The Message
Its funny but as a kid this movie was not one of my favorites, because I could never really understand why Todd and Copper could no longer be friends in the end, I found it sad and sort of discarded the film for years. Now watching it again years later as a adult I realize how brilliant, and frankly...mature...the message of this film is.
How life is constantly changing, and its easy to be friends with anyone when you are young and have no responsibilities, but eventually you have to grow up and find your own path in life, and sadly sometimes that path can take you in a different direction then the one your friends are on.
This is true for me and a friend I had in childhood, like Copper and Todd we were really close as kids but as we grew up our lives ended up going in opposite directions. I ran into her again a few years ago but do you know what I realized...we were two completely different people now, and while we will always have the memories, a friendship just wasn't in the cards for us anymore, so we parted on good terms.
Some might see the message as being about racism or prejudice, and you could certainly interpret it that way.
But for me its just about growing up, and the changes that come with growing up. Todd leaving the Widow and making his own home in the forest with his lady fox, is sort of like leaving the nest and getting married, soon he'll have his own family of fox cubs to look after, etc.
That's the message of the film for me, and I don't think its one many kids will fully understand, but once you grow up you realize the brilliance of Disney taking on such a mature theme in one of their films. And while it was never one of my favorites as a kid, as an adult I've really come to love it.