Duckyworth's Thoughts: Vuk The Little Fox ~ 1981

Hello my friends! And welcome to the next installment of Duckyworth's Thoughts!

A more friendly film today, and a film that proves that foreign films are indeed checking out, no matter how obsucre they may seem... A Hungarian animated film called Vuk: The Little Fox!



Now, right from the moment you hear the title, you ask yourself - what? True, many of you may not have heard of this film and may think it's a bit strange for me to watch HUNGARIAN animation, but I heard good things about it on the internet, was curious, and decided to check it out.... And I was pleasantly surprised.

Based on the Hungarian novel of the same name, written by István Fekete (I... have no idea how you pronounce that... ), the film follows the life of a fox named Vuk (in the English dub, he's named VIC for some reason... ) who, after his family is killed by a hunter and his hunting dogs, lives under the guidance of his Uncle Karak, and learns to become the most cunning and skilled hunter in the forest. A bit of a simple premise, I must admit.... but the story is well put together, the drama is surprisingly affective, and it is a very beautiful film...

The animation can strike some people as being a bit sloppy, and I would be lying if I said I couldn't see why.... However, the major problem with the animation for me is the inevitable lip sync errors with the English dubbing... Other than that, the animation is quite pretty, and many people say that it has hints of anime in it... But for me, it brings back memories of old children's animation like 'Will-o'-the Wisp', 'The Smurfs', 'The Snorks' and the Asterix and Obelix films. Also, some of the animation provides numerous cute (Vuk scratching his ear ) and some funny (Vuk falling down a cliff - No, seriously, the way it was animated was pretty humerous... ) I also love the drawing style (motion lines are shown when a character is moving rapidly).

Actually, in the intro, when you see the background being drawn in watercolours, memories of the 'Watercolour of Brazil' segment from Disney's Saludos Amigos come flowing into my mind.... Heh, maybe Jose Carioca did some of the soundtrack for this film too, as a few pieces of music do remind me slightly of some scenes from Saludos Amigos and The Three Caballeros.

The music is actually pretty interesting... while at times the music is quite bouncy (it reminds of the music in the classic Mr. Men cartoons or on Kogepan at times ) the music can be quite soothing at times... especially during the atmospheric moments.... Speaking of atmosphere, while the film can seem to be quite silly and bouncy most of the times, it DOES know when to take a break and calm down.... We won't have to deal with any 'The Magic Voyage' or 'Felix the Cat: The Movie' levels of constant noise... Sure, at times, the film can seem to have a lot of speech going on and on.. But there are pauses at the appropriate moments..

Back to atmosphere... there are some really depressing moments in this film... Which makes this film much more effective than it may seem at first glance... And funnily enough, most of the characters that end up being hunted/shot/eaten by the foxes actually TALK or have names... Despite the fact you only see a character bleed ONCE (a duck getting shot) it is a pretty dark and gritty film, when you get down to it....

It's also interesting that Vuk is an ANTI-HERO, when you think about it.... He always tries to look for something to hunt, and even as a cub, you hear him talking about how he'll get his revenge on the farmer and his dogs no matter what, and when he's older, he actually swears vengeance at the MOON for what the hunter has done to him and his family! That scene did seem quite epic as far as this film goes... At least Vuk doesn't go as far as Dracula did when he swore vengeance for his bethrothed's death in Bram Stoker's Dracula - he didn't go and stab a catholic cross with a sword and say 'Blood is the life... and it shall be mine!' after all... Okay, maybe Vuk swearing vengeance shouldn't be compared to that... It is still a children's film after all, but as I said, some scenes do seem quite powerful when you think about them in context to the rest of the film.

As far as voice actors go... the dub's voice actors and actresses are.. okay, I guess? Let me explain that.... Some of the time they sound as interested as Omar was most of Rock and Rule, I'm afraid... Pretty monotonous... However, some of the time, they DO put a lot of effort in. The voice actors in the dub include Steven R. Weber (Vuk grown-up), Tony Pope (Karak), Nancy Cartwright (Young Vuk), Tara Strong (Foxy - who is actually called Vixen in the original Hungarian version.. but she was named Foxy in the dub ). Some voice actor names may sound familiar to you...

In the Hungarian dub, Vuk's name was actually an acronym for "Vadászom. Utamból. Kotródj!" (I'm hunting. Out. Of. My way!) In the English dub, his catchphrase was changed (along with his name from Vuk to Vic) to 'If I see it, I can catch it!' Also, many of the jokes are lost in the translation from Hungarian to English... but the English version still has a lot of charm.

Some people looking at this film may think that it's ripping off Disney's Fox and the Hound, or The Fox and the Hound may be ripping off this.... Personally, I believe NEITHER.... they both came out in the same YEAR, and I doubt that Disney would really be looking at Hungarian films back then...

In some places, the music and atmosphere CAN seem a bit too light-hearted and silly... Even if a character has just DIED, and I feel that may be a bit distracting... For example, one piece of music that usually plays whenever the dogs in the neighbourhood are gossiping to each other and are spreading news of the hunter's dogs failing to capture Vuk and are often mocking him, DOES often play on my nerves whenever it's played.... You could argue that the film is trying to remain child-friendly and like the Disney films, it can't let death and dark elements sink in too deep - it has to keep the film mostly happy for the target audience..

But then again, children shouldn't be too put off by foxes hunting other animals.. You see more violent subject matter on the NEWS than in this film... So if children hear the news all the time, this film shouldn't be too harsh for them. Like Watership Down, I think this film also shows just how beautiful the environment is, and doesn't overdo it by shoving the environment in your face... Even if it does show just how harsh man can be and how their actions do seem a bit horrific if you look at it from a different point of view...

It actually reminds me of some of the Studio Ghibli films and the Tintin works in a way... In that they're sometimes promoted as family entertainment, but they can have a lot of dark elements and surprisingly graphic imagery, but inbetween all of the harsh elements, it can be very beautiful and is still filled with humourous family friendly elements that keep the little ones happy and the older ones content.

An interesting thing I have thought about from this film is that a theme of 'Adam and Eve' is implied at the end.... Vuk's uncle says that Vuk and Vixen must continue the life of the foxes, and he says 'Even if they kill me, the spirit of the fox will never die.' Quite a deep theme for such a humble theme!

It is strange where you find films like this - they may seem obscure, strange and uninteresting - but when you actually watch them... You can be pleasently surprised. Much like Rock and Rule, I knew absolutely NOTHING about this film before I saw it, but when I looked it up, it was a nice surprise... It often pays to feed your curiosity!

If you want to check this film out, the links to the film on Youtube are below... Even if the film does seem rusty when you start watching it, and even if you are put off by any of the early scenes, please try and stick with it.... I promise that it will be worth it.. It's not the strongest animated film I've seen, but it is nice to say that I have seen this film... As it was a pleasure to watch, no matter how humble it may be.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLwNxj…
www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYA5G5…
www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTkTVK…
www.youtube.com/watch?v=RK--Zv…
www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwOHos…
www.youtube.com/watch?v=iv8k8n…
www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VVzjv…


Next time, we shall continue Vuk's journey, in the sequel.... But, I will warn you, while The Little Fox was a pleasure to watch....

The 2008 CGI sequel Kis Vuk - A Fox's Tale provides nothing but PAIN... Yep, that's right, the next critique will be for a film I not only DISLIKE... but DESPISE!

UPCOMING DUCKYWORTH'S THOUGHTS -
The Secret of NIMH
Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas
9
Plague Dogs
An American Tail
The Black Cauldron
Animal Farm
Pokemon - Lucario and the Mystery Of Mew
Pokemon - The Rise of Darkrai
Brave
A Cat In Paris
Basil The Great Mouse Detective
Pokemon - Jirachi:Wishmaker
Dracula (1931)
Hellraiser
Hellbound: Hellraiser 2
The Silence of the Lambs
Zombieland
Hot Fuzz
The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari
Freaks
Fright Night
The Room
Casablanca
The Godfather
The Godfather - Part 2
Kis Vuk - A Fox's Tale


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