The Fantastic Mr Fox

Just got done watching 'The Fantastic Mr Fox' and I'd have to say it lives up to it's name. A stop motion animation based on the book by Roald Dahl (the great children's writer), directed by Wes Anderson (Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou) and with the voice talent of George Clooney (two-time People Magazine 'Sexiest Man Alive' winner) it's a fantastic piece of work. Check out the trailer:


Visually it's superb. The quality of the animation and the colour pallette used throughout the film are so beautiful. The character voicing, especially by Clooney, are also excellent. All of this is tied together by the masterful Wes Anderson at the helm and you could pick any scene from the film and within moments you would recognise his hand at work upon it.

It's not the 'Perfect Mr Fox' however. I think that children wouldn't find this film as enjoyable as I did and they must surely be the ones for whom this was being made. The style and dialogue just doesn't seem tailored for a younger audience. Another, more minor, quibble is the film's mix of US actors for the animal character's and UK actor's for the humans.

Ideally the whole thing should have been a British production but that's not how these things work. The rules are that UK actors can be stars on US TV shows but when it comes to films they want a Yank up front. I've no problem with that, just a little confused about where the film is actually being set and such. British farmers and an Opossum in the same film doesn't seem right.

Opossum - Hand not included

All in all I thoroughly enjoyed it and would recommend you catching Mr Fox if you can.