Chanticleer and the Fox- Martin Erickson

Martin Erickson
TE 348 Sect. 002
10/21/08
Chanticleer and the Fox

Retold by: Fulton Roberts
Illustrated by: Marc Davis

This story, originated by Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, and adapted by Barbara Cooney in 1958, was redone extremely well by writer Fulton Roberts and the legendary illustrator Marc Davis. This enchanting fable is about the vain rooster Chanticleer who rules the village as the appointed Mayor with pompous severity until the sly fox Reynard arrives with the intentions of ending the rooster’s reign and eating all the beautiful hens. Fun and mayhem take over the city under Reynard’s influence and Chanticleer soon loses all his friends and supporters, until the fox finally crosses the line. In the end, Chanticleer learns that “no one in the village is more important than anyone else” (31), and the townspeople also realize that they need Chanticleer because they “do not get up by [themselves]. [They] still need Chanticleer to wake [them]” (31). This story of how Chanticleer learns a valuable lesson, and how the villagers come to appreciate his true talents, show how vanity and pride can destroy even the best of relationships with the people you care most about.
The colorful characters portrayed by animals in this fable really bring the book to life. The book is written in third-person objective-omniscient like other classic Disney tails. The artwork, done by the famous Disney cartoonist Marc Davis, is very unique in the way that it is somewhat rough, yet very detailed and colorful. The details of the characters shine in this book and are in classic Disney form that children of all ages will appreciate.

Works Cited
Roberts, Fulton. Chanticleer and the Fox 500 South Buena Vista St., Burbank, California
Disney Press, 1991