Review: The Fantastic Mr. Fox

Mr. Fox lapses back into his thieving ways and puts the entire animal community in danger as three human farmers vow revenge.

Director: Wes Anderson

Run Time: 87 Minutes

Released: 2009

Cast: George Clooney (Mr. Fox), Meryl Streep (Mrs. Fox), Jason Schwartzman (Ash)

Bottom Line: My favourite film of the year, hands down. An exciting, hilarious and heartwarming tale of family, peril and the joy of being a wild animal.

Rarely do films possess the levels of wit, beauty, and sheer ebullience present in Wes Anderson’s marvelous Fantastic Mr. Fox. As I watched the movie I hoped against hope that it would never end, and once it was done I wanted to hide under the seat so I could watch it again and again. I would easily rank this as the best film of 2010, and only hope the Academy feels the same way in March (though I won’t hold my breath).

As a child I was immensely fond of Roald Dahl’s works, and read them incessantly. To this day I recognize him as one of the wittiest, most original, and timeless authors to ever publish children’s literature. Adapting his stories into film form has not been an easy feat, and while serviceable forays have been made (Mathilda, The Witches, James and the Giant Peach) no one has been able to capture the Dahlian vision and spirit quite like Wes Anderson.

Anderson’s titular Mr. Fox lives in a quirky, autumnal world full of civilized (and well-dressed) animals with jobs, families, and all of the amenities that our real-life vulpine friends wish they had. Mr. Fox is a reformed chicken thief who lives a mundane life in a hole with his wife and angsty son, Ash. Fox suffers from a mid-life crisis and moves his family into a lovely oak tree in a very dangerous neighbourhood – overlooking the three largest farms in the county. The temptation proves to be too much to resist and Fox lapses back into his thieving ways – stealing from a different farmer each night with his dimwitted opossum friend, Kylie.

Soon the very angry and very mean Boggis, Bunce and Bean vow revenge on Fox and his entire family by any means necessary. After an assault with guns, bulldozers, and explosives all of the wild animals of the area are left trapped and hungry – and it is up to Mr. Fox to save them all and prove how truly Fantastic he can be.

The film’s greatest asset is its delightful sense of humour. This is truly a laugh out loud movie with a lot of memorable jokes and gags, without losing the intellectual dialogue and polish that Anderson is known for. I simply loved the way that the animals ate. They seem civilized, but eat like wild animals – complete with growls and food flying everywhere. Their hilarious, lipless toothy grins always made me laugh, as did the way they replaced swear words with “cuss” to great effect.

Anderson also injects some very human situations and emotions into his animal characters. The Foxes suffer great marital difficulties when Mr. Fox breaks his promise to his wife not to steal anymore, and yet they stand united as their whole world crumbles around them.

I also enjoyed the intense rivarly between Mr. Fox’s naturally gifted nephew Kristofferson and his self-proclaimed ‘athlete’ son, Ash. Kristofferson quickly charms everyone (including Mr. Fox and a vixen that Ash has a crush on) with his athletic skills, humble nature and proficiency at, well, everything – driving Ash absolutely nuts. Their rivalry (and the way that it is resolved) is both humorous and very touching – who hasn’t had a cousin they were extremely jealous of at some point in their life?

Finally, the animation, design and music is sheer perfection. The signature Wes Anderson hues lend themselves well to this picture, and Mr. Fox wears his Andersonian corduroy suit with aplomb. There is always something interesting to see on screen, and I often found myself scanning each scene so I didn’t miss a single detail. I much prefer the jerky, natural quality of this film to the often too-perfect look of Pixar animation.

I’m positive that I could go on forever about this film, so I will force myself to stop.

If you enjoy films, please make sure that you watch this one!

Funny, heartwarming and exciting from start to finish – The Fantastic Mr. Fox is a visual delight for all ages, but may be preferred by adults with a penchant for Anderson’s quirky humour, dysfunctional family dynamics, and love of the purely random.