When The Fox and the Hound was released in 1981, it was a huge success, no bones about it. The film tells the, um, tale, of a most unlikely pair of pals, Tod the fox and Copper, a hound dog, who happen to be the best of friends. This was the first film to be largely animated by a new generation of Disney artists, although several veteran animators were certainly involved in the creation of the film, including Cliff Nordberg, Frank Thomas, and Ollie Johnston. A new generation of Johnstons was also involved. One of the songs, “The Best of Friends,” was co-written by Ollie’s son, Richard O. Johnston, along with Stan Fidel and sung by Pearl Bailey. The 1981 episode of Disney’s Wonderful World entitled The Illusion of Life demonstrated the art of animation and featured a segment on the creation of The Fox and the Hound. Hostess Hayley Mills meets Bailey, the voice of the wise owl Big Mama, to learn what it takes to provide the voice for a character in a Disney film, and along with clips from the film, viewers get to see a recording session in which Bailey sings her owl character’s song, which is quite a hoot.
