The 2009 animated flick, Fantastic Mr. Fox, was directed by Texan Wes Anderson, known for films like The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, The Royal Tenenbaums and The Darjeeling Limited--three of my favorite films. Andersen's attention to detail and methodical style lent itself well to the stop-motion animation in this Roald Dahl adaptation.
With characters voiced by Hollywood talent like Meryl Streep, George Clooney, Jason Schwartzman, and Bill Murray, Mr. Fox takes the every-aged audience on a quaint ride through middle-class mid-life crisis, albeit with forest creatures...but such creatures as a badger attorney, a mouse tailor, a squirrel architect, a rabbit doctor, a weasel realtor, and of course, Mr. Fox, who is a newspaper columnist...and ex-chicken thief.
The Fox family moves up in the world from a mere hole in the ground to a rather large tree...that happens to face three very prosperous farms, one of which is--yes--a chicken farm.
Jason Schwartzman plays well the neurotic angst-ridden teen son in the Fox family, who is different from his tall, good-looking and talented parents in every way. When similar-aged cousin, Kristofferson, voiced by director Anderson's brother, arrives--taller, smarter, stronger, faster--a kind of rivalry develops that furthers the plot later as the boys attempt a rescue that naturally goes awry. The irony here is that Eric Chase Anderson, Wes's younger brother, is his character's opposite. His best-known accomplishments have been connected to his brother's acclaim and talents, save his 2004 debut novel. Knowing this added an endearing layer to the character that was simply irresistable, as was the emergence of Schwartzman's coming-of-age recognition, which happened simultaneously to his father's, voiced by Clooney.
The moral of the story is to accept change as part of life's journey, not it's conclusion...and of course, when all else fails, DIG!
Very enjoyable storyline and rather terrific stop-motion technique with a contemporary yet nostalgic feel, Fantastic Mr. Fox gets an A+ for effort to Anderson et al, and a 10/10 overall.
With characters voiced by Hollywood talent like Meryl Streep, George Clooney, Jason Schwartzman, and Bill Murray, Mr. Fox takes the every-aged audience on a quaint ride through middle-class mid-life crisis, albeit with forest creatures...but such creatures as a badger attorney, a mouse tailor, a squirrel architect, a rabbit doctor, a weasel realtor, and of course, Mr. Fox, who is a newspaper columnist...and ex-chicken thief.
The Fox family moves up in the world from a mere hole in the ground to a rather large tree...that happens to face three very prosperous farms, one of which is--yes--a chicken farm.
Jason Schwartzman plays well the neurotic angst-ridden teen son in the Fox family, who is different from his tall, good-looking and talented parents in every way. When similar-aged cousin, Kristofferson, voiced by director Anderson's brother, arrives--taller, smarter, stronger, faster--a kind of rivalry develops that furthers the plot later as the boys attempt a rescue that naturally goes awry. The irony here is that Eric Chase Anderson, Wes's younger brother, is his character's opposite. His best-known accomplishments have been connected to his brother's acclaim and talents, save his 2004 debut novel. Knowing this added an endearing layer to the character that was simply irresistable, as was the emergence of Schwartzman's coming-of-age recognition, which happened simultaneously to his father's, voiced by Clooney.
The moral of the story is to accept change as part of life's journey, not it's conclusion...and of course, when all else fails, DIG!
Very enjoyable storyline and rather terrific stop-motion technique with a contemporary yet nostalgic feel, Fantastic Mr. Fox gets an A+ for effort to Anderson et al, and a 10/10 overall.
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