A Funny, Well-Written, and Visually Stunning Film With a Horrible Message

Rating: 7/10 (2 January 2020)

This film is very, very unique. It's a variation of a classic story, but so weird and well-written that you don't care. I should mention that I haven't read the book that inspired this movie, so I can't judge it's accuracy to the source material.
The plot follows a fox who regularly steals from local farmers, despite having promised his wife that he would leave stealing behind once he learned she was pregnant. He and a friend take on the biggest farmers in the area, and find themselves in over their heads when the farmers retaliate and threaten his entire community.
Wes Anderson and Noah Baumbach craft an excellent script full of sharp dialogue that is funny to children and adults alike. The story manages to remain interesting throughout, and doesn't dumb itself down for its target audience. Anderson also directs here, and he has a visual style that is very interesting to watch. He doesn't let the animation overpower the story or his style, but in fact he allows it to work within his plot, never letting the animation carry the film. He is putting out a very different product from most animated children's films around currently, particularly Disney.
The animation is stellar, and it's all the more astounding that it's stop-motion. I appreciate it in that it feels more intimate and personal than computer animation, and I feel the effort behind the product, which allowed me to invest in it more. It felt more human, despite being about animals. You can see the painstaking work and precision behind each character movement, psychedelic scene, or atmospheric shot.

Note: Minor spoilers may be ahead, but they're related to the film's purpose and not the actual plot.
My only critique of the film is its message. I think it's message was horrible. Basically, the message is that it's completely ok and acceptable to be true to your nature. The film even teases character growth for most of the runtime. Only around the third act does its true message kind of start to show, and it's finally presented at the very end in a horribly unsubtle way. I guess since it's a children's film, it doesn't want to be as open to interpretation because it thinks what it has to say is a righteous and important message that kids need to hear, but I disagree. I found the ultimate "be true to your nature" message to fly in the face of fundamentals of humanity. Humans are terrible, and our saving grace is that we continue to grow and evolve. Change is important to growth as a human. If you stay the same then you never learn anything. The main character acted like a child, lied to and jeopardized his family, was selfish the entire time, and faced no consequences. His behavior was validated in the end. There's even a point where his wife tells him that she loves him, but that she shouldn't have marrie him. That's a heavy moment for a children's film, and I think it's quite ambitious. But instead of following this, the film ignores it and their relationship regresses back to normal in the end. It felt so cheap and self-fulfilling, and frankly irresponsible.
I may be being too scathing, but aside from the message, I really, really enjoyed it. It's fun, it's weird, it's creative, and it's different.