Fantastic Mr. Fox is a stop motion film directed by Wes Anderson and based on the Roald Dahl book of the same name. I’ve personally never read the book but I do remember seeing the movie and the first time as a tween and I did enjoy it. It was definitely more aimed toward adults but I still appreciated it for what it was able to accomplish and it had an overall unique style that only someone like Wes Anderson could visualize. While I don't think it’s quite a masterpiece of animation, there was still a lot to enjoy in this well directed and well-written film.
In the glory days, Mr. Fox (George Clooney)and Mrs. Fox (Meryl Streep) were smugglers who would steal and kill chickens and other farm animals. 2 years later (12 Fox Years Later) The Fox’s settle down and start a family consisting of their one and only son named Ash (Jason Schwartzman). Although he’s happy Mr. Fox misses his life of smuggling and one night goes out with his old possum friend Kylie (Wallace Wolodarsky) and his nephew Kristofferson (Eric Chase Anderson) to raid the farms of Boggis, Bunce, and Bean in the course of a few nights. They succeed but then they are cornered with their family and other animal folks by the angry farmers who will stop at nothing to get Mr. Fox and receive justice for what has happened to their once peaceful farms.
This film decides to stray away from your common family-friendly fair as it tries to go edgier and adult in its execution. That is to say that kids can still watch it and come out just fine, but they may not get the subtle subtext of the movie's themes and in-jokes right away. Personally, it's rather refreshing that the movie decides to take a different approach from the most common ways of making animated movies that were made famous by studios such as Disney. It has adult subjects but is still executed in a way that makes it entertaining and fun to watch. There are still plenty of crazy hijinks and over-the-top moments but there is also a level of sincerity from the characters and how down to earth they can be at times.
Speaking of which, the characters are very fun with some great voice talent behind them including the likes of George Clooney, Bill Murray, Meryl Streep, Owen Willson, and many more. Two of the standouts were Ash and Kristofferson as they feud against each other especially ash but that all works out to a conclusion that is very meaningful and smart that it really shows how much the writers cared about telling a story that has depth and wholesomeness. Mr. Fox himself also is a very lovable character and his growth throughout the story feels well deserved and is interesting to watch. There are even plenty of side characters that are also very fun such as Bill Murray as the Badger who also are fun in their personalities and their line delivery to make the film even more fun to be a part of.
The Animation is Stop Motion and it goes for a semi-realistic approach but still has enough cartoonish aspects that make the environment and the characters distinct and appealing. This is honestly a perfect film to watch during the fall season as the film has plenty of beautiful shots that evoke the season. The movie also has a unique way of presenting itself as there are a lot of experimental ways of shooting stop motion and random text that appear in the background to emphasize the Wes Anderson style of filmmaking. One thing that kind of surprised me is that the stop motion animation is entirely stop motion without any sign of digital effects to create a more homemade kinda look which is very clever and ambitious.
The Music is different from other stop motion films or any animated films in general as the majority of the soundtrack consists of copyrighted songs. You’d think that would get old very fast but similar to guardians of the galaxy, the inserted songs are meant to set the mood and move the story forward without it feeling like the songs are halting the movie to sell you the song. The rest of the music is composed by Alexandre Desplat. Jarvis Cooker who takes a more subtle approch to making music as it’s less booming and epic and more gentle and moody.
Fantastic Mr. Fox may not be my favorite movie of all time, but it’s still a remarkable film that proves director Wes Anderson can bring his style of filmmaking to the animation medium. Its smart storytelling, lovable characters, impressive animation, and unique music score make this movie definitely worth watching for fans of Animation and fans of Wes Anderson’s other works. It was unknown for Wes Anderson to tackle animation in such a way that was fun and appealing and thankfully his passionate mindset to make this the best movie he could later inspired him to make more movies just like this one.
(Final Grade: A-)