Amos Slade (or simply known as Amos) is the main antagonist of Disney's 1981 feature film The Fox and the Hound.
Personality
Amos is an old, crabby, grumpy and bad-tempered man, though we do see somewhat of a softer side in his interaction with his two hunting dogs, Chief and Copper. Later, he showed remorse after Tod saves him and Copper from a dangerous bear.
Appearances
The Fox and the Hound
Amos is an adjoining neighbor to Widow Tweed, and is known to be an avid hunter. At the beginning of the film, he has one hunting dog called Chief, and has just obtained a hound puppy called Copper, who he intends to train as a hunting dog. At first, he often has to search for Copper, who runs off to play with Tod, who lives next door with Widow Tweed. Finally, Amos ties Copper up at his doghouse to shut him up and conk him out. When Tod arrives one day, to see what has happened to Copper, Amos is alerted to the young fox's presence by Chief. Amos assumes that the fox is after his chickens, and attempts to kill Tod. Tod is able to escape, but Amos threatens Widow Tweed that he will kill Tod if he is on his property again.
Soon after, Amos takes both Copper and Chief on a long hunting trip. By springtime, Amos is able to collect a large amount of skins and trophies with the help of a now fully grown Copper. The night of their return, Tod comes once again to see Copper, but Amos sees Tod and tries to kill him once more. With the help of Chief, Amos is able to track Tod to a railroad bridge, and Chief traps Tod there. Suddenly, a train comes, and while Tod is able to escape, Chief is badly injured. Amos blames Tod for Chief's near death, and both he and Copper vow to kill Tod.
When they see Widow Tweed drop Tod off at the nearby game preserve, he breaks in in a mad attempt to kill Tod. Amos sets multiple traps along Tod's routes, but Tod is able to escape into his den. Amos then tries to smoke Tod out, setting a fire at one end of the den, while he and Copper wait at the other end. However, Tod shocks the both of them by escaping through the flames. As Amos begins to follow, he irritates a bear. While trying to escape the bear, Amos is caught in one of his own traps. However, he is saved from death thanks to the joint effort of Tod and Copper. Tod is injured as a result, and Amos tries to take advantage and kill Tod. He eventually has a change of heart when he sees Copper proving his loyalty to Tod by standing in the way of the gun, and realizes that without Tod, he and Copper would've been killed by the bear moments ago and the friendship that exists between the two animals, even though they are different. Amos eventually decides to return home a slightly better and probably grateful man while Widow Tweed doctors his injured leg.
It is presumed that he learned his lesson about foxes being different from people.
The Fox and the Hound 2
Amos Slade in The Fox and the Hound 2.
Amos Slade is a comic relief character here, without the darker side portrayed in the first film. Widow Tweed throws a pie in his face, and threatens to do so again later. Chief appears, but has very few speaking parts and very little screen time. Chief and Slade enter a hunting dog contest, where Chief takes another ribbon (fourth place) for the second time in a row-which he seems to think makes him the champion hunting dog in the county. Slade mostly only shows up in the beginning trying to train Copper, becoming increasingly irate with his failures as a hunting dog, yelling at him after a chain of comedic events while chasing Tod (which were his own fault), looking for Copper later when the pup has gone to join the Singin' Strays, and showing up later after being lead by Tod to the Singin' Strays' performance, where he reveals that Copper is not a stray at all and takes him home.
Once Upon a Time
Amos Slade doesn't appear on the show. However, he appears in the canonical novel Red's Untold Tale. In this version, he was specialized into the wolf hunt with his bloudhound Copper. He lived in the same village as Widow Lucas (who he had tried to seduce in their teenage past), her granddaughter Red and Peter. Amos was slain during a wolf attack.
Trivia
- He is named after a Christian rock band.
- Amos' performance model was Art Stevens.
- Amos was animated by John Pomeroy and Ron Husband.
- Amos drives a 1923 Ford Model T.
Gallery
.jpg "Amos Slade (The Fox and The Hound).jpg (230 KB)")
.jpg "Bear (The Fox and The Hound).jpg (101 KB)")
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