A Wes Anderson film destined to be Criterion Collection. But, wait, aren't they all?
Fantastic Mr. Fox
starring George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, Wallace Wolodarsky, Michael Gambon, Willem Dafoe, Owen Wilson, Brian Cox, Adrien Brody
directed by Wes Anderson
You either love or hate Wes Anderson. There really is no in between. His films have a quirky, slightly elitist viewpoint, but they also have an immense depth and love of human imperfection in them. His latest venture is an adaptation of Roald Dahl’s classic Fantastic Mr. Fox. It is his first attempt to dabble with animation of any sort, so it immediately peeked my interest; Wes Anderson was doing something vastly different than what we’ve come to expect from him. And as always with Anderson, it should in the very least be interesting.
Mr. Fox (Clooney) is good at what he does; he’s the sneakiest, sleekest, best chicken and food snatcher he knows. But that lifestyle changes when Mrs. Fox (Streep) gets pregnant. She asks him to find other, safer work, and be home with the family. So fast forward a few fox-years later, Mr. Fox writes a newspaper article and Mrs. Fox stays home to take care of their son Ash (Schwartzman). But Mr. Fox begins to have a mid life crisis of sorts. He decides to buy a large tree home, which his lawyer Badger (Murray) strongly warns against. The tree is close to the lands of the three most terrifying men alive; Boggis, Bunce, and the diabolical Bean (Gambon). However, that is a part of Mr. Fox’s master plan; for old times sake, he wants one more go at snatching from the stocks of Boggis, Bunce, and Bean. He is successful at first, but his charade ends up putting his family and the community in danger when the terrible three discover where he lives. Mr. Fox has to find away to put aside his pride and save, well, everyone.
Voice acting is always a bit awkward to listen to, but as is his prerogative, Anderson did things a little differently. The cast actually acted out their lines together, in open settings. Sometimes they were in an attic, sometimes underground, sometimes in a barn, etc. This worked beautifully because the voice acting flows smoothly and a bit more realistically. It sounds like people speaking to each other directly not just to open air. George Clooney comes across with a beautiful performance of the cocky and sly Mr. Fox. Even Meryl Streep ‘meryl streeped’ the hell out of her voice part. Jason Schwartzman was the stand out for me; he has a way with dialogue that makes things come across understated and catch you unexpectedly. He uses vast inflection that is rare among people who don’t usually voice act.
While this is still very much a Wes Anderson style film, he pulled back a bit, which is to his benefit. He simplified the story enough so that this could be for both children and their parents. I liken it to Shrek in that the plot is totally directed for a young audience, but there are plenty of subtle one liners and visual things for mom and dad. Instead of going with his usual ambiguity of catharsis, Anderson put together a basic plot structure that is simple enough to follow and you get the moral at the end of the story pretty plainly. He kept his obvious love of characters, though. Each character is unique and has their own identifying quirk. And even with animation and dealing with field creatures, there is still an overwhelming sense of humanity throughout. You care for each and every hero from the start; its something that gets overlooked in films these days with fast paced and intricate plots.
The most noticable quality of the film is its look; it is a thing of beauty. It is done all in stop motion animation, but here’s the catch; instead of speeding up the frames to make seemless and smooth motion, the filmmakers intentinally slowed down the frames per second. This makes the puppets actions sort of jerky and rough, but it really made the film for me. It gives it an unfinished yet almost refined feel; very, very, close to how the classic Christmas movies Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and Santa Claus is Coming to Town were made. The details are also tremendous. You can see individual hair and fur on each animal, and the sets are more extensive than some I’ve seen in live action films. The animation really took the film from being good to grand; in fact, I’d go as far to say that Wes Anderson out did Corpse Bride. In essence, he’s out down Tim Burton at his own game.
I highly recommend Fantastic Mr. Fox for everyone, whether you like Wes Anderson or hate his guts. It won’t matter by the time the short film is over; its just a simple ton of fun to watch. I believe it’ll end up being nominated for Best Animated Film at the Academy, and rightfully so, but I still feel that Pixar’s UP will be taking that particular Oscar home. Where Mr. Fox triumphs in originality, UP triumphs in pure emotional experience and heart. The only reason I can think of somebody not liking the film is how the story takes place, scene to scene. That bit of it is all Wes’s style, and if you can’t stand that get out of the kitchen (or movie theater, whatever). All in all, its worth the price of a ticket. And I can’t wait to own it on Blu-Ray.
The Fantastic Wes Anderson
A Wes Anderson film destined to be Criterion Collection. But, wait, aren't they all?
Fantastic Mr. Fox
starring George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, Wallace Wolodarsky, Michael Gambon, Willem Dafoe, Owen Wilson, Brian Cox, Adrien Brody
directed by Wes Anderson
You either love or hate Wes Anderson. There really is no in between. His films have a quirky, slightly elitist viewpoint, but they also have an immense depth and love of human imperfection in them. His latest venture is an adaptation of Roald Dahl’s classic Fantastic Mr. Fox. It is his first attempt to dabble with animation of any sort, so it immediately peeked my interest; Wes Anderson was doing something vastly different than what we’ve come to expect from him. And as always with Anderson, it should in the very least be interesting.
Mr. Fox (Clooney) is good at what he does; he’s the sneakiest, sleekest, best chicken and food snatcher he knows. But that lifestyle changes when Mrs. Fox (Streep) gets pregnant. She asks him to find other, safer work, and be home with the family. So fast forward a few fox-years later, Mr. Fox writes a newspaper article and Mrs. Fox stays home to take care of their son Ash (Schwartzman). But Mr. Fox begins to have a mid life crisis of sorts. He decides to buy a large tree home, which his lawyer Badger (Murray) strongly warns against. The tree is close to the lands of the three most terrifying men alive; Boggis, Bunce, and the diabolical Bean (Gambon). However, that is a part of Mr. Fox’s master plan; for old times sake, he wants one more go at snatching from the stocks of Boggis, Bunce, and Bean. He is successful at first, but his charade ends up putting his family and the community in danger when the terrible three discover where he lives. Mr. Fox has to find away to put aside his pride and save, well, everyone.
Voice acting is always a bit awkward to listen to, but as is his prerogative, Anderson did things a little differently. The cast actually acted out their lines together, in open settings. Sometimes they were in an attic, sometimes underground, sometimes in a barn, etc. This worked beautifully because the voice acting flows smoothly and a bit more realistically. It sounds like people speaking to each other directly not just to open air. George Clooney comes across with a beautiful performance of the cocky and sly Mr. Fox. Even Meryl Streep ‘meryl streeped’ the hell out of her voice part. Jason Schwartzman was the stand out for me; he has a way with dialogue that makes things come across understated and catch you unexpectedly. He uses vast inflection that is rare among people who don’t usually voice act.
While this is still very much a Wes Anderson style film, he pulled back a bit, which is to his benefit. He simplified the story enough so that this could be for both children and their parents. I liken it to Shrek in that the plot is totally directed for a young audience, but there are plenty of subtle one liners and visual things for mom and dad. Instead of going with his usual ambiguity of catharsis, Anderson put together a basic plot structure that is simple enough to follow and you get the moral at the end of the story pretty plainly. He kept his obvious love of characters, though. Each character is unique and has their own identifying quirk. And even with animation and dealing with field creatures, there is still an overwhelming sense of humanity throughout. You care for each and every hero from the start; its something that gets overlooked in films these days with fast paced and intricate plots.
The most noticable quality of the film is its look; it is a thing of beauty. It is done all in stop motion animation, but here’s the catch; instead of speeding up the frames to make seemless and smooth motion, the filmmakers intentinally slowed down the frames per second. This makes the puppets actions sort of jerky and rough, but it really made the film for me. It gives it an unfinished yet almost refined feel; very, very, close to how the classic Christmas movies Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and Santa Claus is Coming to Town were made. The details are also tremendous. You can see individual hair and fur on each animal, and the sets are more extensive than some I’ve seen in live action films. The animation really took the film from being good to grand; in fact, I’d go as far to say that Wes Anderson out did Corpse Bride. In essence, he’s out down Tim Burton at his own game.
I highly recommend Fantastic Mr. Fox for everyone, whether you like Wes Anderson or hate his guts. It won’t matter by the time the short film is over; its just a simple ton of fun to watch. I believe it’ll end up being nominated for Best Animated Film at the Academy, and rightfully so, but I still feel that Pixar’s UP will be taking that particular Oscar home. Where Mr. Fox triumphs in originality, UP triumphs in pure emotional experience and heart. The only reason I can think of somebody not liking the film is how the story takes place, scene to scene. That bit of it is all Wes’s style, and if you can’t stand that get out of the kitchen (or movie theater, whatever). All in all, its worth the price of a ticket. And I can’t wait to own it on Blu-Ray.