The Fox And The Hound (1981)

The Fox And The Hound is a great Disney movie that just falls short of being a real classic because it all feels a bit "been there, seen that". Yet it's still a very sweet movie with wonderful animation and some moments of heartache and fear that will still affect young children.

With three directors involved and lots of writers, the film follows the standard Disney formula almost to the letter but you can't really blame those involved for being set in their ways when it proves a winner time and time again. This particular tale is apparently based on the book by Daniel P. Mannix but, as is so often the way with Disney adaptations, there are very few similiarities between the book and the end result onscreen.

A small fox is hidden away by a parent who is being hunted and ends up in the home of Widow Tweed (voiced by Jeanette Nolan). This allows him to have a fairly happy and safe life. The fox, named Tod, even befriends, and plays with, a hound, named Copper, belonging to a neighbour. That all has to change at some point and Copper is taken away by his owner to learn how to track and hunt. Tod grows up while awaiting the return of his friend but is still naive enough to believe that nothing else will affect their friendship. Sadly, Copper knows better and when he returns he tries to explain to his friend that they can no longer hang around together. Tod doesn't want to believe this but is soon shown just how things have changed.

With Kurt Russell as the voice of Copper and Mickey Rooney as the voice of Tod, The Fox And The Hound almost feels like a bridge between two ages of Disney. The animation is as lovely as ever and the story is the stuff of classic Disney but the studio had a pretty tough time in the 1980s, not helped by the departure of Don Bluth and a number of other animators who helped birth and develop Sullivan Bluth Studios. In fact, production of this movie was delayed by a year because of the staff departures. Perhaps I'm simply projecting onto the film based on the little I know about the ups and downs of Disney but this certainly feels like one of the last old-fashioned outings that they got right just before faultlines began to run through the House Of Mouse.

However, none of that can detract from the fact that this is an endearing, amusing story with moments of great excitement and a cracking vocal cast that includes Paul Winchell (best known as the voice of Tigger), Richard Bakalyan, Pearl Bailey and Sandy Duncan as well as the stars already mentioned. I recommend it as one of the many great Disney films worth including in any collection of family entertainment.

8/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Fox-And-Hound-DVD/dp/B000M2E7KA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1353432551&sr=8-1

Citizen Toxie: The Toxic Avenger IV (2000)

Within the first 10-15 minutes of the fourth Toxic Avenger movie we get to "enjoy" a gang known as the Diaper Mafia crashing into a classroom full of "special young adults" and laying waste to as many as possible. There's bloodshed, gratuitous nudity, a sickening amount of bodily functions and an absolute lack of anything that even comes close to being politically correct. And so I knew that I was going to enjoy this film a lot more than the third movie.

The Toxic Avenger (David Mattey) this time ends up in Amortville, the evil alternate version of Tromaville, while his place in Tromaville is taken by The Noxious Offender (David Mattey). Good ol' Toxie tries to put right a number of wrongs and find his way home while The Noxious Offender blackens the good name of our herois monster by doing horrid things like ripping the arms off the police chief and quickly reducing the population of Tromaville by means of violent death. He also thinks himself lucky when he eventually finds his way back to the trailer that Toxie calls home, complete with the blind, and now pregnant, wife (played this time by Heidi Sjursen).

Lloyd Kaufman directs this outing on his own but there are a LOT of people responsible for the script, which shows in the sheer amount of rapid-fire tasteless gags, references to other movies and unsubtle satire. Amazingly, it all comes together to produce something that's just a whole lot of shits and giggles (and, yes, that comment can be taken almost literally).

While I didn't really enjoy the fact that so many fart sound effects were placed all over the soundtrack and while I didn't always like the focus on moments featuring faeces, sexual abuse or ejaculations I was never bored and was actually laughing from beginning to end. Admittedly, even someone as thick-skinned as I am couldn't quite believe how far flung from the PC world we inhabit the Troma crew had gone but it's as refreshing to find nowadays as it is juvenile and objectionable.

The cast all either play dumb or get nekkid (or both) with gleeful abandon and there are a number of cameo roles for people like Lemmy (who snagged himself a better role in Tromeo & Juliet but has some fun lines here), Corey Feldman, Ron Jeremy and James Gunn.

If you're a Troma fan who also happens to love films like The Wizard Of Oz and Citizen Kane then you may well love this. If you're a fan of proper cinema who happens to love the aforementioned movies and has never seen two babies in a womb fighting each other with mops then you may well want to avoid this for the duration of your entire life.

6/10.

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