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 ''Song of the South'' is a 1946 American live-action/animated musical drama film directed by Harve Foster and Wilfred Jackson; produced by Walt Disney and released by RKO Radio Pictures. It is based on the Uncle Remus stories as adapted b ...

'' 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

, while Brer Bear was voiced by Nick Stewart. In contrast to the earlier illustrations of

Frederick S. Church Frederick Stuart Church (1842–1924) was an American artist, working mainly as an illustrator and especially known for his (often allegorical) depiction of animals. Biography He was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan. His father was an import ...

, A. B. Frost, and

E. W. Kemble Edward Winsor Kemble (January 18, 1861 – September 19, 1933), usually cited as E. W. Kemble, and sometimes referred to incorrectly as Edward Windsor Kemble, was an American illustrator. He is known best for illustrating the first edition of '' ...

, 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 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 envisio ...

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 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 "Our Unsung Villains" is a 1956 episode of ''Disneyland'' which originally aired on ABC on February 15, 1956. It was repeated on June 10, 1960. Synopsis The episode has Walt Disney handing over the hosting duties to the Magic Mirror, who promptl ...

''. *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 film, live-action/animated comedy film, comedy mystery film directed by Robert Zemeckis, produced by Frank Marshall (filmmaker), Frank Marshall and Robert Watts, and loosely ad ...

'', and he is also seen in '' The Lion King 1½'' along with many other Disney

toon Toon may refer to: Places * Tōon, Ehime, a Japanese city in Ehime Prefecture * Toon, the former name of Ferdows, a city in South Khorasan Province, Iran * Toon, Somaliland, a town in the Garoodi region People * Toon (name), a list of peop ...

s 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 A cult film or cult movie, also commonly referred to as a cult classic, is a film that has acquired a cult following. Cult films are known for their dedicated, passionate fanbase which forms an elaborate subculture, members of which engage i ...

'' 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 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 t ...

'' was a 2006 animated feature including the characters, aimed at families.

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

Disney adaptions

Other adaptations

See also

References