after the death of Olivia’s mother and he clearly adores his daughter, and working as a toymaker, he makes her numerous special gifts, like a dancing ballerina mouse. The opening of The Great Mouse Detective is similar to Pinocchio (1940) in that he has a workshop just like Geppetto, filled with puppets, which I don’t like much… There’s also that scene in the toy store, which I do not like either – though there is a short Dumbo cameo, which is nice. Hiram is kidnapped in quite a violent fashion from his shop by Ratigan’s bat henchman, Fidget, as Olivia hides in a cupboard. She is found wandering the streets by Dawson as she tries to find Basil of Baker Street to help her. Olivia is quite sweet as a character, and it is very sad seeing her so distraught at losing her father. It’s great that she is reunited with him and all that, but I can’t ignore just how annoying she can be at times, not doing as she’s told and then getting kidnapped herself as a result. Why can’t anyone just do as they’re told in the movies? I would. Basil is not overly kind or sympathetic to Olivia at times, but she either isn’t bothered or doesn’t seem to notice, as she has Dawson, as well as Basil’s faithful sidekick Toby, the lovable, energetic Basset Hound.

There were hundreds of applicants for the role of Olivia, but in the end, Susanne Pollatschek, was chosen; a girl from Glasgow who had no formal training. Olivia’s father Hiram is voiced by the same actor who voiced Scrooge McDuck for over 40 years, Alan Young. He was chosen for the specific Scottish accent that he could replicate. Young began voicing Scrooge in the 1974 Disneyland Records album An Adaptation of Dickens’ Christmas Carol, and voiced the character again for the short film Mickey’s Christmas Carol (1983), which was nominated for Best Short Film at the Academy Awards, reprising the role for Disney until his death in 2016. Before this, Young had his own sketch show The Alan Young Show during the 1940s and 50s, and appeared in movies like The Time Machine (1960).

Moving on to easily the best character in the whole movie, the villain Professor Ratigan. Although he is not referenced often within the Disney Villain franchise, I think Ratigan is one of Disney’s best villains. He’s a completely over-the-top, charismatic showman, yet he’s also evil and ruthless at the same time, not caring one bit about feeding someone to his big white Persian cat, Felicia – reminiscent of Bond villain Blofeld’s cat – or about taking someone hostage. He has a group of loyal henchmen, which includes Felicia, and a crew of mice – and one lizard, which is a bit odd. It also includes Fidget, the bat with a peg leg, voiced by Candy Candido in his final role, and supposedly his favourite one. Candido had also voiced the Indian Chief in Peter Pan (1953), one of Maleficent’s goons in Sleeping Beauty (1959), and the Captain of the Guard in Robin Hood (1973) for Disney Animation. He was known for his deep bass voice.

Animator Glen Keane, who would go on to animate characters like Ariel and Beast, designed Ratigan. Originally, Ratigan was going to be a very skinny, weaselly-looking rat, but that made him look too similar to Basil, so they had to make him bigger. The character just wasn’t working, until Keane heard the actor Vincent Price in the 1950 film Champagne for Caeser, where Price played corporate chieftain Burnbridge Waters. Keane loved the sharp speed of his lines. Suddenly, Ratigan became a huge rat instead. Supposedly, the stature of Ratigan was based on that of then-Disney president Ron Miller, Walt’s son-in-law, who was 6ft 6in, an ex-football player, and physically intimidating. Luckily, Ron Miller did not recognise anything of himself in the character when the designs were shown to him and he allowed them to go ahead! Vincent Price was 75 years old when he was cast for the film and he generally enjoyed recording for the character, saying in interviews that he “adored” Ratigan. Price made sure to be larger-than-life in his sessions and wanted to put some fun into the evil. He also noticed that his expressive eyebrow movements were put into the character[4]. Ratigan is just an overall great character; devious but also funny.

Vincent Price was an incredible character actor, with numerous credits to his name. Just some of these include appearing in adaptations of Edgar Allan Poe works, such as The House of Usher (1960) and The Haunted Palace (1963). Price also appeared in The Three Musketeers (1948) as Richelieu, and as Baka in the religious epic The Ten Commandments (1956). In popular culture, Price is the voice speaking at the end of the Michael Jackson song “Thriller” and is The Inventor in Tim Burton’s movie Edward Scissorhands (1990). It just so happened that Tim Burton’s lifelong idol was Vincent Price; therefore, Price also narrated the short film Vincent (1982) by Burton. Price died in October 1993, with one of his final film credits being the voice of Zigzag the Grand Vizier in the unfinished animated film The Thief and the Cobbler; a version of which was released in September 1993. Price has received many lifetime achievement awards for his contributions to cinema from organisations such as the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films; the Bram Stoker Awards; and the Los Angeles Film Critics Association. Comedic actor Bill Hader used to impersonate Vincent Price during his tenure on Saturday Night Live from 2005 to 2013, as did actors Dan Aykroyd and Michael McKean during their stints on the show. Well, they do say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery!

MUSIC

In what was surely not what he was most known for, Vincent Price actually sings two of the three original songs that were written for The Great Mouse Detective. Yes, the villain got two songs in this Disney movie! And they are both great, in my opinion. The first is “The World’s Greatest Criminal Mind” and this is Ratigan’s big showpiece that reveals his devious plan to supplant the Queen and make himself “The Supreme Ruler of All Mousedom”. It’s incredibly flashy, full of champagne and jewels, that I can only assume were stolen. Ratigan even has a top hat, cane, and huge cape to fully ensure he is the centre of attention. He even plays the harp at one point as he goes through his sad backstory of being hounded by Basil. The song is briefly halted by Felicia the cat being called, but the rest of the mice soon get back in line and sing about how wonderful Ratigan is again. It’s a very funny, camp song.

His other song is called “Goodbye, So Soon”. It’s such an upbeat song, considering it is telling Basil that he and his friends are about to be eliminated for good. It shows Ratigan’s extreme over-confidence, as it is playing on a record to Basil and Dawson as they are tied to a mouse trap, awaiting their death, because once the record stops playing, there is a very elaborate trigger of mechanisms to eventually release an iron to squish them. Getting this carried away with the overall performance proves to be Ratigan’s undoing, as the song’s length gives Basil enough time to calculate a plan to free all of them, but it’s hilarious. “Goodbye, So Soon” also reappears during the End Credits, as a goodbye to the audience, but don’t worry; this version sounds a lot less threatening than Ratigan’s. You wouldn’t want to traumatise the kids at this stage.

Both songs were written by Henry Mancini, Larry Grossman and Ellen Fitzhugh. Grossman and Fitzhugh had written the 1985 musical Grind together, with their score being nominated for Best Original Score at the Tony Awards that years. Grossman later composed the scores for Disney’s movies such as Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World (1998) and The Princess Diaries 2 (2004) for Disney. Fitzhugh wrote the lyrics for the songs in The Brave Little Toaster to the Rescue (1997).

Henry Mancini won numerous accolades during his career as a composer, winning four Academy Awards, two of which were for his work on Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961) and another for his score for Victor/Victoria (1982). Mancini is also known for composing “The Pink Panther Theme”; “Theme from Love Story”, the 1970 film; and the theme for the Peter Gunn television series (1958-61), just to name a few. Mancini died in June 1994; he received a posthumous Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1995. As well as writing the music for the two songs, Mancini composed the score for The Great Mouse Detective, with this being his first time working on an animated feature. I particularly like the “Main Title” of the film, especially its opening section, which sets you up for a high-paced adventure. “Big Ben Chase” is also a good piece of music, especially as the Big Ben fight scene has barely any dialogue, so the music has to tell the story, and increase the sense of peril, which it does.

The other song in the movie is “Let Me Be Good to You”, which is performed by a mouse bar dancer, which Basil and Dawson hear when they are trying to find their way to Ratigan’s lair. After a quiet introduction, the song changes tone quite quickly, moving into a full-on showgirl number, even down to the point where the mouse pulls off her skirt and starts dancing in a leotard with a feathery tail…And the mice men sure are loving it… I mean, it’s not really risqué, but it is a bit surprising to see in a Disney film.

There was always going to be a song at this point in the film, but it wasn’t that easy for the team to settle on what the song should sound like. Very early on in production, then-CEO of the Walt Disney Company Michael Eisner suggested that perhaps Michael Jackson or Madonna could perform the song here. Henry Mancini had written a song for the scene, called “Are You the One Who Loves Me?”, which was a parody of a Victorian Music Hall tune. It was even recorded by Shani Wallis, who played Nancy in the movie Oliver! (1968). Jeffrey Katzenberg, then-Chairman of the Walt Disney Studios said the tune wasn’t contemporary enough and wanted to bring in Melissa Manchester. She was a Grammy award winner in 1982 for her recording of the song “You Should Hear How She Talks About You”, and two movie themes that she had performed were both nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1980; “Through the Eyes of Love” from Ice Castles (1978) and “I’ll Never Say Goodbye” from The Promise (1979)[5]. Manchester was a big name at the time, so you can see why Katzenberg hired her. She wrote and performed “Let Me Be Good To You” for the film. Manchester would return to Disney to write the songs for Lady and the Tramp II: Scamp’s Adventure (2001).

PRODUCTION

The Great Mouse Detective gets the honour of being the first Disney animated film to be officially approved by the new Disney management of Chief Executive Officer Michael Eisner, President and Chief Operating Officer Frank Wells, and Chairman of the Walt Disney Studios Jeffrey Katzenberg, who came into the company in 1984. However, the first time that an animal version of Sherlock Holmes had been considered at Disney Animation was actually during production on The Rescuers (1977). Eve Titus’ books Basil of Baker Street were mentioned as a possible basis for this Sherlock Holmes-inspired movie. Since this animal detective movie would end up being quite similar to The Rescuers, it was decided the project would have to wait a while.

It’s a good thing too, because Disney’s story for Basil of Baker Street took years to figure out, as it was discussed in the early 1980s with former CEO Ron Miller. Originally, Olivia was going to be older and a potential love interest for Basil, however, Miller suggested making her a little girl instead to gain audience sympathy. Other ideas such as a seedy informant of Basil’s were removed, and a whole instrumental scene around lamplighters, written by Henry Mancini, was also cut. Burny Mattinson and John Musker were named as the directors of the film, but when Ron Miller was ousted from the Walt Disney Company in 1984, Roy E. Disney wanted Mattinson to be both producer and director. Eventually, it was decided this was too much work, and another director, Ron Clements, was brought in; Clements had always been a fan of Sherlock Holmes. Over three years of work had been done on the movie by the time the new management came in, yet in order to proceed, the entire film had to be re-pitched.

So, the storyboards were laid out and the team went through the whole movie. The pitch took around three hours, and by the end of it, Michael Eisner and Jeffrey Katzenberg were very confused and couldn’t even remember most of what they’d been told. It was decided that as the animators were being paid whether they made this particular movie or not, the movie was indeed approved – but with two caveats. The first was that the movie’s release date was being brought forward to July 1986, instead of the original date of Christmas 1987, giving the animators only a year and a half to animate the full movie. The second caveat was that the budget was going to be less than half of the budget of The Black Cauldron (1985), which ended up at around $44 million when it was released in July 1985.

The Black Cauldron was a huge failure at the box-office, something that would not be forgotten quickly by the new management, who did not have sufficient time to “fix” the movie before its release date. To make matters worse, in Christmas 1985, One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961) was re-released in theatres and made $33 million, making it the most successful re-release in Disney history. Disney Animation were already concerned for their jobs, as they had been moved out of the original animation building in Burbank, over to a building in Glendale, which was an uninspiring place to say the least. The whole department were just waiting to be fired, as rumours had also been circulating that management planned to simply re-issue all the previous Disney animated films as there were plenty “in the vault”, and didn’t want to make any more. To celebrate what they believed to be “the end of Disney Animation”, the animators acted out a full-scale re-enactment of Apocalypse Now (1979) in their dingy office space. Finally, the two warring sides of Jeffrey Katzenberg and the animators had to settle their differences; Katzenberg told them he wanted to learn about animation, as he had never worked on animated movies before, having come from Paramount with Michael Eisner, but that they had to make good movies that were financially viable. It was decided by the animators that it was best to get on board and see where this wild ride took them, so work on Basil of Baker Street continued[6].

The animators were inexperienced and unproven, although some of these did become very big names in the Disney world: Glen Keane, Andreas Deja, Rob Minkoff, Mark Dindal, and Ruben Aquino. The directing team of Musker and Clements were also inexperienced, and they were not given much time to animate the movie. The runtime was cut from 90 minutes to around 75 minutes to save money, using a smaller cast of characters and a tight, fast-paced story. However, a lower budget didn’t mean that the team wanted to forget about technological innovation.

Although The Black Cauldron contains the first ever use of computer-assisted animation in a Disney film, it was never marketed that way, whereas the two-minute computer-assisted scene in what became known as The Great Mouse Detective was; this was the first time hand-drawn characters had been added to a computer-generated background and it can all be seen in the final battle between Ratigan and Basil. The finale was first going to be a fight scene on the hands of Big Ben’s clock, but layout artist Mike Pereza asked if it could be restaged inside the clock, because he had been inspired by a similar scene in Hayao Miyazaki’s animated movie Castle of Cagliostro (1979)[7]. Peraza was even allowed inside Big Ben for research purposes, even though public tours were not allowed. He noticed how the entire tower would vibrate every time the bells chimed, which I think is recreated well in the movie. Peraza also made sure to capture any photographs from ground height so they were at “mouse level” to replicate how the mice characters would see and interact with everything. Whilst in London, other popular sites were photographed in this way, such as Buckingham Palace and Tower Bridge[8]. Having the mice navigate the perilous clockwork and gears made for an exciting finale, and the scene recreates 54 moving gears, winches, ratchets, beams and pulleys. I particularly like the part where Olivia is trapped within a cog about to be squashed by its counterpart, when Basil grabs a rope which takes him up to pull her out of there just in time. The computer allowed Disney to play about with camera angles to suit the action of the scene, instead of being limited to panning into artwork. This paved the way for further use of computer animated sequences within animated films, for example, the ballroom scene in Beauty and the Beast (1991)[9].

Although the movie was originally titled Basil of Baker Street, as per the book series, the marketing department changed the movie to The Great Mouse Detective, which angered some of those who’d worked on the film. Disney said that test audiences did not like how “British” the title sounded, but to others, it felt that they were “dumbing down” the title for no good reason. One artist even sent out a fake memo, in the name of Peter Schneider, then-president of Walt Disney Feature Animation, saying that all previous titles of Disney animated movies were to be renamed. Some examples of these included “Seven Little Men Help a Girl” for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) and “The Girl with the See-Through Shoes” for Cinderella (1950). This was another case of animators clashing with the new management team, and the joke soon spiralled out of control to the point where Peter Schneider called all of the animators to a meeting. But instead of telling everyone who wasn’t happy to get out, Schneider said he wanted to make great movies here and that settled the animators down to some extent. The memo was so infamous that it even ended up as a category on Jeopardy! in January 1987[10]. It is worth noting though that in some countries, including the UK, the film was released under the name Basil the Great Mouse Detective, so this title is kind of the best of both names.

RECEPTION

The Great Mouse Detective was released on 2^nd July 1986, and brought in a total of $24 million against a budget of $12 million. The film was accompanied by the short Clock Cleaners (1937) which starred Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and Goofy. The Great Mouse Detective received fairly positive reviews from critics and audiences. Some said that this was Disney Animation being as creative and free as they had been in the earliest days of Disney Animation. The use of computer animation was praised, as well as the interesting backgrounds. Many enjoyed the villain of Ratigan and the quick pacing. It was seen as a fun, enjoyable Disney movie, though some do not feel it ranked highly against others in the Disney catalogue. This was all very positive and a good step forward for Disney Animation.

However, the shine of their success faded four months later in November 1986, when the movie An American Tail (1986), another “mouse movie”, which was a collaboration between Universal Studios, Steven Spielberg, and Don Bluth – the animator who had worked at the Disney Studios up until 1979 when he left the Studios taking half the animators with him – would do even better at the box-office, beating out The Great Mouse Detective by $22 million. At the time, An American Tail became the highest-grossing non-Disney animated movie in history. This was a bit of a blow to the Disney Studios, but it is worth noting that many critics felt An American Tail was depressing, and compared it less favourably to The Great Mouse Detective. The Great Mouse Detective was later re-released in theatres in 1992 under the name The Adventures of the Great Mouse Detective, before being brought out on VHS and Laserdisc.

LEGACY

Even with this legacy of setting Disney Animation back on the path to greatness, The Great Mouse Detective is not generally remembered by a large proportion of Disney fans, nor is it referenced at the Disney Parks. After that fake memo by an unnamed Disney animator, as retaliation, marketing funds were apparently pulled from the movie prior to its release. Roy E. Disney personally funded the creation of “meet-and-greet” characters for the parks, which is why costumes for only Basil and Ratigan existed[11]. These two were seen at the Disney Parks, at least the two US parks – it is unclear if they were ever at Tokyo Disneyland, the only other Disney Park to be open in 1986 – around the time of the film’s release but gradually became rarer and rarer to see, before apparently being officially retired in 2004. I have not been able to find evidence of Basil or Ratigan being seen since then, even at Special Events, but perhaps their time to return will come. But with all Disney animated movies, including the forgotten ones, you can see a tiny clip of The Great Mouse Detective within the finale of the Wonderful World of Disney Animation nighttime show at Disney’s Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida.

Around the movie’s milestone anniversaries, you are most likely to find merchandise, though you might be lucky and be able to find a pin or two of the characters. In 2021, for the film’s 35^th anniversary, a MagicBand and Christmas ornament were released. As part of the Disney100, different decade collections were released. Disappointingly, The Great Mouse Detective was not included in the 80s Decade Collection line, which instead chose to focus on Chip ‘n’ Dale: Rescue Rangers (1989-90), Oliver & Company (1988), and Roger Rabbit. Even The Black Cauldron (1985) got a new MagicBand+ here!

The animated characters did make appearances in some episodes of House of Mouse (2001-03) and in the short film Once Upon a Studio (2023) alongside pretty much every character in Disney Animation history. In recent years, there have also been Funko Pop’s in the form of Ratigan and Basil, and Ratigan was included in the Disney Villainous board game, alongside Scar from The Lion King (1994) and Yzma from The Emperor’s New Groove (2000) in the Evil Comes Prepared expansion pack.

Another thing to mention is that in 2002, there was going to be a Mickey Mouse short in honour of his 75^th anniversary that would have featured Basil of Baker Street helping Minnie Mouse find Mickey who has been “mousenapped”. It was to be called The Search for Mickey Mouse and would’ve featured multiple cameos from Disney characters, but was cancelled due to struggles writing an interesting story idea. A live-action remake of The Great Mouse Detective was also rumoured in 2019, however, it was never announced by Disney as being in development, and no progress has been made on it.

FINAL THOUGHTS

If it weren’t for The Great Mouse Detective, it’s possible the Disney Animation department would have ceased to exist. After all, it’s not like Disney weren’t aware that they had a huge list of titles that could simply be re-released over and over again, especially as the VHS tape was becoming popular in the 1980s. The directors had a huge part to play in saving Disney animation as Ron Clements and John Musker would be the two to pitch the story and then direct The Little Mermaid (1989), the film that began Disney’s “Renaissance”.

I really like The Great Mouse Detective. It’s one of those Disney films that I watch over and over again, and never tire of. It shows a big turning point in Disney animation after several years of trouble, and it’s a good watch. It’s definitely one of those underrated classics that deserves more attention than it gets. It will always be one of my favourites regardless.

REFERENCES

[1] Credit: Jim Korkis, The Vault of Walt Vol. 3 (2014), ‘The Great Mouse Detective: Basil of Baker Street’, pp. 55-65.

[2] Credit: Jim Korkis, Everything I Know I Learned from Disney Animated Films (2015), ‘The Great Mouse Detective (1986)’, pp. 76-78.

[3] Credit: Jim Korkis, The Vault of Walt Vol. 3 (2014), ‘The Great Mouse Detective: Basil of Baker Street’, pp. 55-65.

[4] Credit: Jim Korkis, ‘In Their Own Words: Glen Keane and Vincent Price on Ratigan’, CartoonResearch.com, 22^nd October 2021.

[5] Credit: Jim Korkis, The Vault of Walt Vol. 3 (2014), ‘The Great Mouse Detective: Basil of Baker Street’, pp. 55-65.

[6] Credit: Don Hahn, Waking Sleeping Beauty (2009).

[7] Credit: Jim Korkis, Everything I Know I Learned from Disney Animated Films (2015), ‘The Great Mouse Detective (1986)’, pp. 76-78.

[8] Credit: Jim Korkis, The Vault of Walt Vol. 3 (2014), ‘The Great Mouse Detective: Basil of Baker Street’, pp. 55-65.

[9] Credit: Jim Fanning, ‘Did You Know? Unravel 8 Sneaky Facts from The Great Mouse Detective’, D23 (online), 30th June 2016.

[10] Credit: Don Hahn, Waking Sleeping Beauty (2009).

[11] Credit: Jim Korkis, The Vault of Walt Vol. 3 (2014), ‘The Great Mouse Detective: Basil of Baker Street’, pp. 55-65.

19th Jan 202427th Jun 2024 by The Disney Purist

#24 The Fox and the Hound (1981)

BACKGROUND

The Fox and the Hound was the first Disney animated feature of the 1980s, and is the official moment that the “Nine Old Men”, Walt Disney’s original team of animators, retired from the Disney Studios, thus leaving the Studios’ legacy to a new crop of animators.

The 1980s in general were a transitional period for everyone involved, because after the new animators began to go it alone on new animated feature films, a major change to management would cause upheaval and tensions between the artists and the executives. But that wasn’t a problem during The Fox and the Hound, and yet it isn’t considered one of Disney’s best movies, with many stating that it was missing some of that charm and magic of their earlier films. It was a safe film to make, especially with this “changing of the guard”, but followed a similar pattern to those Disney films of the 1970s; they were nice enough, and entertaining for children, but they just weren’t exciting or anything new.

To be honest, I wasn’t looking forward to watching The Fox and the Hound. I hadn’t seen it in at least ten years, probably more than that. I don’t like nature particularly, and, like Bambi (1942), The Fox and the Hound was always a film I tended to avoid for that reason. I didn’t think I liked it; I thought I’d find it very boring, but in actual fact, it wasn’t so bad.

I agree that The Fox and the Hound is not ground-breaking, and some of the movie is quite dark. I hadn’t watched it in quite a few years, so I thought the bit where Chief fell off the train tracks was the ending, and I didn’t remember the bear fight scene at all. Whether I used to walk out of the room at that point when I was younger and hadn’t seen it before, I don’t know. But as someone who struggles to watch nature documentaries because nature is just horrible sometimes, this will never be one of my favourites. But I didn’t mind it as much as I thought I would, and the animation was more realistic and much less cartoony than some of the features that would follow in the 1980s.

Some parts of it were not particularly exciting for me though. I like the beginning, when Tod and Copper are young because they’re so cute, but I found the parts of them growing up to be a bit slow. The ending was good, in that it was dramatic, although it was perhaps too realistic to nature for me, but I think I am in the minority here as The Fox and the Hound seems to have a large number of loyal fans. I’m not as interested in other Disney films about animals like The Lion King (1994), and that’s because I connect more to stories about people than the animal kingdom, but, like I said, I didn’t really mind watching The Fox and the Hound; it was alright.

PLOT

As is clear from the title, this film is about a fox and a hound. The opening scene shows a fox carrying her young cub as she is being pursued by hunters and their hound dogs. The fox leaves her cub in some tall grass, near a fence by a farmhouse, before running away, only to be, presumably, shot dead. The fox cub is left alone. Luckily, a nearby owl, Big Mama, a woodpecker, Boomer, and a finch called Dinky, make sure that the farmer widow, Widow Tweed, takes the cub home to raise. At the same time, the farm next door, owned by hunter Amos Slade, brings home a hound puppy, telling his current dog, Chief, to train him to become a hunting dog. We find the fox has been named Tod, and the dog, Copper. After Tod becomes bored one day, looking for someone to play with, he comes across Copper, and the two become unlikely friends, playing hide and seek together, and swimming in the nearby lake, neither aware of their natural rivalry to each other. However, Slade, annoyed at Copper constantly running off, places him on a leash, so when Tod comes over to play, he is unable to. Instead, Tod wakes up Chief accidentally and a chase ensues.

Slade, annoyed at this fox, tries to shoot him dead, however, Widow Tweed intervenes, with Slade warning her that if the fox comes on to his property again, he’ll kill it. Soon, Slade takes Copper and Chief away on a months-long hunt, while Tod waits patiently for his friend to return. Big Mama, Boomer, and Dinky try to tell Tod that when Copper returns, he’ll be a fully trained hunting dog and that they won’t be able to be friends anymore, but Tod doesn’t believe them. Sure enough, when Copper returns the next spring, both of them now adults, he warns Tod away from him, saying they can’t be friends now. During this conversation, Chief and Slade awaken and the two, plus Copper, chase after Tod, finally ending up near a railway track. Copper initially lets Tod escape, however, Chief does not, with both Tod and Chief getting on to the tracks, only for Chief to be hit by an incoming train, falling to the stream below, but, fortunately, only suffering a broken leg. But this is enough for Slade and Copper to decide to dedicate their time to solely hunting Tod.

Widow Tweed, realising she can no longer keep Tod safe, regretfully leaves him at a game reserve to live out the rest of his life. Tod has no idea how to look after himself and has a terrible first day there in the pouring rain, upsetting numerous other animals, including a very grouchy badger. The next morning, Tod is introduced to a young female fox, Vixey, by Big Mama. Vixey helps Tod learn how to live in the forest. However, soon the peace is ruined, as Slade and Copper trespass onto the reserve to hunt for Tod. Tod and Vixey somehow escape Slade’s numerous traps and tricks, and get away. Slade and Copper encounter a bear, who attacks Slade, with him falling down the cliff, getting his foot caught in one of his own traps. Copper starts to attack the bear, but is quickly overpowered. Tod goes back to help him by attacking the bear himself. Tod and the bear continue their fight near to a waterfall, and both fall to the ground below. Tod is injured but alive – I presume the bear is killed; it’s not clear. As Slade comes up to Tod to finally shoot him dead, Copper stands in his way, wanting to protect Tod for saving them both. Slade accepts this and returns home with Copper, with Copper and Tod reconciling, at least briefly. The final scene shows Slade having to be nursed by Widow Tweed for his injured foot; Copper and Chief carrying on as normal with Chief having recovered; and Tod and Vixey are happy in the wild together, overlooking the farmhouses from the top of a nearby hill.

CHARACTERS & CAST

In the movie, Tod is quite a mischievous fox. He doesn’t initially warm to Widow Tweed but as soon as he gets inside the house and she starts doting on him, he becomes a bit spoilt. She can’t bear to stay angry at him, even after he upsets her cow by playing around in the barn because he’s bored. When he gets older, Tod still doesn’t seem to have learnt from his mistakes, continuing to push his luck with Slade and Chief, ultimately causing him to be given up by Widow Tweed and left at the reserve to fend for himself. If it weren’t for Vixey and Big Mama, I don’t know how long he would’ve survived because he’s never had to do anything for himself up until that point; it’s all just been having fun and playing around. We do see, though, that Tod is a very loyal friend. He’s not the one to turn his back on the friendship with Copper. Even when he’s being chased down and it’s quite clear Copper does not see them as friends anymore, Tod still risks his life to save Copper by going after the bear that’s attacking them, even though he’s unlikely to win that fight. References to Robin Hood and Maid Marian from Disney’s Robin Hood (1973) were made for the overall designs of Tod and Vixey. With both couples being foxes it made sense to do this, with Tod and Vixey obviously being made to look like real foxes that walk on four legs, instead of two.

Keith Coogan, credited here as Keith Mitchell, voices Young Tod, this being his first acting job. Coogan is the grandson of actor Jackie Coogan, who portrayed Uncle Fester in The Addams Family television series (1964-66), amongst other things. Adult Tod was voiced by acting legend Mickey Rooney, who appeared on stage and screen from the 1920s, as a child actor, into the 2010s. For Disney, he appeared in Pete’s Dragon in 1977 as the character Lampie, before voicing Tod here. He also made a brief cameo appearance in The Muppets (2011), during the song “Life’s a Happy Song”. Rooney was nominated for two Academy Awards during his career: in 1939 for his role in Babes in Arms (1939) with Judy Garland, and in 1980 for his part in The Black Stallion (1979). He won an Emmy and a Golden Globe in 1981 as the lead actor in the made-for-television film Bill (1981), alongside Dennis Quaid. In the 2000s and 2010s, Rooney reached a new audience playing the part of Gus, a retiring security guard, alongside Dick Van Dyke and Ben Stiller in the Night at the Museum trilogy of films (2006-14). Rooney passed away in April 2014 at the age of 93.

Tod’s love interest, Vixey was voiced by Sandy Duncan. She had appeared in Disney-produced comedy films, like The Million Dollar Duck (1971) and The Cat from Outer Space (1978), and later voiced the character of Queen Uberta in The Swan Princess (1994); that series of films was created by Richard Rich, co-director of The Fox and the Hound.

Copper, on the other hand, is torn as a puppy between being loyal to his Master, Amos Slade, and Chief, as well as wanting to be friends with Tod, his natural enemy. He has a relatively good balance between the two sides, I think, though he is forced to be more loyal to Slade and Chief when he gets put on a leash to stop him wandering off all the time. When Copper is grown, he realises that he can no longer be friends with Tod as his aim is to hunt now. He tries to let Tod down gently, but Tod won’t listen to him. Even when Copper lets Tod escape that night on the railway line, Tod’s stubbornness is basically what leads to Chief’s injury and Copper’s hatred towards him for injuring his mentor. Copper has to follow Slade’s orders as his Number 1 hunting dog, and a dog is always loyal to its human. Copper does value Tod’s friendship in the end, and is thankful to Tod for saving his life. They reconcile, but by this point, both of them know that things can’t go back to the way they were. Copper has fond memories of their childhood friendship, but knows it won’t happen again. I think both Copper and Tod are incredibly cute when they’re puppies, especially Copper when he’s trying to bark and howl! But I prefer Copper to Tod as adults, because he’s well aware of how the world is. Even though it’s not fair, he accepts it.

Kurt Russell provides the voice for Adult Copper. Russell has a long history with the Walt Disney Company, having first been cast by Walt Disney himself for a role in the film Follow Me, Boys! (1966) at the age of 14. He continued to appear in other Disney movies throughout the 1960s and 1970s, including in the Dexter Riley trilogy of movies. Russell would return to the Disney studios again in the 2000s to star in Miracle (2004) and Sky High (2005), and as Ego in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the 2010s. Outside of Disney, Kurt Russell is known for many movie roles, such as appearing alongside his wife Goldie Hawn in the comedy Overboard (1987), Mr. Nobody in some of the Fast and Furious films, and as Santa Claus in the Netflix film The Christmas Chronicles (2018) and its 2020 sequel. Young Copper also has a famous voice actor, this being Corey Feldman. As a child actor, he would appear in the likes of Gremlins (1984), The Goonies (1985), and Stand by Me (1986).

Chief is Copper’s mentor, essentially. He is Slade’s aging hunting dog, and knowing that he won’t be around for ever, Slade gets Copper as a puppy to take his place eventually. Chief is told to look after Copper and teach him how to act. At first, Chief is annoyed by this puppy, taking over his space, getting in the way, but soon enough, Chief grows to like Copper. I think the relationship between the two is quite sweet, and it’s clear that both of them are protective of each other – Chief, by telling Copper not to run off and to stay focused on what Slade’s orders and rules are, and Copper, by vowing to not let Tod get away with injuring Chief. Which is a bit dark, but still, it’s a nice sentiment! Pat Buttram voices Chief. Buttram was cast in Disney animated films through the 1970s, as the Sheriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood (1973), Luke in The Rescuers (1977), and Napoleon in The Aristocats (1970).

Then, there is Big Mama the owl, Boomer the woodpecker, and Dinky the finch. Big Mama is kind of like the conscience of the film, like Jiminy Cricket in a way. She finds someone to adopt Tod, when he’s left alone in the thick grass, telling him everything is going to be fine when he must be quite scared to be separated from his mother. She also encourages the friendship with Copper, at least initially when they are small, thinking it’s extraordinary that two natural enemies could ever be friends at any point in their lives. But then Big Mama is also the one who tries to tell Tod that when Copper returns from the hunting trip in the spring that he will be a different dog, and won’t be able to be friends with Tod anymore; that they are both rivals in nature and nothing can change that – not that Tod listens, of course! Big Mama also introduces Tod to Vixey, knowing that he needs someone to help him figure out how to live in the natural world. She’s a very important character in the film, helping to lead Tod to a good life, with or without the safety of Widow Tweed. Pearl Bailey voices Big Mama, as well as sings three of the movie’s five songs. Bailey was an American actress and singer, having appeared on stage in productions such as Hello, Dolly! in 1975 as the titular role, and on screen in films such as the musical Porgy and Bess (1959) and her own variety show, The Pearl Bailey Show, in 1971. The Disney animators liked how expressive Bailey was when performing her role as Big Mama and made sure to incorporate her movements into the character[1].

Boomer and Dinky aren’t overly relevant to the main storyline. They have their own sub-plot where they are constantly trying to catch a very sneaky and lucky caterpillar, Squeaks, by tricking it, coercing it, harassing it. Poor thing. The two birds are the comic relief in the movie, and I remember their scenes more vividly from childhood than the scenes of Adult Tod and Copper, so I must’ve wanted to focus on them and their silly antics more than the hunting storyline, unsurprisingly. In the end, though, Boomer and Dinky find that the caterpillar has become a brightly coloured butterfly, and they are entranced by it. The butterfly flies off, free from them at last. It’s a bit of a random subplot but I think it’s necessary for small children watching, to distract them from the horrors of nature. The voice of Dinky, Dick Bakalyan was Russell’s co-star in the Dexter Riley films, playing Cookie to Russell’s Dexter Riley. Boomer is voiced by Paul Winchell, perhaps most remembered for being the original voice of Tigger in the Winnie the Pooh shorts.

Amos Slade and Widow Tweed are the only two human characters in the film. They both have quite a lot in common. They are both older, single people; they are next door neighbours, both living on farmland – though Widow Tweed actually farms, and Slade uses his land for hunting purposes. They are both raising animals, though in different ways, with Slade being quite clear that Copper is going to become a hunting dog, and not a pet, and Widow Tweed almost using Tod as a substitute child. I’m reluctant to call Slade a villain. He’s a hunter and I don’t agree with hunting, but he’s not really the villain of the piece. He doesn’t shoot Tod at the end, when he could do; although Copper doesn’t want him to, that isn’t going to affect Slade’s decision making, so he must have accepted at that point that Tod did save his life and he should be spared. He’s also caring towards his dogs, so he’s not a bad guy, really. Widow Tweed is much more caring towards everyone though, even Slade. The relationship between the pair is quite tense at times, with Widow Tweed having to come to Tod’s defence often and protecting him against Slade. Slade is almost a bit fearful of Tweed, I think, as she can give it back as good as she gets it! I like them both as characters and the best part is at the end of the movie, when Tweed is bandaging Slade’s foot, being his nurse, even though he clearly wants to be left alone! They have a funny relationship. I wonder if they secretly like each other…

Amos Slade’s voice is Jack Albertson, Grandpa Joe in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971). Not that that’s all his known for, of course, but it’s what I know the voice from. Before this, he had won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in the drama The Subject Was Roses (1968), having already won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in the stage version in 1965. Albertson was also known for his role in the sitcom Chico and the Man (1974-78), for which he won a Primetime Emmy in 1976. The Fox and the Hound was Albertson’s final theatrical film role before his death in November 1981. Jeanette Nolan voices Widow Tweed. She is the voice of the character Ellie Mae in The Rescuers (1977). Her husband, John McIntire, also voiced a character in both The Fox and the Hound and The Rescuers. In The Fox and the Hound, he is the voice of the badger, and in The Rescuers he is Rufus, the orphanage cat. Another small voice appearance here is John Fielder as the voice of Porcupine. Fiedler is best known for being the original voice of Piglet in the Winnie the Pooh franchise.

PRODUCTION

There are a few intense scenes in The Fox and the Hound, with all that hunting, but the book is much worse. The book of the same name, written by Daniel P. Mannix, and published in 1967, is much more realistic to real-life, with more gruesome events. The book starts off with Copper and Chief fighting for rank in Master’s pack, with Copper not being a new addition to the hunting pack but being the favourite dog, until Master is attacked by a bear on a hunt and Chief fights back to save his life, thus becoming the new favourite. Tod has actually been spared by a different hunter who killed all of Tod’s family. The hunter, for some reason, decides to raise Tod for a few months. Unlike the movie, Tod returns to the wild, not for a safety reason, but purely because he’s older now and should live in the forest. Tod then starts to taunt Master’s hunting dogs, and the chase with Chief ensues, where he is actually killed by the train, and doesn’t just break his leg. Copper and Master decide to make it their mission to hunt the fox that killed Chief.

Tod’s life in the woods is explored in more detail in the book, with him having two litters of pups, both being killed by Master: one set are gassed to death, and the other are shot. The book then follows the change from rural to more urbanised settings, explaining that hunting is more difficult now, and that many foxes have become scavengers, with rabies rife among them. Every winter, Master and Copper continue to hunt Tod, but to no avail. After a rabies-ridden fox attacks a group of children, Master organises a hunt. This time, they do get Tod, with Copper relentlessly pursing him until he dies of exhaustion. Copper is close to death but is nursed back to health by Master. Eventually, Master gives in to his family and decides to go to a nursing home. The end of the book alludes to the fact that Copper is shot dead by Master as he wouldn’t be allowed to go with him to the home[2]…So, although the majority of the story was kept into Disney’s movie, at least in some form with some plot points being modified, it was toned down to be less dark and horrifying! I feel like the book was written to state the dangers of hunting, and the problems of destroying natural animal habitats, whereas the Disney movie’s message is about not conforming to stereotypes and tells us that friendships have no boundaries; they don’t need to be hindered by society.

The Fox and the Hound was the last film to be released during the time of the old management, when Ron Miller, son-in-law to Walt Disney, was the President of the Studios. It missed out on the cultural shift and clashes that would come from this change, especially when “outsiders” from other studios, became the ones in top management positions, however, The Fox and the Hound did not avoid all company politics.

The Fox and the Hound was always going to be a learning opportunity for the new crop of animators that were coming through, as the “Nine Old Men”, Walt Disney’s original team of animators and story men, would be retiring partway through production so the newer animators would have to finish it on their own. The likes of Woolie Reitherman, Eric Larson, Frank Thomas, and Ollie Johnston began the film by setting some of the characters and completing some animation before passing it over to the new animators, who had only been at the Disney Studios for a few years at this point and were eager to get started. It was also being used as a teaching opportunity before Ron Miller would let these animators loose on the production of The Black Cauldron (1985), which was being continuously delayed until Miller felt these new, young animators were ready to do the story justice[3].

This was a problem for some animators, who had already been working at the Disney Studios for a number of years, but were now not even the newest crop of animators nor were they the oldest – they were somewhere in the middle. Don Bluth, who had worked for Disney Animation in the 1950s for a few years, and then returned in 1971, had many creative differences with the team during production on The Fox and the Hound, and resigned from the Disney company in 1979 to set up his own company, taking fifteen other animators with him; this was around 17% of the total animation workforce. Naturally, this caused the release date of The Fox and the Hound to be pushed back by six months from Christmas 1980 to Summer 1981. Some of Don Bluth’s work, and that of the other departing animators, was used in the final film, such as Bluth’s animation of Widow Tweed and her cow, Abigail[4].

Wolfgang Reitherman, one of the “Nine Old Men”, was the person who advocated for the making of the film, after reading the original story by Daniel P. Mannix. He’d connected to the story as it made him think about the friendship his son had with the fox he was raising[5]. Reitherman would be the only one of the “Nine Old Men” to stay for the full production of the film. This may’ve been considered a good thing, however, Reitherman and Art Stevens, one of the co-directors, clashed numerous times on story issues, including over whether Chief would die or not. Stevens was against killing off Chief, going against Mannix’s original story, and upper management agreed, so he only suffered a broken leg. Woolie Reitherman felt that although the young animators made a good start with the animation for The Fox and the Hound, proving they were capable of replicating the “Disney style”, the approach to the film wasn’t unique or fantastical enough[6].

But this was a turning point in the history of Disney animation where “the baton was passed” to the younger animators, who would later be known for their involvement in the huge successes of Disney’s Renaissance Era, including names like Ron Clements, John Musker, and Glen Keane, with Keane animating the final bear fight. His staging of the scene was apparently inspired by Tramp battling the dogs in Lady and the Tramp (1955), that scene having been animated by Woolie Reitherman. Tim Burton even did some uncredited inbetweening animation on the character of Vixey, having been teamed up with Glen Keane to try and conform to the Disney style of animation. John Lasseter was also involved in his first animation for a Disney film on The Fox and the Hound, doing inbetweening work on the introduction of Copper and doing some work on Keane’s bear sequence[7].

Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston, two of the “Nine Old Men” worked on many scenes of Copper and Tod, wanting to get across their own lifelong friendship into these characters and their relationship. They were both confident in leaving the legacy of the animation department to the younger animators, having taught them, many one-to-one, on the mechanics of animating, and the importance of developing strong personalities for characters. The older animators knew they would be retiring before the film was finished, and they felt it was almost reminiscent of the story between Copper and Chief in the movie, of the young pup effectively being trained to take over from the veteran hunting dog. The younger animators took every last opportunity they could to learn from these artists and story men, with them applying lessons like the importance of character to later films[8].

MUSIC

The Fox and the Hound does not benefit from an amazing soundtrack. There are five songs in the movie, but for me, these are not particularly exciting or memorable, and nothing compared to the music of later Disney films in the 1980s, going into the 1990s and beyond. Three of the soundtrack’s songs are sung by Pearl Bailey as Big Mama. The two least memorable are “Lack of Education” and “Appreciate the Lady”, both written by singer-songwriter Jim Stafford. I didn’t particularly enjoy either song. “Appreciate the Lady” was a bit too flirty for a Disney film, with Big Mama encouraging Vixey and Tod to become an item as she watches over them, singing from above. It is a bit of a weird scene, I think! But I don’t mind “Best of Friends”, the other song Big Mama sings. The song plays over scenes of Tod and Copper playing when they are young. It’s a sweet song, and is the most remembered song in the film. “Best of Friends” was written by Stan Fidel and Richard O. Johnston, son of the legendary Disney animator Ollie Johnston.

There is also the song “Goodbye May Seem Forever”, performed by Jeanette Nolan, mostly dialogue with a chorus coming in at the end. It’s a sad song for an equally sad scene, of Widow Tweed dropping Tod off at the reserve. It was written by Richard Rich, co-director of the film, and Jeffrey Patch. It shows how emotional both characters are by this ending to their relationship. This song wasn’t too bad either. The other “song” is “A Huntin’ Man”, written by Jim Stafford and performed by Jack Albertson as Slade. It’s just a short tune that Slade sings on his way back from hunts, and isn’t much of a song. I guess it’s more for atmosphere than anything else!

Buddy Baker composed the score for The Fox and the Hound. Baker was hugely involved in many of the musical compositions for Walt Disney Productions, having joined the studio in 1954 to work on some new TV productions that Walt Disney was planning. Baker arranged much of the music for the Winnie the Pooh shorts, and multiple live-action films by Disney. Baker was also involved in composing the scores for Disney theme park attractions such as The Haunted Mansion and Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln.

RECEPTION

The Fox and the Hound grossed more than $60 million worldwide against a $12 million budget on its release in July 1981, however, it divided critics. Some criticised the movie for its darker plot elements, feeling it was unsuitable for young children, but there were also those who felt the story was shielding the audience from the reality of the natural world, and that they could’ve gone further. Others said the movie was not ground-breaking, and was another cartoony feature from Disney, after a string of mostly disappointing animated films in the 1970s. The characters and the music felt familiar, and the message of the movie around how society determines our behaviour was satisfactory, but it was only deemed “good enough”. The only real accolade The Fox and the Hound received was to be nominated at the 9th Saturn Awards in 1982 for Best Fantasy Film. It did not win, losing to Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), however, this was before animated features received their own categories at awards ceremonies. Later reviews would be more favourable towards the Disney movie. It has since been re-released in theatres, and on VHS, DVD, and Blu-Ray over the years, usually for milestone anniversaries.

LEGACY

Although The Fox and the Hound is not a popular Disney animated movie, it did receive a direct-to-video sequel: The Fox and the Hound 2. This sequel was released in 2006, and is set during the childhood of Tod and Copper, so around the first half of the original film. It follows Copper as he longs to join a band of singing stray dogs, called “The Singin’ Strays”, who he sees at the County Fair with Tod. Meanwhile, Tod struggles to accept that his friend might want to join a travelling band instead of play with him. Since The Fox and the Hound 2 came out 25 years after the original film, the voice cast is different. Young Tod and Young Copper were obviously not going to have the same voice actors, so this time they are voiced by Jonah Bobo, who appeared as Steve Carell’s son, Robbie, in Crazy, Stupid, Love (2011), and Harrison Fahn respectively. Interestingly, Patrick Swayze voices Cash, one of the strays in the band, in what is apparently his only voice role. Country music singer and actress Reba McEntire voices another dog, Dixie. Unsurprisingly, this sequel received mostly negative reviews, as many others have.

Not letting the initial reaction to the original film or the sequel put Disney off the franchise, in 2019, a live-action remake of The Fox and the Hound was announced, however, there has been no further news on this since then, so it looks uncertain whether this will be going ahead. Around this time, Disney announced that they would be remaking practically every Disney animated movie that had ever been made, so I think this is just one of many that will end up on the shelf, but who knows.

At the Disney theme parks, there is very little recognition for The Fox and the Hound, however, thanks to the 40^th anniversary of the film in 2021, and the Disney100 celebrations that went on in 2023, there has been more merchandising available in recent years. For example, two plush toys, one of Young Tod and another of Young Copper, have been available to purchase recently, along with a Loungefly backpack, mugs, and various Christmas ornaments. A Disney Traditions figurine of Tod and Copper playing on a log also exists, though new ones don’t seem to be currently being made.

A very small reference to The Fox and the Hound has been spotted at the Disney theme parks, this time at Walt Disney World Resort, but seemingly only comes out during the Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival. Starting in 2022, Squeaks the Caterpillar was first seen on Sneezy’s nose, as part of the Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs topiary display. It was confirmed Squeaks returned in 2023.

There may have been an opportunity to stay in a The Fox and the Hound-themed hotel room at one point, however, sadly this project was cancelled. The resort, named Reflections – A Disney Lakeside Lodge was to be a new Disney Vacation Club resort at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida and would have been constructed on the former site of the River Country waterpark. The hotel planned to use characters from nature-themed animated movies, such as Bambi (1942), Pocahontas (1995), Brother Bear (2003), and The Fox and the Hound, with a restaurant themed to The Princess and the Frog (2009) as well. However, after speculation that the COVID-19 pandemic had simply delayed construction, it was confirmed by Walt Disney World in March 2022 that the project had been completely cancelled.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Though The Fox and the Hound may not be Disney’s most well-known story, it came with an important message: that strong friendships do not have to be separated by circumstances or societal norms. Tod and Copper overcome prejudice and stereotyping over the years to reassert their friendship, with Tod, a fox, risking his life against a huge bear, with the odds not being in his favour, to save his friend, Copper, a hound dog. This lesson is still relevant and will remain relevant forever, so it is a shame that more people don’t look at The Fox and the Hound as a “worthy” Disney film.

The Fox and the Hound, after the surprise success of The Rescuers (1977), unfortunately did not kick-off a new era of brilliant Disney movies. In fact, the 1980s would become one of the most troubling times for Disney animation and the Walt Disney Company as a whole, but it was still important for other reasons, signifying some endings, as well as some new beginnings.

It signalled a new era at the Disney Studios, allowing the newer, young animators their chance to break free from the constraints of Walt Disney’s era, and be able to go forward with their own ideas, eventually giving the world the brilliant movies of the Disney Renaissance Era.

REFERENCES

[1] Credit: Disney, Passing the Baton: The Making of The Fox and the Hound (2003).

[2] Credit: Mari Ness, ‘Well, I’m Traumatized: The Fox and the Hound’, Tor.com (online), 24^th September 2015.

[3] Credit: Don Hahn, Waking Sleeping Beauty (2009).

[4] Credit: Jim Korkis, Everything I Know I Learned from Disney Animated Feature Films (2015), ‘The Fox and the Hound (1981)’, pp. 70-72.

[5] Credit: Brittany DiCologero, ‘Today in Disney History, 1981: The Fox and the Hound Theatrical Debut’, WDW Magazine (online), 10^th July 2021.

[6] Credit: Jim Korkis, ‘Animation Anecdotes #147’, CartoonResearch.com, 31^st January 2014.

[7] Credit: Jim Korkis, Everything I Know I Learned from Disney Animated Feature Films (2015), ‘The Fox and the Hound (1981)’, pp. 70-72.

[8] Credit: Disney, Passing the Baton: The Making of The Fox and the Hound (2003).