I Liked It, But This Isn't For Kids

Rating: 6/10 (30 January 2010)

"Fantastic Mr. Fox" is the story of the titular Mr. Fox, his family, his stealing shenanigans and his rivalry with the three notorious farmers from whom he stole. This film is an adult version of a children's story by Roald Dahl, as interpreted by American director/writer Wes Anderson. It was interpreted in rather old-fashioned-looking, almost monochromatic (orange-yellow-brown) stop-motion animation. The attention of my sons were not held by the slow beginning and by all the talking. My daughter was not even interested to watch it at all.
I, on the other hand, quite enjoyed it. The dialogue is funny and witty, and very adult. There is even a hilarious attempt to hide all profanity with the word "cuss". I do not really like stop-animation movies (like "Gumby" or "Wallace and Grommit"), but their pain-stakingly detailed efforts are appreciated.
George Clooney definitely inhabits the character of Mr. Fox. He appropriately channeled Danny Ocean, especially in light of the heists that Mr. Fox was pulling, complete with smug attitude. Meryl Streep portrays Mrs. Felicity Fox. I felt there was nothing really special about it. Any actress could have done it just as well. Apparently the supporting cast is composed of actors who are staples of Wes Anderson films like Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, Jason Schwartzman, etc. I particularly liked how Murray voiced Attorney Badger.
I read an excerpt of "Fantastic Mr. Fox" from the Roald Dahl book that we had. It turns out while the main characters and the stealing capers are similar, the rest of the movie (like the cousin rivalry, among others) is entirely Wes Anderson. I had never seen a Wes Anderson movie before, although I had long heard of his work like "Rushmore" or "The Royal Tenenbaums". But after watching "Mr. Fox," I think I will check them out.