The new tools filmmaker Wes Anderson puts to use in his first animated film, a wonderful adaptation of Roald Dahl's 1970 children's book "Fantastic Mr. Fox" are miniature sets, hand-built models and stop-motion photography. The materials may be fresh to Anderson and appear somewhat revolutionary in the era of 3D digital animation from Pixar and DreamWorks. On the surface, "Fantastic Mr. Fox" is a quaint throwback to the stop-motion world of Gerry Anderson and his "Thunderbirds." What's fantastically fresh and irreverent are the ways Anderson and co-writer Noah Baumbach blend Dahl's magical storytelling with their American take on the English countryside and family themes drawn from past Anderson movies "The Royal Tenenbaums" and "The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou." Finally, Anderson's childlike spirit finds the perfect canvas in "Fantastic Mr. Fox" and the result is a classic family adventure.
Mr. and Mrs. Fox (voices of George Clooney and Meryl Streep) live with their son Ash (voice of Jason Schwartzman) and visiting nephew Kristopherson (voice of Eric Anderson) in a hilltop tree overlooking the English countryside. Their comfortable life comes to an end when Fox returns to his old habits stealing chickens, meat and cider. Three evil farmers Boggis (voice of Robin Hurlstone), Bunce (voice of Hugo Guinness) and the ringleader Bean (voice of Michael Gambon) tear up Fox's home and surround his family and animal friends. It will take some true foxiness to beat the farmers and save the day.
George Clooney provides the lead voice as Fox and it's remarkable how much his charm and charisma brings the stop-motion character to life. Clooney provides easygoing laughs as Fox talks about existentialism and whistles and clicks his tongue as part of his trademark. Meryl Streep captures the film's themes of household happiness and the challenges of marrying a wayward husband as the voice of Felicity Fox. Bill Murray, director Wally Wolodarsky, Willem Dafoe, Owen Wilson and Jarvis Cocker, former front man of Pulp, round out the cast beautifully.
All Anderson films have great soundtracks and "Fantastic Mr. Fox" is no exception with great use of the Bobby Fuller Four song "Let Her Dance" and the Davey Crockett theme song. The high-flying adventure is faithful to Dahl's story while making great use of Anderson and Baumbach's own interests as storytellers: difficult fathers, eccentric, extended families and sons striving to prove themselves.
It's worth noting that Anderson stayed at Dahl's home while working on the movie and recreated all of the late authro's furniture for use in the movie. On a more colorful note, Anderson wears a tight, beige corduroy suit and so does the fashionable Mr. Fox.
"Fantastic Mr. Fox" may be Anderson's first step into the world of stop-motion animation but he shows himself to be a natural artist in the medium. Working with a talented crew of artists, Amderson makes every sequence beautiful and at the film's end, when Fox salutes a distant wolf, heartfelt and touching.
Just when the zany families of "The Darjeeling Limited," "The Royal Tenenbaums" and "The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou" begin to turn redundant, Anderson embraces animation and Dahl's magical world of evil human villains (voiced by the British cast) and ingenious animals (voices by the American players).
The "pure wild animal craziness" of Mr. Fox suits Anderson. Will there be more animation from one of our greatest comic filmmakers? I hope so.
Distributor: Fox Searchlight Pictures.
Cast: George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzman, Eric Anderson, Bill Murray, Wally Wolodarsky, Willem Dafoe, Michael Gambon, Owen Wilson and Jarvis Cocker
Director: Wes Anderson
Writer: Wes Anderson and Noah Baumbach
Producers: Indian Paintbrush and Regency Enterprises
Rating: PG
Running time: 87 minutes
Release Date: Nov. 13, 2009
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