Br'er Fox and Br'er Bear
Encyclopedia
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
s from the Uncle Remus
Uncle Remus
Uncle Remus is a fictional character, the title character and fictional narrator of a collection of African American folktales adapted and compiled by Joel Chandler Harris, published in book form in 1881...
folktales adapted and compiled by Joel Chandler Harris
Joel Chandler Harris
Joel Chandler Harris was an American journalist, fiction writer, and folklorist best known for his collection of Uncle Remus stories. Harris was born in Eatonton, Georgia, where he served as an apprentice on a plantation during his teenage years...
.
In the animated sequences of the 1946 Walt Disney
Walt Disney
Walter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...
-produced film Song of the South
Song of the South
Song of the South is a 1946 American musical film produced by Walt Disney and released by RKO Radio Pictures. The film is based on the Uncle Remus cycle of stories by Joel Chandler Harris. The live actors provide a sentimental frame story, in which Uncle Remus relates the folk tales of the...
, Br'er Fox is the primary villain (depicted as comically devious and cruel), while Br'er Bear is his dim-witted sidekick. Br'er Fox was voiced by actor James Baskett
James Baskett
James Baskett was an American actor known for his portrayal of Uncle Remus, singing the song "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah" in the 1946 Disney feature film Song of the South, for which he was given an Honorary Academy Award, making him the first male performer of African descent to receive an Oscar.- Career...
, who also portrayed the live-action character Uncle Remus
Uncle Remus
Uncle Remus is a fictional character, the title character and fictional narrator of a collection of African American folktales adapted and compiled by Joel Chandler Harris, published in book form in 1881...
, and Br'er Bear was voiced by Nick Stewart
Nick Stewart
Nick Stewart was an American television and film actor. Stewart was best known for his role as Lightnin' on the Amos and Andy television series.-Acting Career:...
. In contrast to the earlier illustrations of Frederick S. Church, A. B. Frost
A. B. Frost
Arthur Burdett Frost , was an early American illustrator, graphic artist and comics writer. He was also well known as a painter. Frost's work is well known for its dynamic representation of motion and sequence. Frost is considered one of the great illustrators in the "Golden Age of American...
, and E. W. Kemble
E. W. Kemble
Edward Winsor Kemble was an American cartoonist and illustrator. Born in Sacramento, California, his family moved to New York when he was young....
, the Disney animators depict the characters in a more slapstick, cartoony style.
The cult film
Cult film
A cult film, also commonly referred to as a cult classic, is a film that has acquired a highly devoted but specific group of fans. Often, cult movies have failed to achieve fame outside the small fanbases; however, there have been exceptions that have managed to gain fame among mainstream audiences...
Coonskin
Coonskin (film)
Coonskin is a 1975 American animated film written and directed by Ralph Bakshi, about an African American rabbit, fox, and bear who rise to the top of the organized crime racket in Harlem, encountering corrupt law enforcement, con artists and the Mafia...
, directed by Ralph Bakshi
Ralph Bakshi
Ralph Bakshi is an Israeli-American director of animated and live-action films. In the 1970s, he established an alternative to mainstream animation through independent and adult-oriented productions. Between 1972 and 1992, he directed nine theatrically released feature films, five of which he wrote...
, focuses on a trio of characters inspired by the original folktales, and the characters of Br'er Fox (renamed "Preacher Fox" in Bakshi's film), Br'er Bear, and Br'er Rabbit
Br'er Rabbit
Br'er Rabbit is a central figure in the Uncle Remus stories of the Southern United States. He is a trickster character who succeeds by his wits rather than by brawn, tweaking authority figures and bending social mores as he sees fit...
. It moves elements from the stories to a then-contemporary urban setting.
Other appearances
- Br'er Fox and Br'er Bear appear in the Splash MountainSplash MountainSplash Mountain is a themed log flume attraction at Disneyland, Tokyo Disneyland, and the Magic Kingdom at the Walt Disney World Resort, based on the characters, stories and songs from the 1946 Disney film Song of the South...
attractions at Disneyland, Walt Disney World's Magic KingdomMagic KingdomMagic Kingdom Park is one of four theme parks at the Walt Disney World Resort located near Orlando, Florida. The first park built at the resort, Magic Kingdom opened Oct. 1, 1971. Designed and built by WED Enterprises, the park's layout and attractions are similar to Disneyland in Anaheim, California...
and Tokyo DisneylandTokyo Disneylandis a 115 acre theme park at the Tokyo Disney Resort located in Urayasu, Chiba, Japan, near Tokyo. Its main gate is directly adjacent to both Maihama Station and Tokyo Disneyland Station. It was the first Disney park to be built outside of the United States and opened on April 15, 1983...
. They also appear with Br'er Rabbit at the Walt Disney Parks and ResortsWalt Disney Parks and ResortsWalt Disney Parks and Resorts is the segment of The Walt Disney Company that conceives, builds, and manages the company's theme parks and holiday resorts, as well as a variety of additional family-oriented leisure enterprises...
for meet-and-greets, parades and shows. - An entire segment dedicated to the pair is featured in the 1956 one-hour television special Our Unsung VillainsOur Unsung VillainsOur Unsung Villains was a one-hour television special that aired in 1956 as part of Walt Disney Presents. The program has Walt Disney handing over the hosting duties to the Magic Mirror, who promptly decides to do a show devoted to the Disney Villains...
. - Br'er Fox and Br'er Bear make cameo appearances in several episodes of the Disney's House of MouseDisney's House of MouseDisney's House of Mouse is an American animated television series, produced by Walt Disney Television, that originally aired from 2001 to 2003-Premise:...
television series, with BonkersBonkers- Television :* Bonkers , a Disney animated series* Bonkers , an ITV comedy series* Bonkers!, a 1979 ATV variety show starring The Hudson Brothers* "Bonkers", a pricing game from The Price Is Right- Music :...
in an episode Casabonkers, and in the direct-to-video release Mickey's Magical Christmas: Snowed in at the House of MouseMickey's Magical Christmas: Snowed in at the House of MouseMickey's Magical Christmas: Snowed in at the House of Mouse is the first direct-to-video movie spin off from the Disney Channel animated television series Disney's House of Mouse.-Plot:...
. - Br'er Bear has made cameo appearances in two other films. He can be seen frequently in various scenes in Who Framed Roger RabbitWho Framed Roger RabbitWho Framed Roger Rabbit is a 1988 American fantasy-comedy-noir film directed by Robert Zemeckis and released by Touchstone Pictures. The film combines live action and animation, and is based on Gary K. Wolf's novel Who Censored Roger Rabbit?, which depicts a world in which cartoon characters...
, and he is also seen in The Lion King 1½The Lion King 1½The Lion King 1½ is a 2004 American direct-to-video animated film released by Buena Vista Home Entertainment on February 10, 2004. The film is the third installment in the Lion King series. The DVD went to the Disney Vault in January 2005...
along with many other Disney Toons coming into the theater in the ending scene. - Br'er Bear has also made sporadic appearances in Disney's Gladstone comics, such as once when he hunted BambiBambi (character)Bambi, a young roe deer, is the main character in Felix Salten's Bambi, A Life in the Woods and in the Disney films based on the book. Bambi has starred in two movies, Bambi and Bambi II, has had cameos in several Disney cartoons, and has been parodied on occasion by other animation companies...
and his friends. The Wicked Witch from Snow White and the Seven DwarfsSnow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937 film)Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is a 1937 American animated film based on Snow White, a German fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm. It was the first full-length cel-animated feature in motion picture history, as well as the first animated feature film produced in America, the first produced in full...
is also near the forest, and she apparently knows Br'er Bear when he visits her, but cautions him not to drink what is in her cauldron. Br'er Bear helps himself to it, as he believes she is making a potion for super strength, but is then taken aback when she scolds him for not listening to her warning and that she was just mixing ordinary turpentineTurpentineTurpentine is a fluid obtained by the distillation of resin obtained from trees, mainly pine trees. It is composed of terpenes, mainly the monoterpenes alpha-pinene and beta-pinene...
. Br'er Bear is then too weakened and too humiliated to continue trying to hunt Bambi and his friends, who rejoice that his own arrogance and stupidity led to his own defeat. In another Walt Disney comic, Br'er Bear thinks Br'er Rabbit has been smashing mail boxes and hay waggons and as usual fails to catch Br'er Rabbit in the briar patch. Br'er Bear vows to catch Br'er Rabbit as he is the constable of "Huckleberry County", but Br'er Rabbit eventually gradually finds the real culprit (the smashed objects were actually accidents). In another story, Br'er Bear and Br'er Fox first get into a fight and after each of them tries to steal a stolen pie-both end up trapped on a sign in the middle of a frozen pond. The running gagRunning gagA running gag, or running joke, is a literary device that takes the form of an amusing joke or a comical reference and appears repeatedly throughout a work of literature or other form of storytelling....
in the comics is when Br'er Bear beats up Br'er Wolf (aka Zeke Wolf). - They appear a lot in the Dutch Donald Duck comics. they are almost always hunting Broer konijn (Dutch for Br'er Rabbit), but they always fail, part because Br'er Bear is always fooled by Br'er Rabbit, and part because Br'er Fox, who is a lot smarter, still works together with Br'er bear.