I think my enjoyment of the film was damaged by all the hype....

Rating: 7/10 (17 October 2010)

When "The Fantastic Mr. Fox" debuted, there was a lot of hubbub about it. People were abuzz about it at Cannes and people talked about it at Oscar time. So, naturally, I assumed it must have been a heck of a good film--not a slightly better than average film with some slightly creepy characters. Yes, I say slightly creepy because the stop-motion characters look quite a bit like dead stuffed animals. Plus there simply have been so many animated films that looked more technically advanced. This one seemed more like a cast-off from the old days of stop-motion--which isn't all bad, as it IS interesting if old fashioned.
The story is about a thrill-seeking fox who loves to take chances--though he seems to forget that he has a family back home. At the same time, there's an inspiring plot (or at least that's what the formula dictates) about the wimpy son of this fox needing to prove himself. Both these plot come together when three local entrepreneurs get sick of Mr. Fox stealing from them again and again. Much of the final half of the film involves the foxes and other animals all trying to avoid getting killed by these men--and the young fox (not unexpectedly) proving his worth.
Really, there's nothing too extraordinary about this film--the animation or the story. The only outstanding things are the expensive actors that were employed to provide the voices. Otherwise, it's an enjoyable film for older kids and adults alike--though I do think it's a bit too dark for younger audiences.
By the way, you might think I am crazy for making this comparison, but right after seeing the much-praised "Fantastic Mr. Fox", I watched a film with no real distribution at all (Disney basically killed the film and released it straight to video) that had no critical acclaim (1996's "The Wind in the Willows") and found I much preferred the lower budget latter film. It was simply more fun...something I felt was missing at times from "Fox".