Copper

Copper is the deuteragonist of Disney's 1981 feature film, The Fox and the Hound, and its 2006 midquel. He is a hound dog who becomes best friends with a fox named Tod, despite the fact that the two are supposed to be natural enemies.

## Copper

### Occupation

One of Amos' hunting dogsTod's sidekick (until becoming serious foes for a little while, then friends again right after the apparent death of the grizzly bear)Singer and member of the Singing Strays (formerly)

## Appearances

### Portrayed by

Corey Feldman (as a pup; original film)Kurt Russell (as an adult)Harrison Fahn (sequel)

### Appears in

The Fox and the HoundThe Fox and the Hound 2House of MouseMickey Mouse (cameo)

## Background

Copper is loosely based on a hound dog with the same name that appeared in the novel The Fox and the Hound by Daniel P. Mannix. Besides the major changes between the book and the film, the original Copper was an older dog threatened by a younger dog named Chief (the film seemingly switches the two roles).

In the film, Copper is a Bloodhound/Coonhound mix. His body is light brown with dark brown ears and a dark brown spot on his back. He also has a white muzzle and belly, and four white paws. As an adult, he wears a blue-collar.

## Personality

As a puppy, Copper is fairly curious. He has an excellent sense of smell, which makes him prone to wandering off, following

various scents. One of these instances led to him befriending Tod, being unaware that the two were natural enemies. However, he could be slightly cautious, especially around his owner and the older Chief.

As an adult, he is much more serious, having been trained as a hunting dog. However, he does not initially go for Chief's theory that a hunting dog must be nasty, preferring to simply track and smell out a game. His training leads him to break off his relationship with Tod. However, he spares his friend out of past friendship until Chief is injured in an accident, at which time he becomes focused on revenge. However, their friendship would be rekindled, in a distant manner, when Tod saved him and his master from a rampaging bear. Copper would later repay his friend's brave efforts by keeping his still-mad boss from shooting Tod.

## Trivia

* In Spain, Brazil, and Italy, he is named "Toby".
* Some of Copper's growls when he fights the bear and tries to attack Tod and Vixey in their burrow are recycled from Old Yeller when Old Yeller was fighting the wolf.
* Copper's revenge on Tod is somewhat similar to Zira's revenge on Kovu. Both stay angry and explain about their family relationship's avenging (in Copper's case, Chief falling off the train track and in Zira's case, Nuka getting crushed by a log. Also, whilst Chief survives the fall, Nuka dies from his injuries.), but Copper is a hero while Zira is a villain and Chief was Copper's foster father and Nuka is Zira's son.
* It is never explicitly stated if Copper realized that Tod never intended for Chief to fall off the train track, although he might have guessed it when Tod saved him from the giant bear.
* In the book of the same title, Copper is said to be a Coonhound/Bloodhound mix.
* Also in the book, Copper is more like Chief in that he is the older, more experienced hound, and hates Chief (who is younger and less experienced, yet is favored by the Master).