History Fridge / TheFoxAndTheHound

* The end of the film pans out on Tod watching Copper from a hill. It was earlier shown that the widow drove what was possibly hours getting Tod to the reservation, meaning he traveled a long while to look at Copper and his old home one last time.

[[AC:FridgeLogic]]
* Why did Amos Slade keep Chief on a leash but let Copper go unrestrained? It's all well and good to teach your dog to stay near your house on its own accord while it's still young, but shouldn't Slade have been personally watching him during this learning period? There are wild animals all around their house! [[FridgeHorror A puppy Copper's size could get]] ''[[FridgeHorror eaten]]'' [[FridgeHorror if it wanders too far.]]
** In the time period this takes place in, especially in a rural home, this would have been normal animal care. Doesn't make it any better or more sensible, but it fits the mentality of the time.
** Adding further to this, from what's implied, Chief did what Copper did, and that's why he's chained up. So, the reason he might have been allowed to wander around probably wasn't because he allowed to wander around in a sense, just that he had to learn to stay on the property (how Slade expected to accomplish this without actively training Copper is FridgeLogic in itself) or that he expected Chief to keep him out of trouble (again, also FridgeLogic).
* Is Slade going to be arrested for trespassing onto a game preserve? Hunting license or not, Slade was ''poaching'' all because of a petty vendetta.
** He was never caught, and Widow Tweed probably wouldn't turn him in even if he was willing to admit how he got hurt in the first place. All Tweed cared about was Slade trying to hunt Todd, and Slade had given that up by the end of the film.
* When Tod is getting to know Vixey, Dinky and Boomer suddenly show up out of nowhere to watch them.
* During the bear attack, Amos Slade struggles to reach for his gun since his foot is caught in one of his traps. The trap is clearly seen being held down by a post; it would probably take less effort to pull it out of the ground and go for the gun rather than try to pry the trap open.
** Panic, most likely. Amos probably wasn't thinking rationally, and even as a man with obvious survival experience, it's quite possible that in the chaos pulling the post out of the ground didn't occur to him.
** Also, taking the post out might waste time. Those posts are embedded deep in the ground, so the animal can't just run off with the trap. Slade would probably have to kick it several times with his good foot, jiggle it around, and then reposition himself into a kneeling position to pull it straight up out of the ground two-handed. All the while, the trap would be tearing up his leg. Removing the trap simply requires him to get in a kneeling position and using leverage and gravity to force both sides down until the trap locks back into place, then he could get the gun. Not that the type of ammunition Slade had would be at all effective on a bear, mind you, but he was hellbent on saving his dog's life. While he could potentially play dead and let the bear smack him around for 20 minutes, he would be extremely injured and unable to make it back to his car and Copper would almost certainly be dead. Playing dead isn't always effective against bears. Sometimes they will claw, bite, and smack around a "corpse" just for the hell of it. Especially black bears, which are much more vicious than brown bears. Slade almost certainly knew that, and was desperate.
* How exactly did the bear hitting the log cause him to fall? We only see him hit the branch Tod was holding onto, then suddenly the entire log falls. Was this an animation goof and the bear was supposed to break the log in half?
** Most likely, judging by how the log shifts and falls partly when the bear steps on it, and the log is only ''just'' big enough to fit across the gap. What we are meant to infer is that the bear hitting the branch and breaking it dislodged it enough for the log to just fall free, [[HoistByHisOwnPetard with the bear on it]]. That, or the bear's paw hit both the branch, and partly hit the log itself, and with the bear's shown enormous strength and its weight already pressing on it, the log just snapped completely. With the bear's weight, and if the log was decayed partially, it's possible if it stood on that log long enough, that would've been enough on its own.

* Between the burning grass and Copper, Tod chose to try his luck by jumping through the flames. Copper used to be Tod's best friend, and now he became ''scarier than the fire''. Then again, facing Copper also meant facing Amos's shotgun. Tod took what he considered the safer route through the fire.

* When Copper starts leaving his barrel to go play with Tod, Chief makes a point to tell him how upset Amos Slade will be about it. True to this prediction, Copper is put on a leash for his misbehavior. Before Copper started wandering off, what was the biggest difference in how Amos Slade treated Chief and Copper? Chief was always kept on a leash. He had been trying to warn Copper about losing his privileges the same way that he did when he was younger.
* Chief is ''dramatically'' outshone in tracking abilities once Copper shows up. Old age? Not likely. Chief looks like a shaggy greyhound-esque breed or mix--lean, tall, long thin muzzle, small ears, no wrinkles. In other words, he's a ''sighthound.'' Sighthounds are bred for just that--flushing and chasing prey based on line-of-sight, working in tandem with the handler. ''Scenthounds'' like Copper have been designed through thousands of years of breeding to locate prey by smell alone. They're just built for different styles of hunting. Copper was always going to be better at the kind of tracking-heavy hunting style his master prefers.

* Naturally Copper is frightened when he gets the scent of the bear. Bears are TheDreaded and even game hunters consider them dangerous, so he was no doubt trained to avoid bears.

** The fox's father isn't seen despite foxes being monogamous and the fox fathers helping to raise the cubs. Shouldn't he have been helping to defend his mate and cub against the hunters unless..[[TearJerker ooh.]] It's likely the reason why Tod's mom was able to get her cub away safely for a while was probably because [[HeroicSacrifice her mate stayed behind to fend off the hounds or at least serve as a distraction.]] [[HarsherInHindsight In hindsight, this makes the scene where Tod confronts Copper so Vixey can get away even harder to watch.]]
* It's a good thing this is a Disney movie, or the movie would have ended as soon as Big Mama saw a newborn fox cub left by its mother--great horned owls ''eat'' fox cubs if given the chance in real life.

* When the bear hits Tod or Copper, he sends them flying, but when he hit Amos all he did was knock him down the hill. Amos is heavier than them, but bear also uprooted a dead tree so that probably didn't factor in. But given how lightly he seemed to hit Amos, it gives the hint that the bear was just trying to knock his gun out of his hand. Between that and how the bear slows down when it looks like his victims are down for the count and winds up more before trying to strike them (and rather oddly only uses his teeth once), paints the bear as especially cruel and that he enjoys frightening his victims before killing them. After Amos shot him the bear wanted him to feel helpless in retaliation for shooting him.

** Adding to this, from what's implied, Chief did what Copper did and that's ''why'' he's chained up, so the reason why he might have been allowed to wander around probably wasn't because he allowed to wander around in a sense, just that he had to learn to stay on the property (how Slade expected to accomplish this without actively training Copper is FridgeLogic in itself) or that he expected Chief to keep him out of trouble (again, also FridgeLogic).

** He was never caught and Widow Tweed probably wouldn't turn him in even if he was willing to admit how he got hurt in the first place. All Tweed cared about was Slade trying to hunt Todd and Slade had given that up by the end of the film.

** Also, taking the post out might waste time. Those posts are embedded deep in the ground so the animal can't just run off with the trap. Slade would probably have to kick it several times with his good foot, jiggle it around, and then reposition himself into a kneeling position to pull it straight up out of the ground two handed. All the while the trap would be tearing up his leg whereas removing the trap simply requires him to get in a kneeling position and using leverage and gravity to force both sides down until the trap locks back into place then he could get the gun. Not that the type of ammunition Slade had would be at all effective on a bear, mind you, but he was hellbent on saving his dog's life. While he could potentially play dead and let the bear smack him around for 20 minutes, he would be extremely injured and unable to make it back to his car and Copper would almost certainly be dead. Playing dead isn't always effective against bears. Sometimes they will claw, bite, and smack around a "corpse" just for the hell of it. Especially black bears which are much more vicious than brown bears. Slade almost certainly knew that and was desperate.

** Most likely, judging by how the log shifts and falls partly when the bear steps on it, and the log is only ''just'' big enough to fit across the gap, what we are meant to infer is that the bear hitting the branch and breaking it dislodged it enough for the log to just fall free, [[HoistByHisOwnPetard with the bear on it]]. That, or the bear's paw hit both the branch, and partly hit the log itself, and with the bear's shown enormous strength and its weight already pressing on it, the log just snapped completely. With the bear's weight, and if the log was decayed partially, it's possible if it stood on that log long enough, that would've been enough on its own.

* Although it's more like Fridge Sadness: The end of the film pans out on Tod watching Copper from a hill. It was earlier shown that the widow drove what was possibly hours getting Tod to the reservation, meaning he traveled a long while to look at Copper and his old home one last time.

* At the end, when Squeaks, the elusive caterpillar that Dinky and Boomer chase throughout the film, turns into a butterfly and Dinky and Boomer decide to let him go, it's a reflection on the larger plot where the hunters and prey reconcile.

* Between the burning grass and Copper, Tod chose to try his luck by jumping through the flames. Copper used to be Tod's best friend, and now he became ''scarier than the fire''.

* Tod survives the fall that kills the bear. One's first assumption would be that he should have suffered even more damage, but [[https://www.reddit.com/r/askscience/comments/tpece/why_are_smaller_animals_generally_able_to_survive/ less force is inflicted on animals with less mass in a fall]]. ("[[Literature/FeetOfClay A spider'll not even notice a drop like this, a mouse'd walk away, a horse'd break every bone in its body and an elephant would spla-]]")

* At the end, when Squeaks, the elusive caterpillar that Dinky and Boomer chase throughout the film, turns into a butterfly, it's a reflection on the larger plot where the hunters and prey reconcile.

* At the end, when Squeaks, the elusive caterpillar that Dinky and Boomer chase throughout the film, turns into a butterfly, it's a [[NotSoDifferent reflection on the larger plot]] where the hunters and prey reconcile.

* At the end, when Squeaks, the elusive caterpillar that Dinky and Boomer chase throughout the film, turns into a butterfly, it's a reflection on the larger plot where the hunters and prey reconcile.

** Most likely, judging by how the log shifts and falls partly when the bear steps on it, and the log is only ''just'' big enough to fit across the gap, what we are meant to infer is that the bear hitting the branch and breaking it dislodged it enough for the log to just fall free, [[HoistByHisOwnPetard with the bear on it]].

* How exactly did the bear hitting the log cause him to fall? We only see him hit the branch Tod was holding onto, then suddenly the entire log falls. Was this an animation goof and the bear was supposed to break the log in half?

** Also, taking the post out might waste time. Those posts are embedded deep in the ground so the animal can't just run off with the trap. Slade would probably have to kick it several times with his good foot, jiggle it around, and then reposition himself into a kneeling position to pull it straight up out of the ground two handed. All the while the trap would be tearing up his leg whereas removing the trap simply requires him to get in a kneeling position and using leverage and gravity to force both sides down until the trap locks back into place then he could get the gun. Not that the type of ammunition Slade had would be at all effective on a bear, mind you, but he was hellbent on saving his dog's life. While he could potentially play dead and let the bear smack him around for 20 minutes, he would be extremely injured and unable to make it back to his car and Copper would almost certainly be dead. Playing dead isn't always effective against bears. Sometimes they will claw, bite, and smack around a "corpse" just for the hell of it. Especially black bears which are much more vicious than brown bears. Slade almost certainly knew that and was desparate.

** He was never caught and Widow Tweed would probably wouldn't turn him in even if he was willing to admit how he got hurt in the first place. All Tweed cared about was Slade trying to hunt Todd and Slade had given that up by the end of the film.

* While trying to get Tod to understand the harsh reality that Copper, as a hunting dog, will have to become his enemy, Big Mama, Dinky, and Boomer show him Amos's shack of animal skins. At least one fox pelt can be seen. It's very possible that among all those skins is the skin of ''Tod's mother,'' and he might have been looking right at her (though if this is the case he doesn't seem aware of it, thank goodness).
** Considering that Tod's mother seems to flee for MILES to get him to safety, and Amos' sheer persistence while hunting, this is sadly very possible.

* The movie begins with the baby fox's mother hiding him and sacrificing her own life for his, Disney/{{Bambi}}-style. However, foxes almost never have a single cub. This mother wasn't just carrying her baby to safety. She was carrying to safety the only baby of the litter who survived the hunt.

* Tod survives the fall that kills the bear. One's first assumption would be that he should have suffered even more damage, but [[https://www.reddit.com/r/askscience/comments/tpece/why_are_smaller_animals_generally_able_to_survive/ less force is inflicted on animals with less mass in a fall]]. ("[[Discworld/FeetOfClay A spider'll not even notice a drop like this, a mouse'd walk away, a horse'd break every bone in its body and an elephant would spla-]]")

** Panic, most likely. Amos probably wasn't thinking rationally, and even as a man with obvious survival experience, it's quite possible that in the chaos pulling the post out of the ground didn't occur to him.

** Panic, most likely. Amos probably wasn't thinking rationally, and even as a man with obvious survival experience, it's quite possible that in the chaos pulling the post out of the ground didn't occur to him.

[[AC:FridgeHorror]]
* The movie begins with the baby fox's mother hiding him and sacrificing her own life for his, Disney/{{Bambi}}-style. However, foxes almost never have a single cub. This mother wasn't just carrying her baby to safety. She was carrying to safety the only baby of the litter who survived the hunt.
** The fox's father isn't seen despite foxes being monogamous and the fox fathers helping to raise the cubs. Shouldn't he have been helping to defend his mate and cub against the hunters unless..[[TearJerker ooh.]] It's likely the reason why Tod's mom was able to get her cub away safely for a while was probably because [[HeroicSacrifice her mate stayed behind to fend off the hounds or at least serve as a distraction.]] [[HarsherInHindsight In hindsight, this makes the scene where Tod confronts Copper so Vixey can get away even harder to watch.]]
* Although it's more like Fridge Sadness: The end of the film pans out on Tod watching Copper from a hill. It was earlier shown that the widow drove what was possibly hours getting Tod to the reservation, meaning he traveled a long while to look at Copper and his old home one last time.
* While trying to get Tod to understand the harsh reality that Copper, as a hunting dog, will have to become his enemy, Big Mama, Dinky, and Boomer show him Amos's shack of animal skins. At least one fox pelt can be seen. It's very possible that among all those skins is the skin of ''Tod's mother,'' and he might have been looking right at her (though if this is the case he doesn't seem aware of it, thank goodness).
** Considering that Tod's mother seems to flee for MILES to get him to safety, and Amos' sheer persistence while hunting, this is sadly very possible.
* Between the burning grass and Copper, Tod chose to try his luck by jumping through the flames. Copper used to be Tod's best friend, and now he became ''scarier than the fire''.