The Red Hoodie Guy Character and the Blue Character is a 1984 traditionally animated film that was distributed by TriStar Pictures and Touchstone Pictures. It was the first animated film TriStar ever distributed and produced. The film was inspired by The Fox and the Hound, except that some things were changed for originality and so that they wouldn't get sued. Unlike the film that TRHGCATBC inspired, the film has sexual tension in it, unusual for a G rated film.
The film was released to mainly positive reviews and is still a classic today. The only thing the fans hated were the change of release dates.
Synopsis
Characters
Main/Supporting
- Mickey Rooney as Justin, the main character. He gets taken in by Julie, a kindly widowed woman, after his mom is shot by hunters. When he is a kid, he becomes friends with Julie's neighbor (and love interest)'s son, Charlie despite the fact they should be enemies.
- Joey Lawrence as young Justin
- Ian Puleston-Davies as Charlie, Joey's son and Justin's childhood friend. He often gets caught running off by his dad. He befriends Justin as a kid despite the fact they should be enemies.
- Keith Coogan as young Charlie
- Jack Albertson as Joey, a grouchy, mean-spirited hunter who is the neighbor and love interest (and later husband) of Julie. He will kill just about anything wild, but for some unknown reason he has a special hatred for red hoodie guys (it may have something to do with the fact that he keeps chickens). He is the father of Charlie and Dallas, and throughout most of the film tries to kill Justin and fall in love with Julie. Unlike most animated villains, however, he reforms in the end. His lines were recorded before Jack Albertson, his voice actor, sadly passed away from cancer in November 25, 1981.
- Pearl Bailey as Kayla, a kind woman who takes Justin under her wing after his mom was shot. She, along with two of her friends, Eric and Brian, arranged for Charlie to be adopted by Julie when his mom was murdered. Kayla also set Charlie up with Kimberly after he was forced to live in the game preserve.
- Jeanette Nolan as Julie, a lonely widow who adopts Charlie after his mom is killed and the neighbor and love interest of Joey. However, she later abandons Charlie in the game preserve to save his life upon finding out that Joey tried murdering him after unintentionally injuring Dallas.
- Pat Buttram as Dallas, Joey's son and Charlie's big brother. Like his dad, he was bad at first before reforming and also hates red hoodie guys. He was hit by a train during the film but ends up surviving with a broken leg. He was also seen crying tears of joy at Julie and Joey's wedding in the ending of the film.
- Jack Angel as David, a child Eric and Brian chase through out the film. In the end, he grows up and attends the wedding of Julie and Joey.
- Richard Bakalyan as Eric, best friend of Brian. He and Brian help Kayla arrange for Julie to adopt Justin, as well as warn Justin of the dangers of hanging around with Charlie. They are also seen throughout the film unsuccessfully pursuing a child named David that they intend to eat.
- George Lindsey as Brian, Eric's best friend.
- Elizabeth Hartman as Kimberly, Kayla's best friend and Justin's girlfriend (and later wife). This was the last film Hartman was in before she sadly committed suicide in June 10, 1987.
Minor
- Clarence Nash as the bear, a giant black grizzly bear that tries to kill Charlie and his dad Joey during the climax.
- John McIntire as Duncan, a cranky red hoodie guy
- John Fiedler as Ryan, a friendly young guy who lets Charlie stay with him. Fiedler also voices the priest who marries Julie and Joey.
- Hermione Baddeley as Millie, Justin's mom who was shot at the beginning of the film.
- Judy Flynn as a woman in the game preserve. The fans have named her Judy, after her voice actress.
Production
The film started production in November 1980 (which may explain why Joey's voice is Jack Albertson, the film used archival voice recordings). Ellen Green, one of the two writers for the film, originally wanted to kill off Dallas, Joey's son, but the director, Ted Field, did not approve of Green's idea, so they made Dallas survive with a broken leg. They originally planned him to pass on after getting hit by a train during the scene where Dallas, Charlie, and Joey chase Justin. The film took three years to make because they had to change some parts to make the film more original and better.
In November 1981, production carried on. The producer, Caroline Biggerstaff, snuck in some chemistry between Justin's mom, Julie, and Charlie's dad, Joey. Everyone except Field liked Biggerstaff's choice. Biggerstaff refused to remove the scenes from the film, since she thought it would make the film more original. Judy Green agreed with Caroline and they kept the scenes.
After two years of arguments and producing, the film was finally completed in November 1984. Originally, the planned the film to be released in January 27 of the next year, 1985. However, they pushed the release date to May 27th so they could release it on a Monday.
Trivia
- It was the first and only film from TriStar that was released on VHS by a Disney company, Touchstone Home Video. The VHS was released in 1992 and 1998. The film was theatrically distributed by Touchstone Pictures too.
- The film was released after Jack Albertson (the voice of Joey) and before Elizabeth Hartman (the voice of Justin's girlfriend, Kimberly) passed away. The film was dedicated to Albertson and Hartman. The end credits have a dedication message that says, "In loving memory of Jack Albertson, June 16, 1907-November 25, 1981." The film was also released after Albertson recorded his lines.