Walt Disney Productions first bought the rights to make a movie based on the novel by Daniel P. Mannix in 1967. However, the making of the movie did not actually happen until spring 1977. "The Fox and the Hound" was the last movie to involve the remaining members of Disney's Nine Old Men. Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston were two of them. In the end, the movie was handed over to a new generation of animators after the retirement of the old animators. However, the old animators had involvement in the early making of the movie. Also, "The Fox and the Hound" was the first movie for future directors including Tim Burton, Brad Bird, and John Lasseter. During the making of the movie, the movie's release was delayed by over six months. This was because of the sudden and unexpected retirement of Don Bluth and his team of animators. In the part of the movie where the character Chief is hit by a train, the movie makers were originally going to have him die like in the book. This was changed so that Chief survives with a broken leg. This decision was controversial with the movie makers.