Starring Reba McEntire, Patrick Swayze and Jeff Foxworthy
Written By: Rich Burns and Roger S.H. Schulman
Directed By: Jim Kammerud
Studio: Walt Disney Home Entertainment
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Over the past few years, Disney has revived some of their classic characters and started making more cutesy sequels to movies such as Cinderella and 101 Dalmatians. The Fox and the Hound 2 is one of those attempts at cashing in on a classic.

The story takes place when Tod and Copper (the fox and the hound) are still young pups. The two attend the local fair where Copper meets up with a group of singing dogs known as “The Singing Strays” who want him to join up with their band after an unexpected duet during one of the Strays’ performances. With tensions mounting between the two stars of the Strays and their dreams of fame and fortune going down the drain, Coppers’ acceptance into the group leads to some bouts of jealousy, sing-a-long flashbacks and an animated movie that doesn’t do justice to the main characters or to the original movie.

The first Fox and the Hound movie is one of the greatest movies, not just animated movies ever made. It dealt with many touchy subjects that you just don’t see in animated movies anymore and it provided a great moral that no doubt had a lasting impression on many children and adults since its release twenty-six years ago. With the sequel, all that you are getting is an offshoot adventure that uses the main characters from the first movie with a country bluegrass soundtrack. The big name voice talent is still there (Patrick Swayze, Reba McEntire), the songs, even though they’re country music, fit well into the scheme of things and the animation has evolved with the subtle use of CGI mixed in with good old-fashioned hand drawn animation. There was even a tribute to a couple of country legends we’ve recently lost with characters by the names of Cash and Waylon.

Disney obviously wants to draw in the younger audience more so than they want to create a timeless classic. The story is run-of-the-mill generic cartoon fodder that will appeal to your average 3 to 6 year old that loves watching Dora the Explorer and Sesame Street. For older Disney fans looking to re-discover Tod and Copper, you’re not going to find it here. As with most sequels, The Fox and the Hound 2 was a letdown. I got a couple of chuckles from a few scenes and I actually enjoyed Jeff Foxworthy’s Don Knotts-character Lyle the most but overall, unless you have a couple of rugrats running around your place or you’re in to cutesy cartoons, you should probably steer clear of this one even if you were a big fan of the first one.

Features:
The Making of the Music
Music Video Performed by Lucas Grabeel
Mutt Mix Master DVD-ROM Game
Disney DVD GameWorld Dogs Edition (Playable Demo)
“Goofy and Wilbur” Animated Short

Audio:
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
DTS 5.1 Surround Sound
French and Spanish Language Tracks

Video:
Widescreen (1.78:1) Enhanced for 16×9 Televisions

Subtitles:
N/A

Favorite Scenes: Dixies blues song, the destruction of the fair, the end sequence
Rating: G
Running Time: 69 minutes
Extras Rating:
Overall Rating: