Don Bluth’s The Fox’s Journey

Based on the Hungarian Novel by István Fekete.

Plot
In Winter, Eight newborn red foxes open their eyes to their parents, Kristoff and Bella, among the cubs, the parents name their son, Vic, after His paternal Grandfather. A few days after the coming of spring, Kristoff goes to find some food, at the farm. After a few minutes, Vic, who couldn’t sleep begins to worry about his dad, and goes off to look for him, at the farm. Kristoff arrives there and makes off with a chicken, unscathed. On his way home, He spots a rabbit and goes to capture it, but breaks off pursuit when a hunter enters the forest. Kristoff warns the family of the approaching hunter, and they run deeper in the forest, not realizing their son Vic is gone until they were safe. Vic returns home to find his home razed. And his family nowhere to be seen. Vic recognizes the scent and thinks a hunter killed his family. While looking for a new home, Vic encounters Karak, His paternal uncle. Who takes him under his wing.

Karak teaches Vic on the best time to hunt, the animals in the forest, the tricks every fox should know, and most importantly, to stay away from human constructs, and the humans living there. Months passed, and Vic, a young adult is hunting for food. When He spots a crow bullying a young rabbit, Vic grabs the crow’s tail feathers, and flies off after saying He’ll get the humans to make the fox pay for his humiliation. Vic, knowing that He can’t let the crow warn the humans, goes after him, after telling the rabbit to find a hiding place. Against his better judgment, Vic enters and explores the farm, looking for the crow, but learns about the farm animals living there, then He notices a female fox in a cage. Vic tries to break open the lock, but was no use, so Vic says to the girl fox that He’ll come back, unaware that the crow is listening in, ready to make Vic’s raid His last. At a thunderous night, Vic and Karak infiltrate the farm, and with the help of an old wood wagon, Vic and Karak free the girl fox, and they escape with their lives, but the crow follows the foxes to their hiding place, and lures the hunting dogs to the fox’s burrow. The hunter uses a roll of firecrackers in hopes of scaring the foxes out of the burrow, but thanks to Vic’s observation, All three foxes escape with their lives. The girl fox, named Esther after hearing Vic’s name, asks Vic to come to the mountains in the morning for a special gathering.

The next morning, The hunter, determined to kill the foxes has his friends search the forest, killing any animal they spot. Karak, knowing that the hunters were approaching their hiding place, and they there was no other way, attacks the crow who led the hunters, killing him, and leading the hunters away so Vic and the Esther can get away, resulting in Karak getting shot in the leg, and falling in the pond. Karak plays dead to fool the hunters as Vic and the Esther ran. At night, Vic and the Esther return to Karak, injured. Vic tries to carry Karak to his home, but Esther says that Karak will die soon. Vic, refusing to accept it, continues on, but Karak says, “Vic, It’s alright. You did enough. My one regret was that I fulfill my promise...” with that, Karak dies, as Vic wails over Karak’s death. Esther, brings a tearful Vic to her home, a cavern filled with foxes. Esther announces to the foxes that Vic is alive and well, revealing that Esther is Vic’s sister.