The Fantastic Mr. Fox

Directed by Wes Anderson
Based on a story by Roald Dahl

Film review by Talia Baruch

What is so fantastic about Mr. Fox?
If Roald Dahl’s wicked wit bites you the right way and assuming you get a kick out of Wes Anderson’s quirky, sassy dialogues and dry humor, as unleashed in Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums and Darjeeling Limited, you’ll feel right at home with The Fantastic Mr. Fox.

Given that this is a film shot in stop-motion technique with miniature puppets, the voices (which were recorded before the puppets were fully created) carry much weight in breathing life into the characters.

From the top, it is George Clooney’s charismatic, smug, husky voice that fuels Foxy with authority (and instantly hypnotizes me!). His counterpart, Mrs. Fox, is soon to emerge, with Meryl Streep written all over her—delicate lips, velvety voice texture, the full kaboom. When your ear starts picking up Owen Wilson’s nonchalant, honest tone, as Coach Skip; Jason Schwartzman’s insecure, defensive pitch, as Ash; Bill Murray’s Badger befuddled mumble; Willem Dafoe’s gangster gruff Rat and other familiars, why…it feels a wee bit like a family reunion: intimate, casual and snug.

OK,…all this is very sweet, but what is so absolutely fantastic about this film adaptation? –ey?

Is it Gustafson’s meticulous, painstaking obsessive-compulsive stop motion animation process whose hand-crafted look stands out in an age of slick computer animation? Could it be the team talent making the puppets’ fur fly and bristle and blow, sewing their tiny, elaborate clothing articles, recreating the miniature lodging and scenery?

Or perhaps the magic was born at Gipsy House in Buckinghamshire, England, where Dahl lived and wrote and where Anderson chose to shoot the film. The director aimed to capture the hyper-autumn muggy gray landscape. You won’t find blue sky and green grass in this picture. Your eye will quickly adapt to the earthy-yellow-ruddy ochre tint glow that brushes through everything.

Surely, the old fashioned effects chip in with charm: smoke is made from cotton balls and water is made from Saran Wrap.

What more?

-There’s much fun and playfulness—right out slapstick bundled up with sharper humor that digs deep under your skin.

-There’s simple honesty in the story telling. Naked like a peeled banana.

-There’s Sartre vs. satire in Mr. fox’s compelling, sentimental speeches, see-sawing between existentialism and wild instincts.

-And there’s a déjà vu to Peter and the Wolf, with a unique theme tune marshaling each character’s queue.

At the end of the day, this is another tale about the human condition—jealousy, power struggle, stupidity, compassion. Bottom line, like the puppets on screen, we dress like humans, talk like humans, but follow our wild animal instincts when it comes to food and fight.