Whimsical & Charming

Rating: 9/10 (4 December 2019)

Mr. Fox promises to settle down and help raise a family, but it conflicts with the truth he is trying to tell Mrs. Fox about himself. The truth is that a fox cannot be happy without a chicken in its teeth. A fox courts danger, hunts prey, outsmarts other predators and has thrilling adventures. This is what a fox is good at. The promise and truth collide as Mr. Fox returns to the wild, carefree days of youth. Worse yet, a trio of vengeful farmers threaten to wipe out an entire community of animals to catch a fox. The animals look to their individual strengths and differences in order to survive.
This whimsical, charming and brilliant stop-motion feature is delightful from beginning to end. Each frame is a treasure in terms of artistry, revelations of human (and wild animal) nature, intriguing themes and characters, wry humor, compelling stories and more. There is more going on than appears on the surface. The conflicts are as interesting and revealing as the resolutions. George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, Willem Dafoe and Owen Wilson give voice and life to Roald Dahl's characters. "It is always more fun," says a wiser fox "when we did it together."