Fantastic Mr. Fox

"If what I think is happening IS happening...it better not be."

I never would have guessed that Wes Anderson would venture into the world of  stop motion animation, but after seeing The Fantastic Mr. Fox, I have to admit that it's a natural fit. I think having the unlimited creative license that animation provides really let him indulge his creativity, and a absolutely great movie was the result.

Anderson and Noah Baumbach took the classic Roald Dahl story and greatly expanded the beginning and end, while giving it a unique look and tone that is quite different from other recent animation. It's still essentially about a fox who steals from three local farmers in order to provide from his family, and brings a lot of trouble on all the nearby animals as a result, but the story is now fleshed out beyond that. This is an Anderson movie through and through, with all the eccentric characters, wonderful music, complicated family dynamics, and understated, off-beat humor that the world has come to expect from his work.

It's difficult to find any part of Fantastic Mr. Fox to raise a complaint about. The animation, character designs and sets are beautiful, the cast of actors and actresses brought in to do the voice acting were all excellent, and the movie as a whole was just charming. Along with Ponyo and Coraline, I'd say that this is among the best animated films I've seen in quite a while. Even better than Pixar's excellent recent work. I really hope that Anderson makes something like this again in the future.

After reading the reviews on here I wasn't put off watching this film. As a huge fan of animation, as well as Wes Anderson films this film definitely did everything and more for me. There's so much going on in every scene, I found it even funnier than other Anderson films, and as usual I loved all the characters. Anderson manages to keep all the coin facial expressions/awkward silences between characters/quirky background stories that appear in all his films. It's a true work of brilliance! This film has a 'kids film' label on it, but it's not really for children in my opinion, I urge anyone who appreciates animation and is looking to watch something quirky and intelligent to go for this film. Don't be put off due to the hordes of children. Anderson films are best watched on the big screen, so go see it now before it finishes at our cinemas.

The only criticism I will say about this is that I don't think Anderson should have kept the original title of Roald Dahl's story 'Fantastic Mr Fox'. Mainly because it has been adapted so much to Anderson's style (as well as being Americanised) that it isn't really in keeping with Dahl's story, and fans of the acclaimed writer who want to experience the film adaptation of his story will be disappointed I feel. I think he should have given it a different title, like 'Foxxed' or something (that's a rubbish suggestion, but you get what I mean), as I loved it, and wouldn't change anything else, but marketing it as an adaptation of Dahl's book is a little mis-leading (definitely for British people anyway).

-As a side point I think that as much as Dahl supplies a brilliant story and tons of material to make a very good film, I think Dahl's stories are best kept where they belong, and that is on paper. It is his literacy genius where the magic of his stories lie, and reading them (rather than looking at them) gives me the most enjoyment than I could ever get from watching a film of one of his stories.

I left the cinema with a huge grin on my face and felt like bouncing along the pavement as I made my way home. It definitely has been the highlight of my week, and will be without a doubt one of the best films I've seen this year.

In recent years, Disney's Pixar division, with their monopoly over animation, has churned out some of the biggest, funniest, most emotional material to hit theaters in the last ten years. By this point, the public knows their aggressive marketing campaign and knows it well. Adult humor and themes geared not only toward the kids, but the parent's as well. The mass appeal? Mom and dad can now take their eight year old to the local multiplex and fork over the steep price of admission without wasting it on a two hour long power nap. Last quarter's CGI constructed Pixar extravaganza "Up" captured audiences' hearts, imaginations and pocket books, raking in a less than modest 292 mil at the box office, making it one of the highest grossing animated films of all time. Along comes "Fantastic Mr. Fox", helmed by auteur Wes Anderson, a crack team at Twentieth-Century Fox (Yes, I said Fox) and Indian Paintbrush, one of Wes' collaborators on his predecessor "The Darjeeling Limited". If there's one thing that's detrimental to the Trump-like successes of the Disney powerhouse, it's a new found competition…let the games begin.

"Fantastic Mr. Fox" is a pure delight. A feast for the eyes. From frame one, it takes no time at all to draw you into its beautiful visuals of vast countryside's, running streams and falling foliage, all in marvelous stop motion. That's right I said it, stop motion. From the course hair on Fox's face to the cotton ball chimney smoke of Boggis, Bunce and Beans warehouse smoke stacks, everything's been designed from scratch, much of which involves simple household items. After just a few minutes in Wes Andersons world inspired by written cues from the mind of the British children's author Roald Dahl (inspired by Dahl's own hometown) you're dragged out of the theater and immersed in a faraway land for the entirety of its modest and to the point one hour and twenty minute runtime. The real treat lies in the notion of how long it actually must have taken these top notch art designers to bring everything to life. There are forces at play here that give one a clear sense of the fact that stepping away from a computer screen and getting things done the hard way pays off when witnessing the final product. Production value is staggeringly noticeable and truly memorable. I for one am still transfixed by the universe of Mr. Fox.

Among one of the droves of Wes Anderson fans, I had high expectations going into the film. Anderson is one of those rare writer/directors that manage to separate themselves from the societal norm, branch out and go their own way. With Fantastic Mr. Fox, he effortlessly supersedes his reputation as one of the most unique Directors of this century. You may be asking yourself how you direct a bunch of puppets, but Andersons 'puppets' are among some of the most realistic and complex that you're likely to meet. With human emotions, expressions and actions, it is clear that Mr. Anderson took great time and preparation during the film's production and pre-production to make sure everything came off as smoothly and impactful as possible. Look out for a particularly funny scene during one of the nightly stake outs portrayed wholly through images on security camera monitors. Very, very well thought out and clever.

Fox, for being aimed at children, is probably one of the most adult animated films I've seen to date. Think Pixar Redux. There's smoking, 'cussing' and above all some extremely heavy handed adult humor and themes. In Wes Andersons sharp, funny, unbelievably witty script, he keeps all of that classic dry comedy that's become synonymous with his trademark, the only exception being that it's coming from the mouths of the animals he's intricately created. Parts had me gasping for air; others had me rolling in the aisles. It's clear to me that by now Wes has really honed in on his craft and gets marginally better with each new picture.

Wes Anderson, with his creative brain that can only be compared to an Einstein of the medium, lays all his cards on the table and ups the ante for Pixar Studios. When asked if he wanted to continue to make animated films he commented by saying, "I would certainly love to make other animated films in the future." Could this be his new calling? Truly focusing on the niche market of animated movies tipping the scale more in favor of adult audiences? One would love to think so (of course without turning into another Robert Zemeckis and taking a permanent vacation from live action). Fantastic Mr. Fox is something to be experienced. Children will love its adorable characters while adults will marvel in its ability to connect with them. After all, each of us was a kid at one time or another and because of that there has never been a better excuse to pretend again.

Giving up his life of a chicken thief because of a child on the way, Mr. Fox gets a job as a newspaper writer and lives underground. Years pass, his child is older and he wants to move to a tree and not feel poor anymore. Along the way he takes in his nephew and decides to steal again, from the three biggest farmers no less. The farmers get wise and start a battle against Mr. Fox, his family and all their creature friends.

At first I didn't know if I wanted to see this, the animation looked really bad. But after thinking about it for a bit, I found that it fit into Anderson's style, it was something that he would do. So I gave the film a shot and I'm glad I did. This film has Anderson's signature style all over it, right down to the obvious voice casting, which has the likes of George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, Michael Gambon, Owen Wilson, and Willem Dafoe.

A lot of people, and I'm including myself in this bunch, might think nothing of this film. After all, it doesn't have the bright, adventurous feel of the recent Disney/Pixar films that have been dominating the animation scene. I'd even throw Dreamworks into that bunch. Those films are done by people who are at ease in their field, animated director like Brad Bird and John Lasseter know their way around the animation style. Yet here comes auteur Wes Anderson, who has a unique style and sense of comedy. His transition to animation, stop motion animation no less, is smart, funny and a pleasure. Is it his best film? Of course not, but it's one of the more enjoyable ones.

The voice cast all work well, Clooney does a good job as the lead. He has that leadership tone in his voice, that arrogance that is needed for the character. Streep isn't given much to do, so her role as the wife is pretty basic, as is the character. Their son Ash, voice by Bored To Death star Jason Schwartzman was a stand out for me, as was Eric Chase Anderson, as Kristofferson. That name might not sound familiar, that's because his resume only consists of Anderson films. Bill Murray plays a badger and Fox's lawyer, who advises him not to buy the tree house. Fox does anyway and that's why he's in this mess. The animals are really small and live in this world where there are apparently small motorbikes for them to use. They can communicate with the human characters, no one seems to find it odd in this little world they live in. You won't find it odd either, you'll just be enjoying the fun.

Each chapter is subtitled, Fox's Master Plan A, Fox's Master Plan B, etc. They even tell you how time passes in human years and fox years and in a comical bit one human hour compare to one fox hour. You never know how long these hours are in comparison to each other, you don't want to know either, it just adds to the uniqueness of the film. At heart, these characters are still wild animals, as Fox even says this in the film, and the way they eat and "fight" each other proves this.

The film has that Anderson humour and might go over some kids heads. It's dark in some places, as one character dies, but I think they will enjoy it. They won't jump up and down for it like Up, or Finding Nemo. They won't want to go out and buy the latest Mr. Fox stuffed animal or toy. This feels more like a film for adults, it doesn't really cater to the kids, but they will have their bits to laugh at, like the possum who stares blankly at some people for whatever reason.

This film was made from scratch, this world Anderson creates is fun and I had a fun time being in it. The film flies by it's running time and I never found the film dragging. It was in and out. As stated before, the kids might enjoy this, but it's more for adults. There's smoking and there's even a unique way of swearing, which I found funny. The camera movements scream Wes Anderson and if you're a fan, then you will enjoy this very much.

One of my favourite films of the year.

I can't believe I'm going against the grain on this. It's not a terrible film, in fact it's absolutely charming to look at, but when the gorgeous visuals and aesthetic are taken away, I'm left with a pretty muddy narrative and flat characterization.