Fox and the Hound has always been a favorite of mine. The characters are great, the story is heartwarming to say the least. After buying a slew of the latest Disney Blu Ray releases (Beauty and the Beast, Fantasia, Bambi, etc) I was expecting another state-of-the-art fantastic 1080p transfer. Unfortunately, the Mouse House has not taken this title as seriously as some of the others in its vault. Instead of giving us a glorious, painstakingly perfect restoration, it would seem they opted for tossing in the insulting "sequel" Fox and the Hound II to make up for the slacking effort.Now I won't say it looks awful. This Blu Ray is clearly a significant upgrade from the DVD, but it is also obviously missing the Disney touch I've come to expect. For example, at the bottom right hand corner of the picture you will see an occasional black line flicker in and out. Ordinarily Disney has gone in and removed these kind of print damages, through intense digital editing or by some other miraculous effort. It is not the case for Fox and the Hound. The black line is hardly noticeable, but once you notice it you can't stop looking at it. It flickers in and out as it pleases, subtle at times, obnoxious at others. A few instances it went all the way from the bottom of the picture to the top. Nothing extreme for casual movie watchers, but for those of us who are really picky about picture presentation it can be unbearable.
Colors weren't really consistent either. At times they were bright and vivid, at others they were dingy and dark. Blacks are overwhelming in the wrong spots, turning shadows and shading into eclipses. Unlike the animated Alice in Wonderland, which is bright and perky, even once the forests of Wonderland get dark, Fox and the Hound looks just a little too dark even in bright sunny scenes.
My overall opinion is that, while I'm glad to have an HD release of Fox and the Hound in my collection, this is not the Blu Ray I had dreamed of. Personally I'm a little annoyed that the nasty sequel wasn't destroyed or forgotten about, much less released right alongside the classic, and I'm really disappointed that Disney didn't spend as much time as they usually do on the transfer. For most Disney fans I doubt it'll be too much of a problem, since, like I said, 1080p certainly beats the DVD, but for those of us who are film geeks and get frustrated by imperfections, I would suggest waiting another 5 years in hopes another re-release will give this great movie the attention it deserves.
Disney brings this wonderful film to blu ray, and, as i said, Disney doesn't acknowledge the film too much. Maybe that's why is didn't get a pristine conversion, but a good one. The colors are vibrant, lines visibly drawn, but there are problems. One problem that is most easily noticed is the fact that in certain shots, the drawn lines appear blurred. Now, i don't know if this was a mistake in conversion, or if the film itself is plagued with those problems indefinitely, but they are there....and they are noticeable. The most pointed "issue" is a line that appears far, far right on the picture. Trust me, unless you aren't paying attention to the movie, you should barely notice this. it comes, goes, but it's barely seen if you don't look.
Beside these issues, the blu ray conversion is good. Do I feel this is the best this film can look? Probably not. But this is what we have, what Disney gave us...either get it or hope for a better conversion.
Now, I did not bother to watch the cheapquel. I know I won't like it, so I see no point. I wish Disney had given us the choice whether we wanted to buy it, but, alas, they didn't. Hopefully, in a later re-release they will spare us. The fact that it's name is on the cover does bother me, but the happiness that I own the original is stronger than the hate.
If you are a fan, buy it; if not, maybe wait....not sure.1. Cheap packaging (DVD's are stacked)
2. The movies themselves have not been restored (like every release was prior to this..)
3. Two movies on one blu-ray disk (not convenient if you want to separate)
4. No real extras on the Blu-ray (and what extras they did include they put them on the DVD's)
I own each and every Disney Blu-ray movie and this by far is the absolute worst job I have ever seen Disney do.
Who ever is responsible for this release should truly be ashamed!I received my copy of the Blu-ray/DVD combo pack of Disneys The Fox and The Hound. It is one Blue Ray disc and two DVD discs. They contain the following:
Disc 1 (Blu-ray):
The Fox and the Hound 30th Anniversary
The Fox and the Hound II
Bonus: Unlikely Friends
Disc 2 (DVD):
The Fox and the Hound 30th Anniversary
Bonus: Passing the Baton: Making of
Bonus: Best of Friends Sing-along
Disc 3 (DVD):
The Fox and the Hound II
Bonus: Making of the Music
Bonus: You Know I Will music video
I really enjoyed the original film and found the colors and sharpness of the Blu-ray very acceptable. It almost looks like it was made yesterday and not 30 years ago. In fact, I think it looks better than when I saw it at the cinema in 1981! Sound was also very good and I had no problems. I let the kids watch the sequel and while they enjoyed it, I must admit I only saw bits and pieces of it. While it was nice to see the characters in a new story, I am not into the sequels of most films.
I am going to hold onto my previous edition of the 25th Anniversary Edition on DVD. It contains an Art Gallery that is sadly not included in this 30th Anniversary Edition. Also missing are the bonus shorts and games.
It is good to see Disney remastering and putting their films on both DVD and Blu-ray formats. I highly recommend this classic of Disney animation.
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