FANTASTIC MR. FOX a film by Wes Anderson

STARING: George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, Owen Wilson.

GENRE: Comedy, Children & Family.

RATING: PG.

PREAMBLE: A cover is a cover, whether it be on a DVD, record, CD, or what-have-you. Deciding to take a brief step away from the music scene, I visit my second favorite genre of entertainment.

It’s well known, among my friends and family, that I’m an avid (obsessed) Wes Anderson fan. Fantastic Mr. Fox sprung up on me with much delight, after the somewhat disappointing The Darjeeling Limited. I feel redeemed with this quirky adaptation of the children’s classic.

LOOK: I cannot help but notice the striking similarity, hell, obvious reissued format, from Wes Anderson’s 2001 dark comedy The Royal Tenenbaums. Both the Fox DVD cover and Royal sountrack serve as family portraits, they would look handsome nailed above a brick fireplace.

WATCH: Mr. Fox (voiced by George Clooney) is a successful newspaper reporter who has given up a life of crime (hen snatching). After a few wonderful, yet uneventful years, Mr. Fox gets the itch again. With the help of his loyal, yet easily distracted, partner in crime, Kylie, Mr. Fox goes on the prowl again snatching up geese, chickens, ducks, and cider, from “the three nastiest, meanest farmers” in his neck of the woods.

Out-foxed, the Farmers strike back! The Fox family is in grave danger now as Boggis, Bunce, and Bean stumble upon the family’s dwelling, a very lucrative hollowed out tree. Not only has our protagonist put his family in harm’s way, but the entire woodland community as well. It’s time for Mr. Fox to put all those charming, redeeming, and sly qualities that make him oh-so fantastic to work.

SPEAK: Wes Anderson spoke of his interest in Roald Dahl’s (Charlie and The Chocolate Factory) classic: “One thing I think always appealed to me about that character (Mr. Fox) [is] not only that he does everything to rescue his family, and he’s inventive in the way that he does it, he’s the reason why they’re in trouble in the first place.” Co-writer, Noah Baumbach elaborates his and Wes’ attraction to characters who’s “virtues are also their downfall”. The thing that Mr. Fox is “good at is also the worst thing about" him. In a sense, what attracts us to Mr. Fox is “what makes [him] dangerous”. That is one heaping mouth full of intellectualism for a children’s tale!

All of Anderson’s films run with similar style and grace. For Anderson, look and feel are just as important as story, as long as the two former don’t truncate the latter (The Darjeeling Limited). You’ll be able to pluck out any WA film from others, just by looking at it. Fantastic Mr. Fox manifests itself just like all his other films. The only difference is this one is animated, literally. The nostalgic ambiance only lends to, and doesn’t distract from, the already wonderful story.

website - Wes Anderson fan site - imdb

FILM GRADE: A-
COVER GRADE: C
DO WE HAVE A FIT? YES!