You'll be surprised!

Rating: 8/10 (17 July 2010)

When I rented "Fantastic Mr. Fox", I was pretty much expecting another cutesy rodent flick that I could fall asleep too. I was in for a shocker. Written and directed by Wes Anderson, this movie is obviously quirky, but not in an unsettling way. It is very witty and I found its sense of humor refreshing for an animated film. It doesn't have to be vile, but has a very adult humor to it. There are many child-friendly replacements such as "the disloyal lab partner" and "what the cuss" and "beagle ticks". It was clever, but didn't run completely on shock value. I admire that in a script. George Clooney and Meryl Streep obviously do a great job with the voice acting, but I was surprised that Streep had a relatively secondary role. The characters are very easy to relate too. (And yes, I know they're animals). Ash is the awkward son who is trying to find his place in the world. His jealousy of his "perfect" cousin, Kristofferson, provides a good B-storyline. Mr. Fox is the former-thief who doesn't like the concept of settling down. His wife (who I originally thought was the tragic, stereotypical housewife) can still kick butt. This is one of those movies you have to watch twice before you can warm up to it, but it's definitely worth it. 8/10