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Br'er Fox and Br'er Bear (also spelled Brer Fox and Brer Bear, ) are fictional characters from African-American oral traditions popular in the Southern United States. These characters have been recorded by many different folklorists, but are most well-known from the folktales adapted and compiled by
Joel Chandler Harris Joel Chandler Harris (December 9, 1848 – July 3, 1908) was an American journalist, fiction writer, and folklorist best known for his collection of Uncle Remus stories. Born in Eatonton, Georgia, where he served as an apprentice on a planta ...
, featuring his character
Uncle Remus Uncle Remus is the fictional title character and narrator of a collection of African American folktales compiled and adapted by Joel Chandler Harris and published in book form in 1881. Harris was a journalist in post-Reconstruction era Atlanta, a ...
.


Disney adaptions

In the animated sequences of the 1946
Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...
-produced film '' Song of the South'' like in the stales, Br'er Fox is the stories' antagonist, while Br'er Bear is his unintelligent accomplice. Br'er Fox was voiced by actor
James Baskett James Franklin Baskett (February 16, 1904 – July 9, 1948) was an American actor who portrayed Uncle Remus, singing the song "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah" in the 1946 Disney feature film ''Song of the South''. In recognition of his portrayal of Remus, he ...
, who also portrayed the live-action character
Uncle Remus Uncle Remus is the fictional title character and narrator of a collection of African American folktales compiled and adapted by Joel Chandler Harris and published in book form in 1881. Harris was a journalist in post-Reconstruction era Atlanta, a ...
, while Brer Bear was voiced by Nick Stewart. In contrast to the earlier illustrations of Frederick S. Church,
A. B. Frost Arthur Burdett Frost (January 17, 1851 – June 22, 1928), usually cited as A. B. Frost, was an American illustrator, graphic artist, painter and comics writer. He is best known for his illustrations of Brer Rabbit and other characters i ...
, and E. W. Kemble, the Disney animators depict the characters in a more slapstick, cartoony style. The Disney versions of the characters have made appearances in other works: *Br'er Fox and Br'er Bear appear in the
Splash Mountain Splash Mountain is a log flume at Disneyland, Tokyo Disneyland, and Magic Kingdom, based on the animated sequences of the 1946 Disney film ''Song of the South''. Although there are variations in the story and features between the three locatio ...
attractions at
Disneyland Disneyland is a theme park in Anaheim, California. Opened in 1955, it was the first theme park opened by The Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney. Disney initially envision ...
,
Magic Kingdom Magic Kingdom Park, previously known as Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom (1971–1994) and The Magic Kingdom (1994–2017), is a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando, Florida. Owned and operated by The ...
and
Tokyo Disneyland (local nickname ''TDL'') is a theme park at the Tokyo Disney Resort in Urayasu, Chiba Prefecture, Japan, near Tokyo. Its main gate is directly adjacent to both Maihama Station and Tokyo Disneyland Station. It was the first Disney park to ...
. They also appeared with
Br'er Rabbit Br'er Rabbit (an abbreviation of ''Brother Rabbit'', also spelled Brer Rabbit) is a central figure in an oral tradition passed down by African-Americans of the Southern United States and African descendants in the Caribbean, notably Afro-Bahami ...
at the
Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, Inc., formerly Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Worldwide, Inc. and informally known as Disney Parks, is one of The Walt Disney Company's five major business segments and a subsidiary. It was founded on Apri ...
for meet-and-greets, parades and shows. *A 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 ''Disney's House of Mouse'' (or simply ''House of Mouse'') is an American animated television series produced by Walt Disney Television Animation that originally aired for three seasons on ABC and Toon Disney from January 13, 2001, to its finale ...
'' television series, with ''Bonkers'' in the 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 other Disney films. He can be seen frequently in various scenes in ''
Who Framed Roger Rabbit ''Who Framed Roger Rabbit'' is a 1988 American live-action/animated comedy mystery film directed by Robert Zemeckis, produced by Frank Marshall and Robert Watts, and loosely adapted by Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman from Gary K. Wolf's 19 ...
'', and he is also seen in ''
The Lion King 1½ ''The Lion King 1½'' (also known as ''The Lion King 3: Hakuna Matata'', or ''The Lion King III: Hakuna Matata'') is a 2004 American animated direct-to-video musical comedy film produced by the Australian branch of Disneytoon Studios and release ...
'' along with many other Disney toons coming into the theater in the ending scene. *Br'er Bear has also made sporadic appearances in Disney comics. Although one Disney comic names Br'er Bear a title of "Honorary Constable of Cockleberry County" his "performance" is more akin to
Fearless Fosdick ''Fearless Fosdick'' is a long-running parody of Chester Gould's ''Dick Tracy''. It appeared intermittently as a strip-within-a-strip, in Al Capp's satirical hillbilly comic strip, ''Li'l Abner'' (1934–1977). Li'l Abner's "ideel" Fearless Fosd ...
. They appear sometimes in the Li'l Bad Wolf stories, where Br'er Bear is a farmer, and is sometimes on friendly terms with the other animals. Br'er Bear and Br'er Fox, along with Br'er Weasel, Br'er Buzzard and the Big Bad Wolf (A.K.A. Zeke Wolf or Br'er Wolf) are members of the "Foul Order of Foulfellows". A running gag is Zeke trying to get his hands on Br'er Bear's chickens so he can eat them, and he ends up getting pounded by Br'er Bear."Walt Disney Comics Digest # 29 June 1971 "The Sleepwalker" They also appear often in the Dutch ''Donald Duck'' comics, usually hunting Broer Konijn (Dutch for ''Brer Rabbit''). There, they are also given the names Rein Vos and Bruin Beer, respectively. *Both Br'er Bear and Br'er Fox make an appearance in the 2011 video game '' Kinect: Disneyland Adventures'' (''Disneyland Adventures'' in the 2017 remaster) and both can be seen near Splash Mountain in
Critter Country Critter Country is one of the "themed lands" at Disneyland Park and Tokyo Disneyland run by The Walt Disney Company and The Oriental Land Company. It was originally designed as Bear Country at Disneyland Park in 1972, with the Country Bear Jam ...
. *Br'er Bear's coat and farm hat are featured in 2022 film '' Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers''.


Other adaptations

The cult film '' Coonskin'', directed by
Ralph Bakshi Ralph Bakshi (born October 29, 1938) is an American animator and filmmaker. In the 1970s, he established an alternative to mainstream animation through independent and adult-oriented productions. Between 1972 and 1992, he directed nine theatric ...
, focuses on a trio of characters inspired by the original folktales.
Br'er Rabbit Br'er Rabbit (an abbreviation of ''Brother Rabbit'', also spelled Brer Rabbit) is a central figure in an oral tradition passed down by African-Americans of the Southern United States and African descendants in the Caribbean, notably Afro-Bahami ...
, Br'er Bear and Br'er Fox (renamed "Preacher Fox" in the film) all appear, and the elements of the stories are moved to a then-contemporary urban setting. ''
The Adventures of Brer Rabbit ''The Adventures of Brer Rabbit'' is a 2006 American animated comedy film loosely inspired by the African American Br'er Rabbit stories popularized by Joel Chandler Harris. The film notably features an all-black cast, including Nick Cannon as th ...
'' was a 2006 animated feature including the characters, aimed at families.


See also

* Sister Fox = Lisichka-sestrichka ( uk, Лисичка-сестричка which means Fox-sister)


References

{{Uncle Remus American folklore Anthropomorphic foxes Fictional bears Song of the South characters Disney comics characters Folklore of the Southern United States Literary characters introduced in 1881 Characters in American novels of the 19th century Georgia folklore Male literary villains Literary duos Animated duos African-American cultural history Male characters in animation Folklore characters