A Cuss of a Good Film

Rating: 9/10 (5 December 2019)

Fantastic Mr. Fox is a thoroughly enjoyable movie.
I am a big fan of stop motion animation, but that medium is not universally enjoyed. This is one of the best stop motion movies I have ever seen, and it is clear that a tremendous amount of effort was put into it.
Stop motion is a difficult medium of filmmaking, with each frame needing to be individually posed which can cause movement to appear unnatural. However this film manages to avoid this at most points. The places where flaws are most noticeable are also scenes in which it is intentional. It's clear a great deal of care was put into this movie with each model being beautifully detailed and even somewhat informative of the characters personality.
The camerawork is surprisingly good for a stop motion movie and feels as fluid as a traditional movie. The great camerawork coupled with the lovely scenery work together to create a movie that is visually stunning for a stop motion film.
Despite the great detail to the visuals, the best aspect of this movie is possibly the writing. The plot is fairly straightforward, with the main characters having at least some form of development. In this case the simplicity works well, as it provides a means for the character motivation and development.
The movie is accessible to all ages, and works well as a family movie, but unlike many movies of that type is not simply a children's movie. The movie handles many concepts (which other family movies may shy away from) in a charming way. For example: the word "cuss" is used in place of any potential harsh language. As someone who doesn't like the sanitization of children's media, I actually felt this was a great substitution. Rather than remove the effectiveness of swearing in language, the substitution makes it acceptable for younger children but not boring for older audiences. I was actually quite impressed by the balance achieved between media for younger audiences and older audiences.
One of the strongest aspects of this movie, is its accessibility. Most people could find something to enjoy in this movie, but in the most genuine way possible. Many movies which try this end up lacking direction or become annoyingly predictable, yet Fantastic Mr Fox does not fall into this trap. This is achieved through the family dynamic, which is both believably complex yet easy to understand.
Ultimately this movie offers an enjoyable family experience, and its family status does not cheapen the experience for watching it outside of the family setting.
Final score: 96/100