26 Fox Cartoon Characters

Robin Hood from Disney’s 1973 animated film is probably the most beloved fox cartoon character of all time. Charming. Clever. Steals from the rich. Gives to the poor. Fights injustice while looking impossibly cool in green and yellow.

The whole movie is honestly carried by his roguish energy and the Alan-a-Dale soundtrack. If “fox” appears as a romanticized animal in your brain, that’s because Disney’s Robin Hood put it there.

Nick Wilde is the smooth-talking red fox con artist who teams up with Judy Hopps in Disney’s 2016 hit “Zootopia.” He starts as a small-time hustler running a popsicle scam. He ends as one of the most beloved Disney protagonists of the 2010s.

The whole movie is built on the assumption that foxes are sly and untrustworthy, and Nick’s arc deconstructs that stereotype piece by piece. One of the best male fox cartoon characters Disney has ever made.

Tails is the two-tailed orange fox who debuted in Sonic the Hedgehog 2 back in 1992. He’s Sonic’s best friend, sidekick, and mechanical genius. Also, he flies. By spinning his two tails like a helicopter. Pure 90s video game design logic.

Tails has been a Sonic franchise staple for over 30 years now. Smart, brave, slightly anxious, fiercely loyal. One of the most enduring fox cartoon characters in gaming history.

Mr. Fox is the smooth, slightly self-obsessed family man at the center of Wes Anderson’s 2009 stop-motion adaptation of the Roald Dahl novel. Voiced by George Clooney with maximum George Clooney energy.

He steals food from three cruel farmers, gets his whole community in trouble, and then has to outsmart them with cunning and family teamwork. Anderson’s signature aesthetic plus Dahl’s storytelling makes this one of the best-looking fox movies ever made.

Maid Marian is the elegant vixen love interest in Disney’s 1973 Robin Hood. Niece of King Richard. Lady-in-waiting alongside the iconic Lady Kluck. She’s gentle, brave, and one of the most beloved female fox cartoon characters in Disney’s lineup.

The dance scene with Robin in the meadow (“Love”) is one of the loveliest moments in any 70s Disney film. Holds up perfectly.

Tod is the young red fox at the center of Disney’s 1981 emotional gut-punch, “The Fox and the Hound.” His friendship with Copper the hound dog is the entire heart of the movie, and the way society pulls them apart is devastating.

If you want a fox character who genuinely makes you cry, Tod’s your guy. One of Disney’s most emotionally complete animal characters.

Vixey is Tod’s love interest in The Fox and the Hound. Gentle, patient, and slightly more streetwise about life in the wild than Tod (who was raised by a human). She helps him adapt to forest life and adds real emotional depth to his arc.

A great example of a Disney female fox character whose role is small but meaningful.

Finnick is the tiny fennec fox with the absurdly deep voice in Zootopia. He’s Nick Wilde’s partner-in-crime, dressed up as a baby in their popsicle scam. The moment he opens his mouth and that gruff adult voice comes out is one of the funniest reveals in any Disney movie.

Tough. Streetwise. Maybe 12 inches tall. Absolute legend.

Mrs. Fox is the calm, grounded, painter wife of Mr. Fox in Wes Anderson’s stop-motion film. Voiced by Meryl Streep. She holds the family together while her husband does increasingly reckless things in the name of “being a fox.”

Her quiet emotional intelligence is one of the most underrated character traits in any animated film of the 2000s.

Fox McCloud is the leader of the Star Fox team and one of Nintendo’s most iconic animal heroes. Debuted in 1993 on the SNES. Has been flying spaceships, fighting Andross, and yelling “Do a barrel roll!” ever since.

A staple of Super Smash Bros. and one of the most recognizable fox cartoon characters in gaming.

Honest John is the sly red fox con artist from Disney’s 1940 Pinocchio. He’s named “Honest” specifically because he’s the opposite. He tricks Pinocchio into joining a puppet show, then later into going to Pleasure Island, which turns boys into donkeys. Genuinely menacing for a 1940 cartoon.

One of Disney’s earliest villainous fox characters. The blueprint for the “untrustworthy fox” trope Disney would revisit for the next 80 years.

Swiper is the mask-wearing fox who tries to steal stuff from Dora and Boots in basically every episode of Dora the Explorer. His whole plot is foiled when kids at home yell “Swiper, no swiping!” three times at the TV.

A simple character. A massive cultural footprint. Every kid born after 1999 knows exactly who Swiper is.

Gideon Grey is the orange fox bully who picks on Judy Hopps when they’re kids in Zootopia. He’s a minor character on screen but a huge one thematically. His arc, where he grows up and apologizes for being cruel, is one of the most quietly satisfying redemption moments in any modern Disney film.

A great example of a side character who hits harder than expected.

Ninetales is the elegant nine-tailed Fire-type fox Pokemon from Gen 1. Inspired by the kitsune of Japanese folklore. Evolves from Vulpix using a Fire Stone. Holds mystical powers in the games’ lore. Easily one of the most beautiful Pokemon designs of all time.

If you played Red, Blue, or Yellow as a kid, Ninetales is permanently etched into your brain.

Fennekin is the Gen 6 Fire-type starter from Pokemon X and Y. Tiny. Orange. Big ears. Eventually evolves into Delphox, which is essentially a wizard fox. The whole evolutionary line is built around fox-meets-magic vibes, and it works.

A great pick if you were a Pokemon kid in the 2013 era.

Eevee is technically not a fox in Pokemon canon (it’s officially a unique species), but the fox-like design is unmistakable. Big ears. Bushy tail. Fluffy mane. Fans have called it a fox since 1996.

Famous for having eight different evolutions, more than any other Pokemon. Easily one of the cutest cute fox cartoon characters in the medium.

Renamon is the calm, mysterious fox Digimon from Digimon Tamers, the third Digimon series. Yellow body. Purple gloves. Cold demeanor. Partnered with Rika Nonaka, one of the best human characters in the franchise.

Their relationship arc, from distant and transactional to genuinely caring, is one of the most well-written bonds in any Digimon series.

Carmelita Montoya Fox is the Interpol officer who is constantly chasing Sly Cooper across the PS2-era Sly Cooper games. Smart. Capable. Fiery. She’s one of the best video game examples of a female fox cartoon character written as a real character instead of just a love interest.

She and Sly have one of the great cat-and-mouse rivalries in gaming. (Or fox-and-raccoon, I guess.)

Foxy the Pirate is the animatronic fox from Scott Cawthon’s Five Nights at Freddy’s. Eyepatch. Hook hand. Lives in Pirate Cove. Will sprint down the hallway at you with terrifying speed if you don’t watch the cameras.

Scared millions of kids since 2014. Still scaring them today. A modern horror icon.

Br’er Fox is a character from the Uncle Remus folktales, originally African American oral storytelling tradition collected by Joel Chandler Harris in the late 1800s. He’s the cunning antagonist who’s always trying to outsmart Br’er Rabbit and always failing.

Disney’s 1946 “Song of the South” adaptation is no longer in circulation due to its racist content, but Br’er Fox himself still appears in the Splash Mountain ride (now reimagined as Tiana’s Bayou Adventure) and other Disney media. The folklore origin is genuinely important and worth knowing.

Junjie is the red fox kung fu master who serves as a recurring villain in the Kung Fu Panda animated series “Legends of Awesomeness.” He was once a fellow student of Master Oogway alongside Shifu, then betrayed him in pursuit of leadership.

His design and abilities mirror Shifu’s, which makes their fights some of the best in the show. A great villain pick.

Claudette Dupri is a French fox spy who shows up in “The Spy Who Bugged Me,” an episode of New Looney Tunes. She tries to steal information from Bugs Bunny. She fails. Bugs always wins.

Her design is clearly modeled after Marvel’s Black Widow, which is a fun visual gag. A modern Looney Tunes deep cut.

Farley the Fox is the main antagonist of “Charlotte’s Web 2: Wilbur’s Great Adventure,” voiced by Rob Paulsen (a legend in the voice acting world). He hunts chickens, threatens farms, and becomes Wilbur’s biggest enemy.

Not a famous fox in the broader pop culture sense, but he’s a memorable villain for kids who grew up on the sequel.

Vuk is the title character of the 1981 Hungarian animated film “Vuk” (a.k.a. “The Little Fox”). A young fox kit who loses his family to hunters and grows up determined to outsmart them. The film is dark, beautiful, and beloved across Eastern Europe.

A real cult classic for fans of international animation. Worth seeking out.

Rita the Fox is one of the main characters in the Danish animated film series “Jungledyret” (also known internationally as “Hugo the Jungle Animal”). She’s an urban fox who lives by her wits in the city.

Street-smart, sarcastic, and weirdly endearing. If you grew up in Scandinavia in the 90s, Rita is probably already a core memory.

Fox is one of Franklin the Turtle’s school friends in the “Franklin and Friends” animated series. Clever. Friendly. Always up for an activity. He’s a gentle reminder that not every fox character has to be a hustler or a villain.

A wholesome side character from a wholesome show.