Parents' Guide to

The Big Bad Fox and Other Tales

Movie G 2018 83 minutes
The Big Bad Fox and Other Tales Poster Image

Common Sense Media Review

Barbara Shulgasser-Parker By Barbara Shulgasser-Parker , based on child development research. How do we rate?

age 5+

Cheeky farm animals save a baby (and Christmas).

Parents Need to Know

Why Age 5+?

Any Positive Content?

  • The Big Bad Fox and Other Tales Movie: Fox tries to scare an unimpressed hen.
  • The Big Bad Fox and Other Tales Movie: Scene 2
  • The Big Bad Fox and Other Tales Movie: Scene 3

Parent and Kid Reviews

See all
age 6+

Based on 3 parent reviews

Bonnieandjohnny
Bonnieandjohnny Parent of 4, 8 and 10-year-old
August 17, 2024
age 5+

drmomnyc
drmomnyc Adult
October 21, 2020
age 6+

Another Santa doubter

We are big Ernest and Celestine fans. This was not as good but still entertaining. Only thing - I hate children's movies that seem intended to include younger viewers in its audience and the calls out 2 characters for still believing that Santa (Father Christmas) is real. Postpone or skip this one if your child still believes in Santa!
See all 3 parent reviews

What's the Story?

Farm animals perform a three-part play in THE BIG BAD FOX AND OTHER TALES. A rather inept Fox (Giles New) gets no respect from the hens when he incompetently tries to raid the coop at the farm. He's reduced to eating turnips the kindly Pig (Justin Edwards) offers as the hens chuck him out. The local Wolf (Matthew Goode) suggests Fox steal some eggs, raise them into chickens, and then the two can feast together when they birds have fattened up. But when the chicks hatch and imprint on Fox, calling him Mummy, Fox grows increasingly protective of his brood. Another vignette forces sage Pig and dimwitted Rabbit and Duck to take over for a lazy stork to deliver a baby to its parents, and the last follows Duck, Rabbit, and Pig as they try to impersonate Santa, elves, and a reindeer to save Christmas and deliver presents to kids.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (3 ):
Kids say (1 ):

This is a delightful animated romp, adapted from co-director Benjamin Renner's comic books, with characters designed to appeal to young kids. The actors in The Big Bad Fox and Other Tales speak in normal adult voices, giving the impression that the crazy goings-on are ordinary and normal, which adds to the humor. The hens organize, firing the farm's lazy guard dog, then devising anti-fox initiatives and taking up self defense classes, a lot like the take-charge farm animals in Doreen Cronin's wonderful children's book Click, Clack, Moo, Cows that Type. The three stories were originally created as half-hour television specials.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about what family means. The chicks think a fox is their mother. How do the chicks in The Big Bad Fox and Other Tales persuade Fox that they're a family?

  • How do we know that cartoon violence is meant to be funny? Is it that the characters never really seem to be permanently hurt?

  • Why do you think Pig worries so much about Rabbit and Duck?

Movie Details

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

See all recommended movie lists

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

See how we rate