Director: Wes Anderson Starring: voices of George Clooney, Bill Murray, Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzman, Willem Dafoe Running Time: 1 hour, 27 minutes Theatrical Release: November 25, 2009 Shop for Fantastic Mr. Fox Merchandise

Plot Summary

“Fantastic Mr. Fox” is visionary director Wes Anderson’s first animated film, utilizing classic handmade stop motion techniques to tell the story of the best selling children’s book by Roald Dahl (author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and James and the Giant Peach). (from MovieWeb.com)

Film Review

It’s a surprise, to me at least, for an indie film director to decide to leave a string of oddball, R-rated films and chase after adapting a 1970 childrens book into a stop-motion animated PG-rated film. But that’s exactly what Wes Anderson, best known for his films Rushmore, The Life Acquatic, and The Royal Tenenbaums, has done. From the opening credits of Fantastic Mr. Fox, it’s no question that you’re watching a Wes Anderson film, and the director treats this picture like any other one of his films – with the dramatic closeups, unsual camera angles or framing, and odd character behavior. Fantastic Mr. Fox is as off-beat as any other one of Anderson’s films, but it’s quite easily his best.

All of Anderson’s films (four of which I’ve seen – all in an edited, more sterile form by my own preference – for better or worse) have an approach that is undeniably an acquired taste. There’s a quirky humor style that Anderson embraces and embellishes that is welcomed by many indie film buffs but not so easily digestible by the pop film culture audience. I must fall into the latter category as the only film I’ve enjoyed by Anderson’s was the wacky Life Acquatic (again, in edited form), which still felt a bit too off-beat for my usual tastes. Fantastic Mr. Fox fares best of all of his work, possibly due to the source material, coupled with the fact it’s presented in a uniquely done stop-motion animation style. The end result is as entertaining to watch as it is to take in. Each character – from the animals to the humans – are interesting in design and character traits, and it’s these kinds of details that work to the film’s benefit.

Still, when a film so off-beat and against the norm (but typical for this director) becomes so heavily lauded by the majority of film critics, you kind of go into viewing such a film with high expectations. And while my expectations may have been a bit unattainable, it’s still easy enough for me to grasp Fantastic Mr. Fox as a whole, stack it up against the widespread praise given towards the movie, and wonder what is SO extraodinarily different (or better?) than most other animated films? Sure, there isn’t a single other animated film like this out there, but if you know Anderson’s work, this one follows suit perfectly. While his other live action films have always been adult-oriented in nature, this orientation even carries over a bit into Anderson’s first all-animation PG-film. For example, instead of there being lots of profanity as might usually be found in some of Anderson’s work, the director makes up for it with substitute profanity. Oddly enough, where a character might usually use any number of profanities – including the “f” word – the characters in Fantastic Mr. Fox quite regularly, and simply, substitute the word “cuss” in place of it. They might say, for example, “What the cuss was I thinking?” instead of something much more profane. Even though it’s not the actual word, you often get the idea what they would normally say there, and so it feels a bit harsh or out of place for such a film. Also, at first it seemed like a clever idea, but by the film’s end, so many characters do this, and so often, that it feels over-used and a bit tired. But the very fact that Anderson even chooses to go this route with the dialog kind of cements the realization that Fantastic Mr. Fox isn’t really a kids film.

Sure, Fantastic Mr. Fox involves a central family of characters who are personified foxes who wear clothes, and, yes, other characters include badgers, rabbits, possums, and the like, but the plot involves stealing, drinking, smoking, and ruthless farmers trying to kill and wipe out the food pilfering animals. Fantastic Mr. Fox is about as edgy as you might expect a Wes Anderson animated film to be, and with there even being some pretty creepy-to-frightening scenes for young ones, it’s just not really a suitable family film. And that’s not even mentioning the slower pace of the film that is likely to lull the younger ones to sleep in their seats (or make them too antsy to sit through its just-under 90-minute running time). So the question is raised: just who is this animated PG film targeted to? Sadly, the opening weekend holiday box office take of just 10 million relates that this may be the very problem with it.

But all this isn’t to say that Fantastic Mr. Fox is a bad film. By this point in the review, I’m sure you’re wondering why on earth I gave the film rather positive marks. Truth is, Anderson has put together a fine looking and rather fun heist film. Casting George Clooney in the role of Mr. Fox is quite inspired, considering Fox feels like a sort of scheming Cary Grant character and Clooney clearly has emulated Grant’s style more than once before (see Leatherheads especially). And with Clooney having previously played the role of heist mastermind Danny Ocean in Ocean’s 11 and its two sequels, Mr. Fox doesn’t stray too far from George’s comfort zone. The film brings up some interesting themes in the story that include children feeling like they can’t measure up to their peers and parents needing to encourage their children and not hold such high expectations for them. Team that with some silly, out of left field humor and indie-style directing and you have one bizarre animated film. Fans of Anderson’s work are likely to enjoy this one the most, while those who kind of like to play it safe and usually only enjoy the blockbuster popcorn entertainment may want to skip this one.

Aside from the “cuss” substitute profanity, there are some violent scenes that include an animal getting its tail shot off (we see the dismembered tail a few times, as well as the animal’s bandaged up wound), an animal scratches another animal’s face during a serious argument, and there are other instances that involve a rabid dog, sinister-looking farmers shooting relentlessly at their animal victims (with intent to kill, of course), and a creepy rat (appropriately voiced by the equally creepy Willem Dafoe) who weilds a switch blade and threatens our heroes a few times.

Fantastic Mr. Fox is certainly one of the more unique animated films to be released this year. Indie film director Wes Anderson transfers his quirky adult filmmaking style into stop-motion form and it actually works for the most part. While this style will indeed limit the film’s audience, it’s rather evident that Anderson was only concerned with making a film for his fans and older viewers alike than making a film for a wider audience. With that in mind, Fantastic Mr. Fox is a fun little film, but not one for the young ones, and not your usual family fair.

Mark says…

Upon viewing Fantastic Mr. Fox, I was caught up in the unconventional style put forth by director Wes Anderson. As John mentioned above, this is right in line with Anderson’s previous efforts, but seeing his vision play out in animated form immediately sets “Mr. Fox” apart from the usual animated storytelling process. You know you are not watching your standard kiddie flick. I enjoyed the adventure quite tremendously as it began unfolding, but I could not quite target what exactly about the film that I appreciated. (other than the fact it was, well, different).

Now being several hours removed from my viewing, everything is sort of hitting me all at once. This movie stays with you. Although you may not know exactly how to feel at first, soon after, you will be taking mental inventory of all the whimsical details and deadpan dialog strewn throughout.

Without revealing too many plot details, I will just mention a few aspects I appreciated highly. First and foremost, for me, was the soundtrack and most importantly its timely implementation. Tracks by The Rolling Stones, Beach Boys and Alexandre Desplat all perfectly compliment Mr. Fox and his crew’s capers. But one song in particular by Jarvis Crocker (Petey’s Song) had my toes a tappin’ and brought on tears from laughter. It was ridiculously catchy and it’s not beyond the realm of possibility that it makes it onto my “Walk-Sonic” for when I have a few people over for some “cidar.”

Another sticking point with me were the various original inclusions by Anderson to help shape the culture of the film. For example, the “kids” compete in a schoolyard game called Whack-Bat — a fictional sport made up by Anderson himself — which seems to be a combination of baseball and cricket, played with a flaming pine cone. The intricacies involved in the creation of this pastime, which essentially is just a tiny portion of the film, goes a long way toward giving Fantastic Mr. Fox its uniqueness. There are a number of these little touches throughout. Another example is a superhero named “White Cape.” Mr. Fox’s son, Ash (voiced by Jason Schwartzman) has posters of the hero in his room and can be seen reading this comic book. White Cape was created by Anderson and storyboard artist, Christian De Vita as a heroic idol of Ash’s. (as the young boy dons a white cape in the film, acting out his inner hero). I can really go on and on about the massive amounts of detail. From various products — such as Mrs. Bean’s Famous Nutmeg Ginger Apple Snaps, of which chef Mario Batali made a recipe for — to Mr. Fox’s slick wardrobe. But I will leave those discoveries up to you.

As far as actual story content there are some very adult themes (as John pointed out in his review), but nothing that your child shouldn’t be able to watch (in the company of an adult). The animation is jaw-droppingly meticulous and children will enjoy the colorful characters. However, Fantastic Mr. Fox is tailor-made for an adult cult following.