Disney has introduced a number of animated animal characters across its movies, including quite a few foxes. But which of these foxes is the best?

Across Disney's animated movies, there is guaranteed to be at least one animal character, be they sidekick, villain, or leading player. And one particular animal that has made frequent appearances in Disney movies is the fox.

Foxes are often stereotypically portrayed as crafty and cunning, which can automatically lead to classifying them as a villain type. But interestingly, not all of Disney's vulpine characters are antagonists. In fact, while most of them are clever, the majority of Disney's foxes are protagonists. Regardless of whether they are good or bad, Disney's foxes have made an everlasting impact on fans, some more so than others.

8 Foxy Loxy (Chicken Little)

Chicken Little was one of Disney's less successful movies with both critics and fans. Based loosely on the fairy tale, it focuses on the eponymous character, reimagined as a small nerdy misfit, as he tries to make something of himself by following his more popular father's footsteps in baseball.

Chicken Little had his small group of friends, but he also had a bully: Foxy Loxy. Along with her friend Goosey Loosey, Foxy delighted in tormenting the much weaker Chicken Little simply because she could. Although she was Chicken Little's main source of terror, she doesn't make much of an impact in the movie overall. An underwhelming character in an underwhelming movie, it is safe to put Foxy Loxy as the lowest of Disney's fox characters.

7 Maid Marian (Robin Hood)

Disney's version of Robin Hood is not only a beloved classic for many Disney fans, but also one of the most famous versions of the tale of Robin Hood. Each of the characters is turned into anthropomorphic animals, with the titular hero being made into a fox. So it's only natural that Maid Marian is cast as a fox too.

Maid Marian is a very sweet, fun-loving, and caring young woman, pining for her beloved Robin to return to her someday. Sadly, while a good-hearted lady, she is very passive in the movie's plot and is overshadowed by pretty much the entire cast. In fact, she is near absent for the second half of the movie until the very end when she marries Robin. It's a real shame that Marian, the movie's leading lady, takes a back seat in this movie. She had a lot of potential. Yet it is worth noting that Robin and Marian's romantic walk in the forest is calming and beautiful, with the accompanying song "Love" considered a very underrated Disney love song.

6 The Fox (Mary Poppins)

While it's mostly live-action, Mary Poppins remains one of Disney's most adored movies. One scene that many audiences most fondly remember is the animated sequence, in which Mary takes Bert and the children into one of Bert's chalk drawings. They explore the magical land and meet the many animated characters, which is one of the most timeless aspects of Mary Poppins.

One character they meet is a small wiry fox, who is pursued by hunting dogs. Out of pity, Bert rescues the little creature on his carousel horse. Whilst only in the movie for about a few minutes, the fox is a charming and fun fellow, showing some laughable feistiness when out of danger of the dogs. But with the animated song sequences and the iconic penguin waiters, the fox is unfortunately overshadowed.

5 Vixey (The Fox & The Hound)

Arguably considered Disney's best movie from the 1980s, The Fox & The Hound is something of a forgotten gem. Focusing on the friendship between a young fox named Tod and a hunting hound named Copper, the movie is ultimately very bittersweet, as Tod and Copper face trials and tribulations that threaten their friendship.

One of these impacts is that the formerly tame Tod must learn to live in the wild, and he gets help from a female fox named Vixey. Unlike Marian, Vixey takes more of an active role in the movie, despite not appearing until the movie's second half. Vixey is shown to be kind and sympathetic yet not afraid to call out Tod when he rudely insults her. Vixey is a great underrated character, who ultimately provides Tod with happiness in his new life in the wild.

4 Tod (The Fox & The Hound)

The titular fox of The Fox & The Hound is Tod, who is first introduced as a cub whose mother is tragically shot in order to protect him. He is then taken in and raised by the kindly Widow Tweed, while also befriending the equally motherly owl Big Mama. He later grows up and is released into the wild as a young adult after a close call with Amos the hunter.

As a cub, Todd is playful and adorable. His friendship with the equally adorable puppy Copper is one of the movie's most delightful and heartwarming moments. But it is when Tod becomes an adult that his character arc begins to grow and develop. Initially immature and insistent that he and Copper will always be friends, Tod soon grows in maturity and cunning, eventually saving the grown-up Copper from a vicious bear. It is through Tod's maturity and growth that he really proves his friendship with Copper, even if they can no longer see each other.

3 Honest John (Pinocchio)

Disney's first animated fox was introduced in their second animated classic Pinocchio. J. Worthington Foulfellow, more famously yet ironically known as "Honest John", is a crook who scams Pinocchio into getting sold to Stromboli (and later Pleasure Island) along with his mute partner-in-crime, Gideon.

Of all of the villains in Pinocchio, Honest John is the least threatening and least sinister, but he's certainly the most lovable. His intentions are purely driven by greed and he comes off as more mischievous than truly villainous. Furthermore, his slapstick back-and-forth with the equally lovable Gideon are some of the movie's highlights, and it's funny to see a rather slimy crook get humiliated. He's not one of Disney's most popular villains, but Honest John is definitely one of Disney's best foxes.

2 Robin Hood (Robin Hood)

When most people think of Disney's foxes, perhaps the first that comes to mind is Robin Hood. More specifically, what comes to mind is Robin Hood and his loyal friend Little John carefreely strolling through Sherwood Forest to "Ooh-De-Lally", one of Disney's catchiest tunes.

Robin is an excellent Disney hero, and perhaps one of the first of Disney's lovable rogues. He is charming, gallant, carefree, and mischievous, taking glee out of humiliating the childish Prince John while he steals from him to give to the poor. Although he's roguish, Robin isn't arrogant, even when taking part in the archery competition. Robin is not only an excellent fox, but one of Disney's best classic heroes.

1 Nick Wilde (Zootopia)

The most recent animated fox to join Disney's beloved cast of characters is Nick Wilde, one of the protagonists from Zootopia. Initially playing to the fox stereotype of being a crooked and cunning con-man, Nick teams up with police officer Judy to solve a case of missing predators.

Nick is instantly a loveable character, shown to be wisecracking, wily, and overall rather funny. But what makes Nick even more successful is the depth of his character. Underneath the confident exterior, Nick is actually quite vulnerable in his emotions, as shown after a heartbreaking experience of bullying he endured as a child, thus choosing to live up to his stereotypical fox nature as cunning. Nick's character growth is just as endearing to watch as Judy's, and although he grows up, he still retains his lovable roguish charm and sense of humor.

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