- “Darling, forever is a long long time. And time has a way of changing things.”
- ―Big Mama, to Tod
Big Mama is a major character in Disney's 1981 feature film The Fox and the Hound. She is an owl and a good friend and mentor of Tod.
Background[]
Big Mama is an owl who appears to live close to Widow Tweed's home. She appears to be close friends with Dinky and Boomer, as well as forest inhabitants like Vixey.
Personality[]
She is a motherly character who coordinates Tod's adoption by Widow Tweed and later advises and cares for Tod while he is growing up. She possesses a great deal of wisdom and is generally friendly to everybody.
Role in the film[]
Big Mama is the first to discover a newly orphaned baby fox after having witnessed its mother getting shot and killed by hunters (off-screen) and is quick to comfort the baby. Knowing that he will need someone to look after him, she enlists help from a goldfinch named Dinky and a woodpecker named Boomer to find a new caretaker for the baby. Remembering that Widow Tweed, lives nearby, The birds inact a plan to ensure she will find him. First, Boomer pecks on her door to get her to come outside, then Big Mama and Dinky steal a pair of pants off her clothesline which they promptly drop on the fox, whom Tweed subsequently adopts and names Tod.
.When Tod grows older he befriends a hound dog named Copper Big Mama notes how ironic this is, as the two are supposed to be natural enemies. Nonetheless, she finds their friendship adorable. After Copper is taken away on a long hunting trip, Big Mama lectures Tod about the dangers of being Copper's friend, warning him that it will lead to him getting killed. To illustrate her point, Big Mama, along with Dinky and Boomer, show Tod a shed full of pelts from animals that Copper's owner Amos Slade has hunted down. Big Mama also warns Tod that Copper will be a trained hunting dog when he returns and thus will pose a danger to Tod. Tod initially rejects Big Mama's warning, claiming that Copper would never hurt him.
When winter comes, Big Mama says goodbye to Dinky and Boomer as both birds fly south for the season.
Next spring, as Big Mama throws a pile of leaves out of her hollow tree, she sees Tod (who is now grown-up). Dinky and Boomer return home, and Big Mama greets the two birds with a hug, happy to see them again.
Following an incident that resulted in Chief gravely injured, Big Mama, Dinky, and Boomer watch Amos try to barge into Tweed's house to get to Tod.
After Widow Tweed has released Tod into the wild, Big Mama flies to the forest, searching for him. During her search, she finds Vixey, a vixen whom she is acquainted with. Big Mama tells Vixey about Tod and arranges for the two to meet, as she feels Vixey could teach him how to survive in the wild. After finding Tod, Big Mama positions Vixey in the sunlight to make her look as beautiful as possible, then goes over to Tod, whom she leads to the vixen. After Tod and Vixey become enamored with one another, Big Mama watches as Tod attempts to catch a trout to impress her, but ends up humiliating himself, resulting in him insulting Vixey, thus the two foxes refuse to talk to each other. Big Mama intervenes by singing "Appreciate the Lady" to persuade Tod into giving Vixey a second chance, which successfully works as the two foxes fall in love.
Big Mama is last seen sleeping in her tree when she is awakened by Boomer pecking on the tree of Squeaks the caterpillar, who has transformed into a butterfly. He flies over to Big Mama, who waves goodbye and wishes him good luck as he flies away. Big Mama goes back to sleep, but is subsequently awakened again by Amos Slade fussing over his injured leg while being nursed by Widow Tweed.
Gallery[]
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