Pleasantly Outfoxed

Rating: 9/10 (26 November 2009)

My spouse, more than I, loves to see kid's movies. We'd seen the preview of Fantastic Mr. Fox at the theater and I groaned at the thought of having to sit through it My impression was the animation was stiff and outdated. The color was so reddish brown it seemed "off" as though the film was faded. Still, we eventually ran out of movies we wanted to see and ended up at this one. Boy, what a pleasant surprise! I had seen Gene Shalit review it the other day and he sure didn't give it raves. Critics don't phase me much but I was already doubtful. In the end, I can't promise everyone will enjoy it as much as we did. It depends on your sense of humor re: what you think is funny. However, for us it had at least two "laugh out loud" moments, spontaneous laughs where you even surprise yourself. The music, the characters, the setting, are all offbeat in a way that suits this story. I loved the personalities. The rat was hilarious and this was one entertaining movie. Kids will probably enjoy it but I can't imagine that they'll enjoy it as much as adults. You won't be checking the time on your cell phone in this one.