The Fox and the Hound 2

The Fox and the Hound 2 is a 2006 American animated direct-to-video comedy-drama film produced by DisneyToon Studios, and a followup to the 1981 Disney animated film mh:greatestmovies:The Fox and the Hound. The film was directed by Jim Kammerud and released on December 12, 2006. The film features the voices of Reba McEntire and Patrick Swayze. The film had an official soundtrack album released on November 21, 2006.

Plot
The film opens with Tod and Copper chasing a cricket together. They see a line of trucks bringing the county fair to town, and Copper is mesmerized by the sound of dogs singing together in an old school bus with "The Singin' Strays" painted on the side. The pair are eager to go see the fair, but when Copper's clumsy tracking disappoints his master Amos Slade yet again, the pup is tied up in the yard while Slade and Chief go to the fair without him. Tod arrives and pulls Copper's collar off, and the pair head to the fair.

Tod and Copper get to meet The Singin' Strays. The band has five members: Dixie (a Saluki), Cash (a Spanish Hound), Granny Rose, and twin brothers Waylon and Floyd (Bloodhounds). It is important that they perform well because a talent scout from the Grand Ole Opry will be at the fair. Cash and Dixie get into an argument, and Dixie walks off before their performance, forcing them to go on stage without her. During the show, Copper sings along, and Cash invites the pup up on stage to sing with them. The musical number is a success. Cash invites Copper to join the band, and he does so after Tod lies that Copper is a stray. Copper spends the entire day with Cash, forgetting his promise to watch fireworks with Tod.

Dixie finds Tod and sympathizes with his feelings of abandonment. During their conversation, Tod lets it slip that Copper is not a stray. Dixie then hatches a plan to get Copper kicked out of the band. Tod sneaks into Chief's barrel, luring him and Slade to the fair in a wild chase. The chase leads to widespread mayhem in the fair, and the Singin' Strays' performance is sabotaged right in front of the talent scout Mr. Bickerstaff. Copper is fired from the band and returns home with Slade. Granny Rose and the rest of the members of Cash's band feel quite sorry for Copper, and the band breaks up, prompting Cash to lambast Dixie for the impact of her actions. Copper ends his friendship with Tod for ruining everything, but Dixie admits to him that blowing Copper's cover was her idea, not Tod's. Tod is brought home by his owner, Widow Tweed. Along the way, Tweed narrowly avoids being hit by the talent scout's car, and Bickerstaff's hat flies off his head and lands on Tod.

The following day, Tod and Copper reconcile. Hoping to atone for his doings, Tod gives Bickerstaff's hat to Copper, who uses it to track down the talent scout at a local diner. Tod tricks Cash and Dixie into thinking the other is in trouble, and the entire band end up meeting up at the diner. Copper convinces the band of the importance of harmony, and The Singin' Strays howl a reprise of their song "We're in Harmony", attracting the attention of the talent scout and reuniting the band. Impressed with the band, he arranges for the dogs to perform at the Grand Ole Opry. The film ends with Copper choosing to leave the band and play with Tod again.

Why It's a Bad Howler

 * 1) The original first film didn't have a sequel based ending and this one ignores the events of the original film.
 * 2) There is no point to this film as Tod and Copper were separated at this time, as Copper was being taken on a hunting trip by Amos Slade in order to be trained to be a hunting dog. This whole story just came out of nowhere.
 * 3) The film lacks charm that the original film had (as well as all of the original's dark and serious tone being gone here as well).
 * 4) Dinky and Boomer, Big Mama the owl, and Squeaks the Caterpillar are totally absent from this film and aren't even mentioned at all.
 * 5) This movie came out 25 years after the first movie, which is almost late for a sequel.
 * 6) Cash (Patrick Swayze's character) is at first rather arrogant and a fame seeker.
 * 7) The cricket chase scenes weren't as fun as the scenes with the caterpillar in the first film.
 * 8) Out of all of the supporting characters that weren't needed, arguably the most irritating supporting character was Olivia Farmer, the little girl who acted carefree and had an irritatingly cheerful attitude even when something bad happened to Talent Scout Winchell P. Bickerstaff. She also looked a lot like Pippi Longstocking from Astrid Lindgren's books.
 * 9) Despite holding a grudge against Tod, Amos Slade acts more like a comic relief instead of being dark and villainous like he was in the first film.
 * 10) Certain scenes don't really interact well with the story.
 * 11) False Advertising: Despite being named a sequel, this one behaves more like it takes place during the middle of the first film, known as a midquel.
 * 12) The "Good Doggy" song is possibly one of the most cringeworthy and saccharine songs to ever come from a Disney film. The lyrics are laughably corny, and the sequence itself is filled with flashy disco lights and horrendous dancing from the animals.
 * 13) The entire voice cast of the original movie was replaced.
 * 14) It is most likely a franchise killer for The Fox and the Hound, as no other media based on the franchise, including comics, were released after this film, until a live-action remake was announced for Disney+.
 * 15) Hypocrisy: The Singin' Strays aren't complete strays as they say they are, as they have a owner who looks after and feeds them. Their even more hypocritical when they find out that Copper still has an owner and they kick him out of the band.

Redeeming Qualities

 * 1) The voice-acting, animation and ending are decent.
 * 2) *While Jonah Bobo and Harrison Fahn don't sound exactly Corey Feldman (the original voice of young Copper) or Keith Coogan (the original voice of young Tod), their voices sound pretty close.
 * 3) Dixie is a likable character despite her destroying Tod and Copper's friendship.
 * 4) The songs are pretty good and fit the tone of the film, especially "Good Doggie", "No Bone" and "We're in Harmony".
 * 5) Certain supporting characters return. (For example: Abigail the cow and Chief, Copper's mentor dog)
 * 6) There is a touching scene where Amos and Willow Tweed meet each other while looking for their pets. They understand each other's worries and wish the other luck in finding their pets.
 * 7) It was interesting to see and hear Copper sing, which wasn't shown in the first film.
 * 8) Unlike some bad Disney sequels, the film isn't a rehash of the original film and at least tries to do something new and original in it's story direction, despite it's botched execution.
 * 9) The peanut butter scene can be pretty funny to watch, especially when Zelda the cat has the jar on her face.

Reception
Despite receiving mixed reviews from the general public, this film was heavily panned by critics, Internet reviewers and fans of the original.

At one time, the film held a 0% "rotten" rating on Rotten Tomatoes. It now holds a 20% "rotten" rating with an average rating of 4 out of 10, but lacks a critic consensus as of right now. Kevin Carr of 7M Pictures gave the film two stars out of five, saying "The Fox and the Hound 2 is never going to live down as a classic, but it isn’t terrible. It falls somewhere in the middle of the Disney DVD sequel spectrum." John J. Puccio of Movie Metropolis gave the film 4/10, writing "Like most sequels, it's a pale imitation of the original." Rob Humanick of Slant Magazine stated about the film "It's not hard to see this 2006 midquel as a betrayal of everything the 1981 original stood for." Film critic Nancy Davis Kho of Common Sense Media described the film as "Milder than the original and full of country music charm."

Trivia

 * This film was the last to use the 1985-2006 Walt Disney Pictures logo.

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