Tad

### Likes

Playing, dogs, his friendship with Will, his family, Hugo, relaxing, helping others, adventures, exploring, dancing

### Dislikes

Danger, Chief, dogs (formerly), his mother's death, rudeness, not having a friend, loneliness

## Family information

### Other relatives

Foxwood (father)
Julianne † (mother)
Unnamed paternal grandmother †

### Pets

Cheesy (mouse)

**Tad** is a major character in the feature film, the Fox and the Pooch and in the cartoon series. He's the son of Foxwood and Julianne, and the best friend of Will, the son of Wayne and Patricia.

## Background

### Development

Tad was inspired by the young Todd character from the Fox and the Hound. However, the characters have a lot of differences. First, Todd is an orphan and Tad has parents. Second, Todd grows up in the middle of the film and an adult version of Tad is seen in the Return to the Present film. Finally, Tad's friendship with Will last forever while Todd's friendship with Copper lasts until they become adults and is rekindled by the end of the film.

Tad's design is similar to Todd's as well except he's more anthropomorphic and can stand on his legs and can engage in human-related activities.

### Personality

Tad is very shy and individualistic fox with developing social skills. Tad did interact with the other foxes at his school, he just didn't know how to make friends. Throughout the film, Tad was dreaming of having a friend who is extremely loyal to him and always has his back. In fact, in the film, Tad was portrayed as a silent character until the climax of the film. He promised to remain loyal to his family no matter what. Even though, Tad admires his family very much, he looks to Gaspard and the Wooten Gang, seeing them as his special friends.

Tad inherited some of his parents' traits. He inherited his father's shyness which was demonstrated in the feature film and sometimes in the cartoon series. He inherited his mother's kindness and prejudice of dogs. However, Tad didn't hate dogs, he was just scared of them until he saw how dogs like Wayne are sympathetic towards his father and the other foxes in Fox City. After abandoning his fear of dogs, he started a friendship with Will, seeing him as his brother and best friend.

In the cartoon series, more of Tad's personality is revealed. He is shown to be incredibly stubborn, another trait that he inherited from his mother. With his mother gone, Tad promised to help his father and not to overwhelm him. Just like most of the younger Wooten characters who have strong curiosity, Tad enjoys exploring and learning new things at school. His curiosity can sometimes lead him to be captured by a villain like Chief.

### Physical appearance

Tad is a small and slender red fox with a white muzzle, underbelly and tail tip. Tad has blue eyes and black tips on the top of his ears.

## Appearances

### The Fox and the Pooch

Tad is introduced at the beginning of the film as the newborn child of Foxwood and Julianne. He spends the first couple of years at home with his parents. He was homeschooled by Julianne while Foxwood was trying to find a job at a photography company. Once Tad turned 7, he started his first day of kindergarten. After school, Foxwood told Julianne and Tad, that he got the job. In order to celebrate, the foxes head over to the Good Eats Restaurant for a special dinner. During the dinner, Tad told his parents that his first day at school was okay but he didn't make any friends. His parents gave Tad, faith in order to help him find some friends at school. Tad thanked his parents for their support and they headed back to the apartment after finishing their dinner.

For the next month, Foxwood began to act strange and it was because of his secret friendship with a young Bloodhound named Wayne. Foxwood was able to preserve his secret until after the masquerade party in Dog City when Julianne discovered Foxwood's secret by reading the newspaper. Angered by her husband's lies, Julianne moved out of Fox City and was planning to move back with her mother with Tad. While driving in the forest on a foggy day, Tad didn't like the idea of leaving his father until Foxwood managed to reconcile with his wife. Sadly, a sudden tragedy happened when Julianne was shot by an unidentified gunmen.

After the funeral, Tad went into his room to cry over the tragic death of his mother. Tad stopped crying to go into the kitchen and get something to eat. As he walking into the kitchen, he saw his father talking with Wayne. He was so scared of his father talking to a dog that he hid behind a chair. While they were arguing, Tad was kind of amazed by Wayne's sympathy over Julianne's death. Once the two animals were done arguing, Tad followed Wayne into Maine and while he was there, he learned the truth about his mother's death from Gaspard. He ran back to his father's house to tell him the truth.

Ashamed of how he treated Wayne, Foxwood and Tad gathered up all of the foxes to help Wayne and the gang fight and defeat Chief once and for all. During the fight, Tad met Will and they teamed up to avenge their mothers' death. The fight stopped when Will and Foxwood were killed by Chief. Luckily, Gaspard was able to revive Foxwood and Will after Chief was arrested for what he tried to Foxwood and Wayne's family. By the end of the film, Tad moved into Portland with Wayne and Will when Foxwood knew that his son will be safe in Columbia. In Portland, Tad and Will became best friends just like Foxwood and Wayne.

### The Black Lion

Tad appears in the cartoon series as a major character.