literature

The Fox King 1 Read-Along

Deviation Actions

ToonFanJoey's avatar
By
Published:
6.5K Views

Literature Text

Next cancelled Disney spoof read-along is one based on The Lion King, featuring foxes.

This is the cast:
Simba - Tod
Nala - Vixey
Timon - Rocket "Rocky" J. Squirrel
Pumbaa - Bullwinkle J. Moose
Mufasa - Robin Hood (Disney version)
Sarabi - Maid Marian (Disney version)
Scar - Farley (Charlotte's Web 2: Wilbur's Great Adventure)
Shenzi, Banzai and Ed - themselves
Rafiki - Miles (Barnyard)
Zazu - Lofty Thaddeus Worthington Pigeon (Valiant)
Sarafina - Mrs. Felicity Fox (Fantastic Mr. Fox)

If I would have kept doing this as a YouTube recast spoof, I would have featured clips of Tod (as a kit) and Rita (from the Jungledyret Hugo films) in the parts where cub Simba and Nala are. One of the reasons for cancelling it though is because Scar was scared and worried in some parts of the film, and as great a choice Farley is for Scar, he's never scared or worried in the sequel to Charlotte's Web. So, I'm just summarizing this whole reenactment instead. Enjoy. I do not own the characters or their franchises.

-

"ToonFanJoe Presents"

"A read-along spoof summarization of..."

"The Fox King"

"Based on the Disney film 'The Lion King', which is loosely based on Shakespeare's 'Hamlet'"

---

One morning, in Toonfrica, as the sun rose over the horizon, the animals of the toovannah all assembled at Skulk Rock to honor King Robin and Queen Marian's newborn fox kit, Tod. The proud parents had just welcomed the tiny kit to the great Circle of Life, and their friend, a wise donkey named Miles, presented the future king to the animals, who cheered and stamped their feet, before bowing.

One animal did not attend the ceremony however, and that was Robin's brother, Farley. He had been next in line to rule until Tod was born. Farley lamented to a chick named Maddie, whom he was about to eat, "Life's not far is it? While I shall never be king, you'll never see another daylight."

Just then, Robin's advisor, a pigeon named Lofty, flew by, announcing, "King Robin's on his way, so you better have a good alibi for missing the ceremony this morning." In the process, Maddie flew away, to Farley's disappointment.

Now, Robin was not pleased with his brother's absence from the celebration, nor was he with his brother attempting to eat Lofty. "Marian and I didn't see you at the presentation of Tod this morning," Robin scolded his brother. Farley then shrugged it off, claiming he forgot, and was about to head back to his den. "Don't turn your back on me, Farley."

"Oh no, brother, perhaps you shouldn't turn your back on me," Farley warned.

As time passed, Tod had grown into a curious kit. Robin had promised to teach him about being king. So, one morning, he took him to the top of Skulk Rock, and the father and son looked out into the horizon. "Look, Tod," Robin said. "Everything the light touches is part of our kingdom." But he cautioned his son to never go to the outlands.

Later that day, Tod visited his Uncle Farley, and said excitedly, "Dad just showed me the whole kingdom, and I'm going to rule it all one day!" Then he asked, "Hey, when I'm king, what'll that make you?"

"A monkey's uncle." Farley answered dryly.

"You are so weird."

"You have no idea at all, do you?"

Then the uncle fox got an idea, asking his nephew if Robin showed him the Elephant Graveyard. He added, "Only the bravest of canines go there."

So Tod went to his best friend Vixey, who was being given a bath by her mother, Felicity, and Marian then gave Tod a bath while he was there, to his chagrin. Once bathing was done, Tod told his friend, "Come on! I just heard about this really cool place!"

Of course, knowing their mothers wouldn't allow them to go explore the graveyard, so they lied about going to the water hole. The kits' mothers granted them permission, under the condition that Lofty went with them. Once they were in the toovannah, they whispered on how they would figure to ditch Lofty, but the pigeon saw the two kits talking to each other, and interrupted them, "Look at you two turtle doves, blossoming about! This will please your parents, especially with your being betrothed and all."

The fox kits didn't know what betrothed meant, so Lofty explained that they would both be married one day, and that disgusted the two, finding the idea of two friends marrying each other to be weird. Lofty countered by telling them it's part of the royal tradition, and Tod objected that he would remove the tradition once he becomes king. Then when the kits raced throughout the toovannah, passing many herds of animals, they lost Lofty, just as they planned.

Tod and Vixey cautiously walked towards an enormous skull and Lofty, who had been searching for the kits, knew they were in big trouble. As soon as he found them, three cackling hyenas, Shenzi, Banzai and Ed emerged from the shadows and cornered the three. They insisted the kits and pigeon should stay for dinner, but they actually meant AS dinner.  

Tod, Vixey and Lofty ran for it, but the hyenas caught the pigeon and stuffed him inside a geiser of lava, shooting him high in the air like a skyrocket. The fox kits ran back to help Lofty, in spite of showing up too late to stop him from being shot up. Tod demanded in his bravest tone, "Why don't you pick on someone your own size?"

So without hesitation, the hyenas charged after the fox kits, who were no match for the predator trio, not even when Tod scratched Shenzi across the cheek. When it looked like the two were done for, Robin arrived, after being told what has happened by Lofty, and he saved them, threatening the hyenas never to come near his son again and the frightened three ran away.

When returning home, Tod was in big trouble. Robin scolded his son for going against his orders not to go to the Elephant Graveyard and for even putting Vixey in danger in the process. However, the fox king did not stay mad for long, as he and his son looked under the stars.

"We'll always be together, right?" asked Tod.

"Look at the stars," said Robin. "The great kings of the past look down on us from those stars. Just remember that those kings will always be there to guide, and so will I, I guarantee you that."

Meanwhile, Farley paid the hyenas a visit, angry that they had failed to kill Tod. You see, he hired them to kill his nephew so he could claim the throne for himself. "I practically had those kits gift wrapped for you and you can't even get them open when you had the opprotunity." However, he had a new plan. He announced, "It's time that we be prepared...for the death of the king."

Banzai asked, "Why? Is he sick?"

"No, you twit. We're going to kill him, and Tod too. After that, I will be king. Stick with me, and you'll never go hungry again!"

The next day, Farley brought Tod to a gorge, where wildebeests were grazing nearby. "You just stay right here, nephew. Your father has a marvelous surprise for you."

When Farley got safely away, the hyenas chased the wildebeests into the gorge toward Tod. Then Farley ran off to find Robin and he got there, seemingly concerned as he shouted, "Robin! Quickly, there's a stampede in the gorge! Tod is down there!" With that, Robin hurried off immediately to save his son. He managed to rescue Tod, but the herd carried the king farther down the gorge.

He leaped out, trying to climb out of the gorge, but the rocks began to crumble and cave beneath him. To his relief, he saw Farley up above. He cried out, "Farley! Brother, help me!"

But instead of helping him, Farley violently dug his claws into his Robin's paws, whispering evilly, "Long live the king." Robin quickly realized what was going on but was too late to escape as his brother pushed him into the gorge.

Once the stampede have all cleared out, Tod found his father lying lifelessly at the bottom of the cliff. The kit tearfully nudged Robin, but the fox king did not stir.

Then Farley appeared, saying, "Oh, Tod, what have you done?"

Tod explained, overwhelmed with grief, "It was an accident. I-I didn't mean for it to happen."

His uncle said in a seemingly comforting tone, "I know you didn't mean for it to happen, but the fact remains that Robin is dead, and if it weren't for you, he'd still be alive."

"What am I gonna do?"

"Run away, Tod!" Farley told him, "Run away and never return!"

So Farley watched as Tod left the only home he had ever known. Then, once the kit was out of sight, Farley ordered the hyenas to kill him. They chased Tod through the gorge and up a steep cliff. Tod leaped into a thorny briar patch below, desperate to escape. The hyenas skidded to a stop upon seeing the briar patch, except Ed managed to push Banzai in there. The hyenas, not wanting to go through the briar patch like Banzai did, agreed he was as good as dead out there anyway before returning to Skulk Rock.

That night, at Skulk Rock, Farley broke the news of Robin's death. He explained that Tod's young life was cut short, too. "It is with heavy heart that I assume the throne," he said...before declaring he would rule alongside the hyenas and other predators. The foxes hung their heads as Farley ascended Skulk Rock, and Miles went back to the tree he always was near, wiping away the picture of Tod he painted when the kit was born.

With Tod, after running and running, the exhausted kit couldn't run a step further, so he collapsed in the middle of the dessert, and would have been food for buzzards, who thought he was dead, but then, a squirrel named Rocky and a moose named Bullwinkle came running out of nowhere, fighting off the buzzards for their amusement. They found the unconscious fox kit, and to prevent him from hunting them when getting older, they decided to take him in and under their wing. So they brought Tod home with them, and when he awoke, thanks to rehydration, he was still depressed. The moose and squirrel then explained that when life gets them down, a certain phrase lifts their spirits.

Rocky said, "Just remember this. Hakuna Matata."

Tod still had no clue, but Bullwinkle explained that it meant 'no worries'. Tod began to take this new motto to his heart and started enjoying his new friends' carefree lifestyle, deciding to stay in the jungle and leave his old life behind. It took some getting used to for him to like the taste of bugs, which the moose and squirrel ate, apart from moss and nuts.

Years later, Tod grew into a strong, young fox. He tried forgetting everything about his past, but one night he gazed into the evening sky with Rocky and Bullwinkle, and couldn't help but think of the great kings of the past, as well as everything Robin had taught him. Tod then sighed in depression, not knowing where he belonged in the great circle of life.

Then some leaves from Tod's direction blew to Miles's tree, and that, with help from the spirits, told him that Tod was alive. So he repainted his picture of Tod, only as a grown fox.

One day, as Rocky and Bullwinkle strolled through the forest, singing "The Canine Sleeps Tonight", when Bullwinkle went to chase after a beetle. Then a snarling vixen attacked Bullwinkle. The terrified moose ran away but tripped on a tree root, twisting his ankle. So Rocky flew around to confuse the vixen for a while until Tod rushed into protect his moose friend. Tod wrestled the vixen, before she pinned him to the ground. Tod quickly realized it was Vixey, all grown up.

Vixey was both surprised and happy to see her childhood friend alive and all grown up, and what's more, she realized Tod was the rightful king, especially when King Farley was letting the Skulk Lands go to ruins. Rocky and Bullwinkle were shocked to find out the fox was king and had never told them, but Tod insisted that he was still the same guy they knew.

Then, Tod and Vixey went into the forest to get reacquainted with each other after so many years, to Rocky and Bullwinkle's dismay. Vixey was happy to see her friend again after she thought he was dead for so long, and Tod was happy to see her again. As he showed her around the beautiful jungle, some new feeling began developing between the two, and that would be love. When they were kits, they thought the idea of romance between them was something to avoid, but now, they didn't care anymore.

Then Vixey remembered something as she told her childhood friend/love, "We really need your help. Farley has taken over Skulk Rock and has let the Skulk Lands become barren, and as a result, there are numbers of animals starving."

"I can't go back." Tod said in refusal. "You wouldn't understand! Sometimes bad things happen, and there's nothing you can do about it. What about you? You left!"

"I left to find help, and you're the only one who can! You're the king!"

"You think you can just show up out of nowhere and tell me how to live my live?! You don't even have any idea what I've been through!"

"I would if you just told me!"

Tod snapped, "Forget it!" with Vixey yelling back, "Fine!"

That night, Tod was completely depressed. He couldn't go back and he probably lost Vixey, because of the argument, just when he started to fall in love with her. He yelled to his late father in the sky, "You said you'd always be there for me...but you're not. It's because of me." Then, wise old Miles found him alone, with the donkey repeating some ancient native chant, to the fox's annoyance. Tod, not remembering him, thought he was just some crazy old donkey, but he was wiser than Tod took him for.

"I know who you are. You're Robin's boy." he said. "He is indeed alive. I'll show him to you. Just follow old Miles, he knows the way."

Curious, Tod followed Miles to the edge of a stream. As he looked into there, his reflection changed its shape and became the face of Robin! "You see, kid, he lives in you." told the donkey.

Then Robin's face appeared in the clouds and began to speak, "Remember who you are, Tod. Look inside yourself. You are my son and the one true king. You must take your place in the circle of life." The clouds faded away and after taking the stick Miles used to hit the fox with a couple times and chucking it away, Tod knew what he had to do.

"I'm going back!" Tod told Miles, and immediately set off for Skulk Rock.

The next morning, Vixey asked Rocky and Bullwinkle where Tod was, because she wanted to apologize, but neither of them knew. Miles, who knew Rocky already, told them where Tod went. When Tod reached the kingdom, he was devistated to find that the once beautiful land now dry and barren. Just then, Vixey, Rocky and Bullwinkle ran up behind them, with the latter two taking longer to get there. The three were more than willing to help Tod reclaim the throne.

"At your service, my liege." Bullwinkle said, bowing.

While Tod searched for Farley, Rocky and Bullwinkle distracted the hyenas with a hula dance, and the hyenas also encountered Rocky already. Tod then soon saw Farley arguing with Marian on whether they should leave Skulk Rock or not. Farley refused to leave, and when Marian retaliated that he was not the king her husband was, Farley struck her to the ground, and that's when Tod leaped out with an angry snarl at his uncle, frightening him slightly. Tod told his mother he was alive and has come home.

"Tod, how nice it is to see you...alive" said Farley, while glaring at the hyenas at the last part.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't tear you apart." Tod said darkly to his uncle. But with all the hyenas and some other animals backing Farley up, Tod seemed outmatched, except Vixey rallied up any animal who was against Farley's rule. Then Farley forced Tod to say, in front of all, that he had caused his father's death.

Farley said menacingly, "Oh, you're in trouble now, Tod, but this time, daddy isn't here to save you, and now, everyone knows why." Tod backed fearfully against the edge, and lightning struck again, setting fire to the brush of the Skulk Lands.

As Tod dangled, Farley then whispered into his nephew's ear, revealing the secret, "I killed Robin." Finally knowing the truth, Tod leaped onto Farley furious, and close to choking him.

"Tell them the truth!" Tod demanded.

"Alright, I killed Robin!" Farley admitted, loud enough for everyone to hear.

So Vixey, Marian and the other animals battled Farley and his followers, with Rocky, Bullwinkle, and Lofty, after eventually being let out of his rib cage, joining. Through the smoke and flames of the brushfire, Tod spotted Farley trying to escape and he ran after the older fox. Soon, Tod had his uncle cornered.

Farley pleaded, "Tod, please, I am family! It's the hyenas who are the real enemy! It was their idea!"

Tod said, "Why should I believe you? Everything you told me since I was a kit was a lie! You used my curiousity against me to get me killed in the Elephant Graveyard and you set the whole stampede up!"

"You wouldn't kill your own uncle in revenge, would you?"

"No, Farley, I'm not like you!"

"Oh, thank you, Tod, how can I ever repay you?"

"Run away, Farley, and never return."

So Farley began to slink off, but then swiped some coals at Tod's face, before the two broke out into one more brawl. At the end, when Tod was down and Farley lept out for one last killing lunge, Tod kicked him over the edge below. There Farley saw the hyenas waiting, thinking he was saved, but they overheard him calling them the enemies earlier. So the betrayed carnivores turned on the frightened fox, trying to explain to no avail, but devoured him.

A rain shower poured from the sky, putting out the brush fires, and Tod limped badly as he went to Vixey, Rocky and Bullwinkle, thanking them for not giving up on him. Miles then appeared, guiding him to the top of Skulk Rock, telling him, "It's time." Tod then descended to the top of Skulk Rock, taking his rightful place as king, as he led the animals with a mighty howl.

With Farley gone, the followers of Farley who refused to recant were banished to the outlands, and the rest of the animals rejoiced for the new fox king, as the Skulk Lands reflourished and returned to its former glory. Vixey remained by Tod's side, as his queen, and soon, they had a little vixen cub. At the celebration of the newborn, all friends gathered around, including Rocky, Bullwinkle, and Lofty, as Miles lifted up the kit for all the animals to see, continuing the Circle of Life, but there will be more to tell someday.

To be continued...

--

Date recreation started: September 26, 2012

---

Well, that's done, and eventually, I'll get to the sequels in read-along form, but separately. However, I've been losing interest in The Lion King II: Simba's Pride as I've gotten older, but still like the idea of using Skunk and Fox (Skunk Fu) as Kovu and Kiara, especially since 2011, I was interested in Skunk speaking with Jason Marsden's voice instead of Jules De Johng's. I'd like to include the love plot between Skunk and Fox (who's playing Kiara), but these things puzzle me about the movie and its continuity:
1. If Scar was a bad king enough to let the Pride Lands go to ruins, then why did Zira, Nuka, Vitani and some other lionesses follow him, bent on vengeance?
2. What happened to the hyenas?
3. Where would Kion and the Lion Guard fit in to this? I know the Lion Guard's in between the sequel, but so far, there's no explanation of where he is.

So if I'm going to do a read-along of "Tod's Skulk" (that's the title it'd be given, Skulk is a term for group of foxes), it'd have to be tweaked.

Other than those details, here's the cast so far, for the sequels:
Zira - ???
Vitani - Fiona Fox (Sonic the Hedgehog)
Nuka - ???
Ma - ???
Uncle Max - ???
Iron Joe, the panicky squirrel - Twitchy (Hoodwinked)

I also have had an interest in summarizing The Skunk King trilogy, since Michaelsar's not doing it anymore.
Comments1
Join the community to add your comment. Already a deviant? Log In
Julayla-64's avatar
And now this is done. I have no idea on continuity sadly nor on casting ideas...unless you want Nuka's role to go to Long John Silver