Animated, using small puppets, quirky and different, I liked it.

Rating: Null/10 (30 May 2010)

Wes Anderson, a native Houstonian, makes quirky and interesting movies. Among his my favorite is 'Rushmore', made in Houston. Here he directs and has a hand in writing the extended adaptation of a storybook.
George Clooney is the clever and fantastic Mr. Fox. We see him and Ms Fox get captured early, stealing birds, and he vows to go straight, get a legitimate job. So 2 years later (12 Fox years) he writes a newspaper column. Meryl Streep is Mrs. Fox. Jason Schwartzman is his young son, Ash. (Bill Murray voices the Badger and, perhaps not coincidentally, Murray and Schwartzman were the two principle actors in 'Rushmore'.)
Other famous voices include Michael Gambon as Franklin Bean, Willem Dafoe as the menacing Rat, and my grandson's namesake, Owen Wilson as Coach Skip.
But Mr Fox, and of course all the other animals, are wild animals. It is against their nature to go straight, and not steal chickens, geese, and apple cider from the farmers. So most of the movie pits the animals against the farmers. Mr Fox indeed turns out to be fantastic!
The extras are interesting, especially as they relate to the animation used here, small puppets moved slightly between single frame shots. Much like claymation of the Wallace and Grommit movies.