Various Artists - The Fox and the Hound 2

The Music Behind The New Adventures of Tod & Copper - The Fox and the Hound 2

The Fox and the Hound, or Tod and Copper, have been favorite Disney characters of mine since I was a little girl. Along with re-releasing the original movie in DVD format a short while ago, Walt Disney Home Entertainment is also releasing a made for DVD movie with another adventure of the two best friends. And as always, one of the fun things about the DVD format is all the cool extras that are included. Bonus features include an opportunity to mix your own song with Copper, a cartoon short with Goofy and his Cricket friend and my favorite was the behind the scenes for the making of the music. This brings us to the answer of question you may have been asking. Just why are we reviewing a Disney Cartoon DVD in a country music forum? The answer is very simple. The movie may be a cartoon, but the music of the soundtrack is all country. They pulled out all the stops to make the background story of a local singing group trying to make it big at a small county fair very believable. Some of the best songwriters in Nashville lent their talents in order to make music that fit the scripts they were given. And so it makes sense that artists like Trisha Yearwood, Josh Gracin and Little Big Town were among those asked to sing the songs. They were just a few of some of the amazing talents that came together for this project.

The Adventure

The adventure starts when Copper is trying to become the best hunting dog ever and it just isn't a talent he has grown into yet. Yes, the two friends are back to being just kids again instead of all grown up. Tod feels bad for his friend and goes on a mission to make Copper feel better. They end up at the county fair where Copper hears the sweet songs of a group of performing dogs who call themselves 'The Singin' Strays.' The group of five is led by a dog by the name of Cash (Patrick Swayze) with one thing on his mind - getting discovered by the Grand Ole' Opry talent scout who is supposed to be at the fair. Lyle (Jeff Foxworthy) is their human who also plays the banjo for them. The female lead of the group, Dixie (Reba) has a terrific voice, a big attitude and a thing for Cash. She is stubborn and sassy and that mix sends her sulking off thinking the group will fold without her and they will be begging for her return. It may have worked if Copper hadn't found his true calling by accident and being invited to join the group to replace the sulking Dixie. Things just escalated from there and it was one big adventure as the group found out that maybe being discovered really isn't what it is all about and Dixie and Todd decide that it is better to be with who they love than alone. The music is outstanding and the characters draw you into the story.