by: Anghus

Fantastic Mr. Fox
Starring George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Bill Murray and Jason Schwartzman
4 stars (out of 5)

I think my days of bagging on animated films may be coming to an end. While I still loathe the overproduced, over-saturated world of kid-friendly computer-generated garbage, I find myself occasionally engaged in the medium. Last week I was pleasantly surprised by Disney’s A Christmas Carol. Earlier this year I was captivated by the latest Miyazaki film Ponyo and the 3-D, stop-motion charmer Coraline. But this year’s animated offerings all pale in comparison to Wes Anderson’s quirky bit of trifle: Fantastic Mr. Fox.

This is the antithesis to all the technical marvels being churned out by movie studios, the luddite that decries the fancy technological toys, standing firm on the principles of story and character. Technologically, the animation technique is crude—more akin to claymation and the wonderful Rankin/Bass-animated holiday specials that have become mainstays of the season. The minimalism works greatly to bring this strange little world to life, a world populated by some of the most imaginative woodland creatures ever seen.

Mr. Fox (George Clooney) is the typical wild animal. He enjoys his daily romp through the forest and the company of his lady friend, Felicity (Meryl Streep). Like all wild animals, they eventually get tamed. Once Felicity gets pregnant, Mr. Fox has to stop his dangerous, chicken-stealing ways and settle down into a quiet suburban life—which isn’t easy for a wily fox. The trappings of underground suburbia paint Mr. Fox into an uncomfortable corner. He has a wonderful life with his wife and son, Ash (Jason Schwartzman), but the wild animal within pushes him to take crazy risks much to the chagrin of his neighbors: the loathsome farmers, Bunce, Boggis and Bean.

After Mr. Fox pilfers their respective wares, they team up to try and rid the forest of such mischievous ways. This is, of course, a little upsetting to the other animals living there, including the lawyers Beaver, Beaver and Badger (Bill Murray), and the crazy-eyed opossum Kylie (Wallace Wolodarsky).

The characters are the real reason to see Fantastic Mr. Fox. The story is a simple little fox hunt, penned by Roald Dahl, containing the basic principles of any good piece of children’s literature. It’s a fun frolic with a lot of humor and a few scares to keep the kids on their toes. There’s some really freaky imagery in the film. If I was 9, I would have been scared shitless by the red-eyed Rat (Willem Dafoe) who guards the delicious alcoholic cider. He has his own creepy theme music and wields a switchblade; this is what children’s nightmares are made of.

Usually, I don’t mention production design in reviews. For the most part, it’s a major contribution to any film that often goes unnoticed. In stop-motion animation, production design has a far more vibrant presence. Everything in the film is manufactured in miniature scale, filled with warm hues and soft edges. While not nearly as detailed as this year’s superb Coraline, with less-expressive characters crafted by the Oscar-winning Nick Park (Wallace & Grommit), they do possess their own unique charm and personalities. Thus, their characteristics all feel part of the same world. Yet, there is something wonderfully disturbing about their design.

The script, penned by Wes Anderson and independent scribe Noah Baumbach, is a brilliant larf, full of whimsical dialogue and some snappy banter. The word “cuss” is used in place of more questionable four-letter words. Anderson has always made movies known for a surreptitious amount of charm. Some people find his style tired. Personally, I can’t get enough. I’ve been a fan of the man for 10 years, since I first laid my eyes on Rushmore and eagerly lined up for each subsequent release. Fantastic Mr. Fox fits perfectly into his canon. It’s humorous (though never hilarious), sharp and has an incredibly deep number of fleshed-out supporting characters.

I can see the film raising the ire of cynics who deem the lowbrow animation technique and simplistic story as being “just for kids,” but there’s a lot here for fans of eclectic films. This is as far removed from the normal family-film experience as anything I’ve seen this year—not nearly as dismissive to children as the horribly staged Where the Wild Things Are. It offers enough for adults to feed their appetite without reducing the story to poorly drawn allegory.

Kudos to the team behind Fantastic Mr. Fox. It is a wonderful little fable, with just the right amount of silly and sincere.