The Tale of the Fox

The Tale of the Fox
Original French poster
Directed by	Irene Starevich Ladislas Starevich
Produced by	Louis Nalpas (1929-1931) Roger Richebé (1939-1941)
Written by	Johann Wolfgang Goethe (story) Jean Nohain (dialogue) Antoinette Nordmann (dialogue) Roger Richebé Irene Starevich Ladislas Starevich
Starring	Claude Dauphin Romain Bouquet Laine Sylvain Itkine Léon Larive
Music by	Vincent Scotto
Cinematography	Ladislas Starevich
Edited by	Laura Sejourné
Release date	Germany April 10, 1937 France April 10, 1941
Running time	65 minutes
Country	France
Language	German (1937) French (1941)

The Tale of the Fox (French: Le Roman de Renard, German: Reinecke Fuchs) was stop-motion animation pioneer Ladislas Starevich's first fully animated feature film. The film is based on the tales of Renard the Fox. Although the animation was finished in Paris after an 18-month period (1929-1930), there were major problems with adding a soundtrack to the film. Finally, funding was given for a German soundtrack by the UFA -- Goethe had written a classic version of the Renard legend—and this version had its premiere in Berlin in April 1937.

Released eight months before Disney's Snow White, it is the world's sixth-ever animated feature film (and the second to use puppet animation, following The New Gulliver from the USSR). The film was released in France with a French language soundtrack in 1941; this is the version which is currently available on DVD.

In the kingdom of animals, the fox Renard is used to tricking and fooling everyone. Consequently, the King (a lion), receives more and more complaints. Finally, he orders Renard to be arrested and brought before the throne.