Br'er Fox and Br'er Bear

Br'er Fox and Br'er Bear (pronunciation: /ˈbrɛər/) are fictional characters from the Uncle Remus folktales adapted and compiled by Joel Chandler Harris.

In the animated sequences of the 1946 Walt Disney-produced film Song of the South, 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, who also portrayed the live-action character Uncle Remus, and Br'er Bear was voiced by Nick Stewart. In contrast to the earlier illustrations of Frederick S. Church, A. B. Frost, and E. W. Kemble, the Disney animators depict the characters in a more slapstick, cartoony style.^[1]

The cult film Coonskin, directed by Ralph Bakshi, 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. 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 Mountain attractions at Disneyland, Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom and Tokyo Disneyland. They also appear with Br'er Rabbit at the Walt Disney Parks and Resorts 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 Villains.
• Br'er Fox and Br'er Bear make cameo appearances in several episodes of the Disney's House of Mouse television series, with Bonkers in an episode Casabonkers, and in the direct-to-video release Mickey's Magical Christmas: Snowed in at the House of Mouse.
• Br'er Bear has made cameo appearances in two other films. He can be seen frequently in various scenes in Who Framed Roger Rabbit, and he is also seen in The Lion King 1½ 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 Bambi and his friends. The Wicked Witch from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs 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 turpentine. 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 gag 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.

References