[GROAN]
Fox and the Hound 2.
Here we go.
This is yet ANOTHER film that you think of when you think,
"OOH! Crappy Direct-To-DVD Disney Sequel!"
Once again, going back to my original Disneycember review of "The Fox and the Hound,"
I thought it was...good.
You know, not great, but it had some substance there.
It was kinda cutesy, but in the same way Bambi was cutesy,
and it needed to be,
and it kinda tricks kids into thinking it's a light and fluffy story
when suddenly, "WHOA!" It's like a really heavy and dark story.
But, unlike Bambi II, that actually tried to keep that same spirit,
Fox and the Hound 2 is just an obvious cash-in that doesn't try at all.
...well, for the most part. Some of the animation is nice, but...
...yeeeaaah, that's about it.
Todd and Copper suddenly see that the CG Circus is in town!
Why is it CG?
There's no reason, it's just a little cheaper and, yeah, that's just kinda how this movie works.
Copper sees that there's a band called "The Singing Strays,"
and he decides he wants to join!
So he tries to sing, and they say "Hey, you have a good voice,"
"And seeing how our other singer just left,"
"You can join our band!"
But, the other singer doesn't like that she was replaced so quickly,
so she joins up with Todd, who wants to get his best friend back, and says,
"Hey, why don't we try to SABOTAGE them?"
So, she shows that Copper is NOT really a stray.
[le GASP!]
And suddenly, everything is thrown AWOL
and they'll never be able to sing in the Grand Opry
and- Yeah, what the hell does this have to do with the original?!
I'm not gonna act like the original was a classic,
But...BY GOD! It had SOME weight to it!
It was about prejudice!
It was about seeing past hatred!
It was about trying to care for your fellow man told through this story with a dog and a fox!
Yeah, I know that it sounds crazy, but it's because they really tried!
They tried to work with the medium they had and the story they had,
and they produced something that was actually kinda decent!
This is crap!
This is nicely animated-
Actually TOO well animated-
Much better than the original, so it's kinda distracting how well animated it is-
CRAP!
It's just a knock-off!
A knock-off that's not really trying!
I mean, even the idea, "Fox and the Hound 2,"
Unlike Bambi II, where there was this large gap that could be filled in,
and could be interesting, Bambi with his father,
what the hell can you do with Fox and the Hound 2?
I mean, yeah, there is this gap, but...
WHAT'S THERE TO FILL IN?!
Really nothing! The two main characters are separated!
So there's nothing that fascinating you could put in there,
and even if there was something fascinating to put in there, this team wouldn't put it in,
because IT DOESN'T CARE!
Okay, that's mean, I shouldn't say that - IT ACTS LIKE IT DOESN'T CARE!
What we get as a final product just feels like this cheap corporate shell!
If your kids like really bouncy imagery
and some music and just kinda pretty-ish animation,
I mean, it's not really phenomenal, but it's...
...better than average, which again, kinda makes me feel bad,
because why are we putting this good animation to THIS?!
This crappy story- This is the Mulan II of Fox and the Hound sequels!
I know there's only one Fox and the Hound sequel, but...
Yeah! You can see where I'm going with this comparison!
It's Mulan II all over again, except with Fox and the Hound!
It's this really decent, but somehow misguided,
animation that's not given the proper direction.
There's not any investment in the characters!
Honestly, there's almost no reason to call it "Fox and the Hound!"
This could be "Any Characters!"
Any characters could come across this group of singing strays!
Actually, why is it even a Singing Stray thing?
Like, the crowd is watching, saying,
"Wow! It almost sounds like those dogs are really singing!"
BUT THEY ARE REALLY SINGING!
That's really distracting!
Wouldn't, like, the owner be like,
"HOLY FUCKING SHIT!
I have singing dogs, I have to do something with this, but..."
NO!
Does he think it's a record?
But they're really singing- IT MAKES NO SENSE!
And I don't usually think about this, but they try to explain it and THEY SUCK AT IT!
Like everything in this movie SUCKS!
[Sigh}
I was trying to think if there was anything...
Anything in this film that was redeemable,
and I guess I thought of one and a half things.
One is the animation.
Yeah, it is...decent.
The one full scene that I legitimately like
is when the owner of Copper and the owner of Todd are both looking for their pets.
Now, these two don't like each other,
but they cross paths, and they legitimately wish that the other find their pets.
That's a nice scene.
That's something that actually would've been nice to see in the original.
That's heartwarming, it's kinda decent.
Aside from that, it's fluff.
It's pure, 100% fluff.
And, don't get me wrong - if this movie just...
...wanted to be fluff,
if it wanted to be something on its own and just
say, "Hey, here's something for two-year-olds like Baby Einsteins,"
"Except without the education,"
That'd be fine!
But it's not!
It's "The Fox and the Hound 2,"
and when you have that title,
you have to have something that at least is trying to represent the original.
And this one isn't trying.
It has no interest in being the original Fox and the Hound.
It just wants to make some fast money, look kinda cute and then disappear,
well, you know what?
You did it!
You made some fast money, you looked cute and you disappeared!
Whoop-de-frigging-do!
I guess I can give it credit that,
just like Mulan II,
it made me appreciate much more what a good film the original was.
NOW I appreciate what it was doing and
what a great work of prejudice-destroying art it was.
Or, maybe this one was just SO bad that I suddenly think it's a masterpiece in comparison.
But, either way, I guess SOME good is coming out of it!
I'm seeing some more benefit out of the original Fox and the Hound than I did before!
But if you want me to legitimately say Fox and the Hound 2 has something good to offer,
I say, "...woof."