Mr. Fox is a clever, quick-witted fox who provides for his family by plundering the three local farms. He relies on his keen sense of smell and sharp intellect to evade capture while securing chickens, ducks, and turkeys. His actions show deep devotion to his family, though his growing pride pushes him to take highly dangerous risks in search of luxury items like cider.

Mrs. Fox is the loving wife of Mr. Fox. She relies on her husband to gather food for their family, frequently praising him as a fantastic fox. Her physical weakness during the farmers' violent siege serves as the primary motivation for Mr. Fox's daring tunneling strategy.

Boggis is an enormously fat, greedy chicken farmer who possesses thousands of birds. He eats three boiled chickens smothered with dumplings for every meal. He despises Mr. Fox for stealing a fraction of his poultry and eagerly joins the violent campaign to kill the fox family.

Bunce is a duck-and-goose farmer characterized as a pot-bellied dwarf. He suffers from a beastly temper caused by his repulsive diet. Like the other farmers, he holds vast amounts of food in his giant storehouse but remains furious over Mr. Fox's minor thefts.

Bean is a turkey-and-apple farmer and the cleverest of the three men. Thin as a pencil from a diet consisting entirely of hard cider, he acts as the primary schemer of the group. He initiates the plans to ambush, dig out, and ultimately starve the foxes, showing a particularly cruel determination to destroy the animals.

The four small foxes are the children of Mr. and Mrs. Fox. They represent the innocent victims of the farmers' destructive attacks on the forest. Despite suffering from severe hunger and thirst, they actively assist their father in his extensive tunneling efforts by transporting stolen food back to their mother.

Badger is a respected digging animal whose home and family are threatened by the farmers' massive excavation. He acts as a voice of caution and morality, questioning the ethics of stealing the farmers' food. He ultimately assists Mr. Fox in order to save his starving family and friends.

Rat is an irascible creature who claims Bean's secret cider cellar as his private territory. He drinks the hard cider through a rubber straw and loudly complains about the presence of Mr. Fox and Badger. His loud protests threaten to compromise the animals' stealth mission.

Small Badger is the son of Badger. He suffers from the starvation affecting all the digging animals and quietly accompanies his father in the tunnels while searching for food.

Mrs. Bean is the wife of the turkey-and-apple farmer. She does not participate in the physical hunt for Mr. Fox but casually requests cider and discusses her husband's desire to keep part of the fox as a souvenir.

The Woman is a huge servant or employee at Bean's farm. She is sent down into the dark cellar to fetch jars of cider for Mr. Bean, completely unaware of the animals hiding mere inches away from her.