Screenplay by Wes Anderson and Noah Baumbach
Directed by Wes Anderson
Dressed in an orange corduroy suit that both mimics Wes Anderson’s own trademark look and acts as representative of Fox’s fur, Mr. Fox (voiced by George Clooney) is a sly and overly confident character that fits well in the overarching canon of Anderson films. Fox doesn’t apologize for his shortcomings; he merely has to come up with a better plan to overcome it all so everyone loves him. And as usual, there is an ensemble cast of various outsiders and confidants who follow our protagonist through thick and thin. Anderson has beautifully adapted the book by ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’ author Roald Dahl into a unique stop-motion animated film making it his own while paying homage to the author’s original work. Though it differs in some respects, the story has been expanded in a way that is not obtrusive and feels like the organic child of the two creators. Much had been said of the distance with which Anderson directed the film (he reportedly would send his comments and wishes via the internet from his home in France) but you would never know from the final film. Every frame has the fingerprints of this auteur all over it.
The tone struck by the film is familiar territory. It is a fairly simple problem stands in the way- our hero uses his own wits- we cheer- formula, but as usual for Anderson the focus is more on the obstacle within the family rather than overcoming the external threat of the three farmers who want to destroy Mr. Fox and his home. Mr. Fox has a wife, Mrs. Fox (naturally) who is voiced by virtually the only newcomer in the cast for a Wes Anderson film, Meryl Streep. She is excellent as always and is given the biting strength that makes her the true leader of the family much like Etheline Tenenbaum or Eleanor Zissou. Perhaps this is meaningless, but I actually wonder why Angelica Huston, having played both previous roles, didn’t voice Mrs. Fox. Rounding out the family is their son Ash (Jason Schwarzman) and cousin Kristofferson (Eric Anderson) who play rivals for Mr. Fox’s attention. Kristofferson has a mellow tone and is a natural athlete following in the chicken-snatching limber footsteps of Mr. Fox while Ash holds a grudge and is forced to find his own ways to gain his parents’ attention. One scene of their competition is truly remarkable; in one long shot we see Ash refusing to share his bedroom with Kristofferson, delegating him to sleep on a matt under an elaborate tabletop train set in the room. Their entire conversation, Kris trying to get comfortable while Ash is sitting in bed reading silently and turning out the light only to then come down and start playing with the train set has no cuts and goes on for an inordinately long time for a stop-motion film. I can’t recall ever seeing such a scene accomplished like this before.
The animation is done in a style that harkens back to Rankin-Bass films of the 1960’s and 70’s (apparently shot at 12 frames-per-second rather than the usual 24 for motion pictures). The fur of the puppets flows with a charm that can only be seen in this type of film. On the other hand, camera zooms can feel awkward at this speed, but they’re used sparingly. This isn’t the technical leap forward that Coraline represented this year nor the 80’s style of Mary and Max, which I faulted for feeling like too much of a throwback. Mary and Max bothered me with how un-animated it was at times, not necessarily that it harkened back to an older style. Fox is full of plenty of vigor and punch and at times characters literally leap around the screen. Similarly, I was struck with how subtle the movements could be at times, little ticks of the face especially. This is potentially the best visual acting I’ve seen in stop-motion. I’m still not sure whether separate, larger puppets were used for facial close-ups (of which there were lots- sometimes used for a hilarious running gag) to get those really detailed delicacies, but regardless it was wonderful. The only nitpick I would have is the inconsistent sense of scale between the animals and humans which seems to fluctuate at times (or the fact that some animals are upright and sentient while others are mindless creatures), but this hardly detracted from the overall experience.
This is Wes Anderson’s most kid-friendly film to date even though it deals with similarly dark themes in a pop manner as in his other work. Here you always know who the heroes and villains are and boundaries aren’t overstepped (the song "Heroes and Villians" by The Beach Boys is actually featured in the film). This is about family survival against those that are clearly cruel men (even though they are trying to protect that which is theirs from being stolen, but that doesn’t matter since they’re bad men). The violence never gets darker than a Disney film of old like Bambi, similarly about animals trying to survive in a world of human villains. Cleverly, the issue of curse words is glossed over by the great recurring gag of saying “cuss” when a real cuss word would otherwise be used (whether this comes from Anderson himself or screenwriting collaborator Noah Baumbach doesn’t matter as it seems to be consistent with either of their styles and sense of humor). This allows an appreciation of what is being said by adults while children can similarly be entertained. In fact, one of my favorite little touches is in the town where the climactic battle takes place that there is graphitti splashed on the side of a building that simply says “cuss” in a colorful manner.
Indeed, the whole thing comes off as the work of an experienced auteur who is playing in a sandbox of his own design. It feels like watching a child who is walking you through the story he has concocted for his action figures (an expert child, much like Max Fischer and his high school plays in Rushmore). The film is entertaining and comical, with a bit of heart. It is neither a Wes Anderson film that just happens to be done with animals nor an animal film that happens to be made by Wes Anderson. The two are designed for each other and meet in the middle to make one of the funniest films of the year.
**** Definitely see this film
The Fantastic Mr. Fox is in theaters everywhere.
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