Prized memory from my childhood
May I begin by saying that this is a children's movie, so dont expect a riveting plot as some previous reviewers obviously did or you will be disappointed. But for that matter, how many children's movies have deep developed plots anyway?
Having said that, this is a wonderful movie for kids. It shows them the different sides of nature both light and dark in a slightly more rustic animation style than disney (which i feel adds to the charm of it.) And as previously stated by a reviewer it is a tale from Hungary. I first saw this movie at the age of 4 in '89 when my parents taped it for me and I loved it. I watched it over and over again until i wore the VHS out.
Personally I feel this is a great movie for kids about nature and animals... I know it stuck with me growing up.

Wasn't it on Nickelodeon back in the day?
Ok, I found this video like 5 years ago at shop that sells used books, videos, etc.

The one I have though, was edited by Feature Films for Families. It doesn't have the violence, or how I call it "The Circle of Life" cycle in it. And the original is more educational than this version because the original is unedited and shows children the circle of life. In nature, everything eats each other because that is survival, baby!

So if you can, AVOID GETTING THE EDITED VERSION. It is hard to follow unless you Google the video and read up what all goes on. I am still trying to find out more info on Feature Films for Families....oh well.

And I remember seeing this on Nickelodeon back in the day on "Special Delivery" I think. My sister and I BOTH loved it. (We were like 3 and 10 or 11). Does anyone else remember it being on Nickelodeon back in the late 80's?

Finally!!
I saw this movie when i was a little kid... I remember loving it more than the fox and the hound. I have just spent an hour searching the internet for what it was called, and here i am!!! i bought it just now and i hope that it's all i remembered it to be!!! (that just shows what an impression it made, since i was like 5 when i saw it!)

My favorite kids' movie
I first saw this movie when I was about 5 years old (I am now 19). I watched it again and again, and I have loved foxes and nature tales ever since. It is a story with powerful emotion, and the "cuteness" appeal of it does not detract from the powerful nature/life/coming of age themes. (It simply makes it accessible to a younger audience.) The tale brings nature to screen in a strong, moving, enjoyable way that both adults and children can relate to in a healthy way.

It's basically about a fox who learns how to have a happy, productive life--a full life, complete with throwbacks and victories, mischief, love, and real *growth*. There is some mild violence in it, and there are sad moments, but it is altogether a beautiful, wholesome, life affirming film in good humor which beats Bambi by a LOOOOOOONG shot (As a kid, Bambi bothered me, but the one major death scene in this story actually becomes part of the theme of long, healthy life here). It's a story about LIFE, and it helps introduce a kid to the light and dark of nature. It's funny, and sad, and happy, and most of all about Life. We learn about nature and our OWN nature, and by seeing the full spectrum of things depicted in a healthy way, kids will learn how to cope and enjoy a natural life.

It's a charming film, not as fancy as the Disney movies (it's from Hungary or the Czech Republic originally, I believe)--but I remember it more strongly in my mind then any Disney film (I watched all of them as a kid). It's a coming of age story, and there are resources of hope and joy and smarts in this story that anyone can learn from.

This movie provides a more accurate, less sensationalist, less fantasy/anthropomorphic view of nature than Lion King.
It also beats the watered-down, fantasy, unnaturally cutesy, (supposedly educational?) "Barney"/Dora style programming so rampant on children's television. It doesn't help when we show kids a sterile "cleaned-up" world that doesn't resemble anything they'll encounter in nature or Life; neither does it help to overly sentimentalize nature and sob for hours over each and every meal a fox devours. (When a child viewer sees the little fox eat his first duck in this film, they think "Good for you, Vik! You caught your duck!" There is no guilt here about what nature is. It simply IS.)

We care about these foxes much more because they ARE foxes, with fox feelings, worries, and pleasures, not overly sentimental people in suits. In short, I think this is a gift for children that is life affirming and actually gives them a healthy, whole view of the "Circle of Life"--a view Disney never quite managed to provide. In short, I loved this film and I think your kids will love it, too!

It's *cute*, but I'd love to see a re-do of this story...
.... I had never heard of this story before, but being a fox fanatic I tend to buy anything I see that has to do with foxes! So I purchased it ... and watched it tonight. It didn't exactly meet the high expectations I had before watching it, but it is a decently cute film to watch at least once if you're a fox fan.
While watching it though, it is obvious that this story wasn't meant to be a kid's cartoon, and it was turned into too cutesy of a film for the story it is trying to get across. This should have been made as a more mature animated film in the same category with "Watership Down" and "The Plague Dogs". There is a great story hiding within 'The Little Fox', but it was sadly dumbed down to be a cutesy kid's cartoon.
This story needs to be told showing the violence and the struggles that these foxes face. Not turning a serious tale of struggling, learning to survive, losing loved ones, etc. into a saturday-monrning type cartoon.
It wasn't completely terrible though. It was cute to watch at least once. Though I probably only enjoyed it at all b/c it was about foxes :-p! But I would love to see this story re-done the way it should be. Great story, but it shouldn't have been done as a little kid's cartoon.