Fantastic, Mr. Anderson

Rating: 10/10 (5 May 2010)

This delightful animated film has Wes Anderson's fingerprints all over it, which is a great thing if you like his movies as much as I do.
Present are the vague melancholy and yearning for something bigger and better that so many of Anderson's characters feel in so many of his movies. They're never completely happy, because they never know exactly what it is that will make them happy, a conundrum supremely identifiable for his audiences. But what might feel like tedious existential angst in the hands of some colder and more cerebral director never does with Anderson, because he fills his movies with warmth and wit.
"Fantastic Mr. Fox" is beautiful to look at and has terrific voice work from big stars like George Clooney and Meryl Streep. But the standout is Anderson regular Jason Schwartzmann, as a young fox with serious inadequacy issues.
"Fantastic Mr. Fox" is the best animated film I saw last year -- yes, better than "Coraline" and "Up." Anderson has proved that Pixar need not claim a monopoly on worthy screen animation.
Grade: A+