Reviewed by Adam Mast, Zboneman.com.
Fantastic Mr. Fox is a wonderfully vibrant animated feature, and revolves around the incomparable Mr. Fox, a clever animal who opts to give up a life of chicken poaching to appease his pregnant wife. After a boring stint as a newspaper reporter, Mr. Fox soon realizes that you can’t take the fox out of the fox, and before long, he finds himself slipping into his old, mischievous ways.
Right up front, let it be known that Fantastic Mr. Fox is probably one of those family films that will polarize viewers. As was the case with the audience dividing Where The Wild Things Are, Fantastic Mr. Fox was directed by a well respected independent film maker (the ever eccentric Wes Anderson) known for his quirky sensibility.
Based on a lesser known work by the beloved Roald Dahl (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory), this charming (if a tad offbeat) adaptation (written by Wes Anderson and Noah Baumbach) is a perfect fit for Anderson the director, and the animation style is unlike anything I think I’ve ever seen in a feature.
The vocal work is stellar. George Clooney hits all the right notes as the the sly (and cocksure) Mr. Fox while veteran Meryl Streep is picture perfect as the the fox who loves him. Also turning in wonderful work is Jason Scwartzman as a son who simply wants to be accepted by his father, Bill Murray as a badger attorney, Willem Dafoe as an evil rat nemesis, and Michael Gambon as a business man who wants to bring Mr. Fox’s operation to a swift end.
Fantastic Mr. Fox has enough striking visuals to keep most kids happy, but chances are, the little ones are not going to fully grasp the complex nature of these characters. The family dysfunction element of the story will probably go right over their heads. However, most viewers will have no problem warming up to the film’s primary theme; accepting others for who they are.
Pic: Wes Anderson, and Roald Dahl's The Fantastic Mr. Fox
2009 has seen a fair share of diverse animated features (see Up, Coraline, and Ponyo), and Fantastic Mr. Fox takes the process in yet another unique direction. This is an odd film to be sure, but its extremely funny and very engaging in Wes Anderson kind of way.
