FANTASTIC MR. FOX is UP there with Pixar

Score:

Fantastic Mr. Fox is one of the best family films I've ever seen and, to the best of my knowledge, a remarkably accurate adaptation of the classic Roald Dahl book. To tell this story from 1970, Wes Anderson has chosen to use technology from the era, traveling back in time to give us a completely stop-motion film. The result is one of the most unique, colorful, and beautiful films of the year. More importantly, like all Pixar films, it's a smart movie that anyone can enjoy. 

Fantastic Mr. Fox tells the story of Mr. Fox (George Clooney), a famous fox who's settled down and started a family. He used to be a star athlete and famous chicken thief. Now he writes a weekly column in the newspaper and longs to return to his life of wild adventure. In a very fun intro scene, his wife, Mrs. Fox (Meryl Streep) tells him she's pregnant as they escape the shots of a local farmer.

Skip ahead two years (that's something like 14 fox years); their son Ash (Jason Schwartzman), is an odd boy who feels inadequate in his father's shadow. Mr. Fox, who, like I said, longs for a return to his chicken-thieving youth, plots with his friend Kylie (a possum voiced by Wallace Wolodarsky) to rob the three meanest farmers around: Boggis, Bunce, and Bean. Unfortunately his plan goes somewhat awry. Bill Murray also joins the cast as his lawyer, Badger, who warns Fox not to carry out such a reckless plan.

Wes Anderson is one of my favorite writer/directors, and Fantastic Mr. Fox is a wild departure from his previous films--The Darjeeling Limited, The Life Aquatic, Rushmore, etc. Still, it is unmistakably a Wes Anderson work. Anderson has a way of showing the nakedness of film reality. Every element of his films seem to know, on some level, that they are a part of a construct. One of these days I'll delve into that, but for now, the best examples I can come up with are that the movie is broken into chapters and Mr. Fox tends to monologue. Anderson's sense of humor is omnipresent. In one scene, Coach Skip (Owen Wilson) explains the rules of Whackbat, the animal equivalent of American Football to Kristofferson (Eric Chase Anderson):

"Basically, there's three grabbers, three taggers, five twig runners, and a player at Whackbat. Center tagger lights a pine cone and chucks it over the basket and the whack-batter tries to hit the cedar stick off the cross rock. Then the twig runners dash back and forth until the pine cone burns out and the umpire calls hotbox. Finally, you count up however many score-downs it adds up to and divide that by nine." - Coach Skip

Even the cinematography has a sense of humor and flavor. Many of the action sequences look like a two-dimensional video game (think Super Mario Bros.), where characters move left to right or up and down and the camera scrolls along on the side. The camera tracks everything from one angle on the side, zooming in and out to keep all the characters and action on screen. Several sequences look like they're taken right from Dig Dug, a classic arcade game. Other examples of side-scrolling games include Sonic the Hedgehog, Earthworm Jim, and Mortal Kombat. It was the most popular type of game from the 1970s until 3D games popped up in the mid 1990s.

I have to say, the editing and cinematography of this film is spectacular. Kudos to Cinematographer, Tristan Oliver, a stop-motion veteran from the Wallace & Gromit series and Chicken Run. 

My favorite thing about Fantastic Mr. Fox is how well it plays to different age groups, much like Up, or any Pixar film. Young ones will love the colorful look and exaggerated way the animals eat and dig around, while the older of us will appreciate the deeper meanings and use of the word "cuss" as a stand-in for actual naughty words. There is enough action and story to satisfy most audiences, and the plot is rather unpredictable, which makes for an engaging experience, and a rare one. I can't wait for Wes Anderson's next film. 

Trailer & Poster

Comments

[vc games]

Basically, there's three grabbers, three taggers, five twig runners, and a player at Whackbat. Center tagger lights a pine cone and chucks it over the basket and the whack-batter tries to hit the cedar stick off the cross rock. Then the twig runners dash back and forth until the pine cone burns out and the umpire calls hotbox. Finally, you count up however many score-downs it adds up to and divide that by ninePlaying skill games up against other users for cash has become very popular lately. The uniqueness of a skill game is that the game’s outcome is predominantly determined by players

[Jeffrey Van Camp]

Thank you for the elaboration.