A Whimsical Fantastic Mr. Fox
Director Wes Anderson has made a stop-motion animated feature sure to bring smiles to the faces of kids and adults alike.
In a way, all of Wes Anderson’s films have been kids’ films. His charming efforts (Bottle Rocket, Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums) and his more recent, more irritating entries (The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, The Darjeeling Limited) all consider less than fully grown-up sons frustrated by their fathers’ distance or absence. Fantastic Mr. Fox offers more of the same, and yet this time Anderson’s visual gifts, his dry wit, and, most of all, his skewed whimsy work perfectly.
Tenenbaums felt new and retro at the same time, and so does Mr. Fox, with its gloriously low-tech stop-motion animation in which lovingly detailed puppets are posed one frame at a time and then photographed. The process may be painstaking to assemble, but the result looks cheerfully carefree. The movie, based on a story by Roald Dahl (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory), is a throwback to Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and the other stop-motion animation kiddie specials from the 1960s and 1970s that Anderson’s generation grew up with.
The title character, nicely voiced by George Clooney, is a born schemer and inveterate chicken thief who, at the outset, is so eager to demonstrate to Mrs. F (the equally fine Meryl Streep) that he understands exactly how the fox trap he is outsmarting works that he gets both of them stuck. Caged, Mr. Fox vows to give up his poultry-purloining ways and get a new line of work (though an equally disreputable one — journalism) so that the two of them can raise their son (Jason Schwartzman) in a nice tree together.
The awkward son, Ash, who fancies himself a superhero but lacks his father’s physical grace, feels neglected by his dad, especially when his cousin Kristofferson (Eric Anderson, the director’s brother) comes to stay with the family and immediately proves himself a swashbuckler cut from the same cloth as the old man. Meanwhile, much as he’d like to be a model father, Mr. Fox starts a secret campaign to resume his chicken thievery — this time on an epic scale meant to humiliate the nefarious farmers Boggis, Bunce, and Bean. Mrs. Fox won’t be pleased if she finds out. Worse, Mr. Fox takes along Kristofferson for the caper instead of his own boy.
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6 Comments
1. Slveryder:Wasn’t Anderson one of the “We Support Roman Polanksi” club? Someone on this film was so I think I’ll pass.
Nov 13, 2009 - 4:56 am 2. Jake Was Here:Slveryder’s right. Anderson signed the petition. So if anybody’s thinking this looks like a fun little family movie, remember: Wes Anderson wouldn’t mind if one of his friends raped your kid.
If I decide that I am curious enough to see it, I’ll just wait for the DVD. That way I can just Netflix it — the absolute minimum chance of any of my money going to him.
Nov 13, 2009 - 12:13 pm 3. Bonnie_:Yes, and lets not forget that George Clooney despises America. I won’t see any movie Clooney is in, ever again. He has his right to free speech and so do I.
Now that I know Anderson signed the petition to let Polanski go, I’m not seeing it even on Netflix. I’m sure the reviews will remark how “mysteriously” this “sure-fire hit” didn’t “catch fire with audiences.” Sure, it’s a mystery. Just like the Ft. Hood shooter.
Nov 13, 2009 - 3:24 pm 4. Jettboy:It has George Clooney. Not going to give any money to this project. In fact, I would urge Conservatives to non-confrontational boycott Hollywood. Don’t go to any movies and question renting any from the past 10 years. Its not that hard considering the amount of money it costs to go to the movies that are mostly garbage anyway. I am fighting with my wallet, meaning not taking it out to help pay for the scum that hates me and what I stand for.
Nov 15, 2009 - 8:59 am 5. paul:Really? You won’t see this because it was directed by Wes and starred by Clooney? Wow, you must have high moral standards that you also missed on “This is It.” because of MJ’s molestation charges and Up because it was made by Disney. Give me a break.
Nov 15, 2009 - 7:33 pm 6. Jettboy:There are more important things in this world than Entertainment, sex, drugs, and rock and roll. And, to answer your question; I hate MJ enough that I will never watch “This is It” from that pervert. As for “Up,” I have thought about watching it, but probably won’t.
Nov 16, 2009 - 7:50 am