18 Oct The Wes Anderson Collection: The Fantastic Mr. Fox

THE FANTASTIC MR. FOX

dir. Wes Anderson, starring George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, et al

The Fantastic Mr. Fox, the outlandish stop motion heist film, is the sixth entry in director Wes Anderson’s filmography and Anderson’s freshmen attempt outside of directing live actors. An adaptation of author Roald Dahl’s children’s book of the same name, the story centers on the Fox family, specifically Foxy Fox as a former sneak thief and animal never quite satisfied with his station in life and what he currently has. As a result, Fox decides to pull a team together for One Last Job before fully retiring to the domestic life, attempting to hit three human farmers that live close to his newly established foxhole. His dissatisfaction for life causes a chain of events detrimental to not just him and his family, but all the other animals in the vicinity.

While it’s long been Anderson’s penchant to tell tales of dysfunctional families, here he takes a fresh approach to the material. Instead of highlighting and concentrating on a family at odds, he uses that dysfunction to display the importance of stopping to appreciate what you already own instead of always wanting the next thing. A cohesive family together is the strongest bond, also a theme generally missing from Anderson’s work but is central to Mr. Fox. A lovingly crafted film that examines the weight of desire vs responsibility, it’s a film that highlights a growth and maturity to Anderson’s work.
The Fantastic Mr. Fox boasts a voice cast featuring most of the usual players from Anderson’s troupe. The complaints from professional voice actors not getting work due to established celebrities gobbling up roles for name recognition are completely valid and have more merit than is being spotlighted. Here, however, I’m willing to give a pass, as a number of the actors are staples of his. Jason Schwartzman, Willem DaFoe, Wallace Wolodarsky, and of course Owen Wilson and Bill Murray all return to lend their skills to various characters. Newcomers to the world of Anderson like George Clooney and Meryl Streep are delightful additions, helping to lend the emotional weight needed for the Fox family. Foxy Fox is just shy of being a full on parody of Clooney as the suave, confident, smooth talking thief (where have we seen that before?) while Streep’s icy, buttery smooth delivery conveys the fact that while Felicity Fox loves her husband, she’s more than fed up with his shenanigans. Somehow, chef Mario Batali snagged himself a role and I have no idea why or how but he’s there. Still, the standout character for me is Willem DaFoe’s Rat, the combination of every absurd Wes Anderson character all rolled into one rodent with a switchblade that never fails to make me laugh no matter how many times I watch.

The Fantastic Mr. Fox proves yet again that Wes Anderson continues to stretch the limits of his creativity and find new avenues to explore. Stepping outside of his usual shtick of Quirky White People with Problems, Anderson set his sights on his first adaptation, choosing to stick largely to the original text, albeit with a little Anderson flare (with the help of Noah Baumbach, a respected director in his own right). The decision to tell the story via the use of stop motion animation is an inspired choice, giving the tone of the movie a specific look and feel that standard animation wouldn’t provide. Working within the confines of this medium, Anderson still provides his usual framing devices and preferred camera choices, as if signaling to his audience yes this is different, but it’s still me.

Overall, The Fantastic Mr. Fox, certainly more charming than Isle of Dogs, is a solid entry into Wes Anderson’s catalog. As is the usual case with Anderson, the adaptation still manages to focus on a story about a dysfunctional family (both literal and figurative) and packs in all the flavors that fans of the director have come to expect and love. With a star studded cast of vocal talent and an incredible display of technical work, The Fantastic Mr. Fox is sure to charm, delight, and entertain. The first of two solid forays into the world of stop motion animation, here’s to hoping this is a medium Anderson eventually returns to.

Review by Darryl Mansel