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Flicks - Fantastic Mr. Fox Wes Anderson has made an animated film, which almost seems inevitable, and of course it’s different than anything else you’ll find out there. by Chris Dashiell - The Film Snob Wes Anderson practices a different sort of comedy than the raucous variety favored in Hollywood. In films such as Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums and The Darjeeling Limited, Anderson conveys a wry sense of humor founded in the bewildering nature of family and relationships, coupled with a talent for arresting and colorful visual composition. In his quirky and eccentric comedies, pain and loneliness are never far from the surface. Now he's made an animated film, which almost seems inevitable, and of course it's different than anything else you'll find out there. Based on a children's book by Roald Dahl, it's called Fantastic Mr. Fox.
Starting from the book's premise of wily fox always staying one step ahead of three angry farmers, Anderson has made Mr. Fox and his family and friends more human. They wear clothes, use furniture and appliances, and stand on their hind legs. This has its own comic effect, especially when the animals occasionally break the spell by reverting to chaotic savagery while eating. Anderson uses stop-and-go animation with puppets rather than drawing or computer-generated imagery, and this old-fashioned technique can have a weird and unsettling effect. Nevertheless, the detail in the puppets and the background is absolutely amazing and beautiful—the film can make you laugh just with a look from one of the animal characters.
Mr. Fox is voiced by George Clooney, and Mrs. Fox by Meryl Streep. When they get caught in a trap, Mr. Fox promises that he'll give up stealing chickens if they get out alive, which they do. He becomes a newspaper columnist and moves into a great new home in a tree. But the wild side of him can't let go of the old ways, and with the help of a dim-witted possum he starts stealing from the three neighboring farmers. The meanest of these, Mr. Bean, voiced by Michael Gambon, goes after the foxes with everything he's got, including steam shovels and explosives. Mr. Fox's high spirits have caused disaster for everyone.
A subplot plays on Anderson's traditional theme of sibling rivalry when the Fox's son Ash, voiced by Jason Schwartzman, can't seem to measure up to his overachieving cousin. Other Anderson-associated actors are on hand, including Bill Murray as Fox's lawyer, a badger.
Normally a voice in a cartoon doesn't define the picture, but in this case George Clooney owns the title role. His easily recognizable voice has a familiar coolness, but this time with an undercurrent of anxiety and over-inflated ego. His character's inability to be humble and accept the ordinariness of life is a source not only of laughter, but of pathos, and the balance achieved by the witty screenplay, written by Anderson and Noah Baumbach, is something special. This is really more of a movie for grownups. The bemused sense of mortality and limitation is an aspect younger kids probably won't get, but adults should find the film very funny indeed. Fantastic Mr. Fox is an unexpected delight.