Fantastic Mr. Fox

Plot synopsis:
"Boggis and Bunce and Bean
One short, one fat, one lean.
These horrible crooks,
so different in looks,
were nonetheless equally mean."
Mr. Fox (voice: George Clooney) and his wife Felicity Fox (voice: Meryl Streep) sneak into a henhouse to steal chickens. They're caught in a cage on the way out because Mr. Fox sees the trap and can't resist the temptation to spring it. As they hear someone coming, Mrs. Fox reveals that she's pregnant and makes Mr. Fox promise that if they get away, he'll give up raiding farms.Cut to a few years later: the Foxes evidently escaped and now live underground with their slightly odd son, Ash (voice: Jason Schwartzman). Mr. Fox is working a safe job as a journalist. Against the advice of Badger (voice: Bill Murray), his attorney, he moves his family into a larger and finer home inside a tree on a hill. The treehouse has a good view of the nearby farms of Boggis, Bunce, and Bean.Ash is immediately hostile when his cousin Kristofferson (voice: Eric Chase Anderson) joins the family for an extended visit because his father is sick. He makes the inoffensive Kristofferson sleep under a table in the bedroom they share. Ash feels threatened because his cousin appears to be good at everything. Kristofferson even succeeds at whackbat, a cricket-like game whose baroque rules are explained by Coach Skip (voice: Owen Wilson) -- though Kristofferson has never played it before. Meanwhile, Mr. Fox plots with Kiley (voice: Wallace Wolodarsky), the treehouse's caretaker, to raid the Boggis, Bunce and Bean farms. They take Kristofferson but not Ash along on the raids, which deepens Ash's resentment. Mr. Fox is careful to conceal these outings from Felicity, who nevertheless becomes suspicious when unexplained food appears in their larder. She warns Fox, "if what I think is happening is happening -- it better not be."The success of the raids leads the three angry farmers to set up a stakeout at the treehouse, where they shoot off Fox's tail before the animals run back inside. The farmers try to dig them out, but the Foxes dig faster. Eventually they find their way into the sewers, where they join forces with many other animals made homeless by the farmers' destruction of their hill. These neighbors are none too pleased with Fox for bringing this revenge down on them all.Mr. Fox, though penitent, is irrepressible; he marshals the animals, calling them by their Latin names and noting each one's special talent. He organizes a tunneling project to burrow under all three farms and make away with all of Boggis's chickens, all of Bunce's ducks and geese, and all of Bean's turkeys, apples, and cider. Ash and Kristofferson's relationship, meanwhile, has begun to thaw after Kristofferson defends his cousin from a bully (Bully: "Why'd you take your shoes off?" Kristofferson: "So I don't break your nose when I kick it."). The two cousins slip away from the celebration that follows the megaraid; they aim to get Fox's tail back from Bean. However, the closest they get to the tail is seeing it on TV -- Bean is wearing it as a necktie. Worse, Mrs. Bean catches Kristofferson, and Bean plans to use him to catch Mr. Fox.When they find that their goods have been stolen, the farmers decide to flood the animals' tunnel network by pumping it full of cider. The animals are forced to retreat into the sewers, and Fox learns that the farmers plan to use Kristofferson as bait to lure him into an ambush. They are soon confronted by Rat (voice: Willem Dafoe), Bean's security guard. After a struggle with Fox that leaves him mortally wounded, Rat divulges that Kristofferson is being held in an attic on Bean's farm.Fox sends a message to the farmers, asking for a meeting in a town near the sewer hub. Fox offers to surrender in exchange for Kristofferson's freedom. The farmers set up an ambush, but Fox and the others anticipate it and launch a counterattack. Fox, Ash, and Kylie escape the scene in the town and slip into Bean's farm. A much matured Ash frees Kristofferson and impresses his father and the gang by braving enemy fire to release a rabid beagle that keeps the farmers at bay while the group escapes back to the sewers. On the way, they see a dark wolf on the hillside above the road. Fox has said he's afraid of wolves, but he stops and tries to speak to this one in English and French. It doesn't respond until Fox raises his fist in a gesture of solidarity. The wolf returns the gesture and departs into the woods.By this time Ash and Kristofferson have settled their differences and become good friends, sharing meditation and other activities. Though the animals are still trapped in the sewers, Fox leads them to a drain in the floor of a large supermarket, which unbeknownst to them is owned by the three farmers. Celebrating their abundant new food source and the news that Felicity is pregnant again, the animals dance in the aisles.

Tags: whimsical, psychedelic, humor

Review:
Are you cussing with me?" Badger (Bill Murray): "No, you cussing with me?" Mr. Fox: "Don't cussing point at me!" Such an exchange is indicative of the fun Anderson has with kids and adults by not bombarding the youngsters with profanity but winking at the adults as if to say, "You know what I mean." And the most violent moment comes not from scenes with guns but rather where the animals steal chickens and break their necks, done so gingerly and quietly that it seems what it is: Just what foxes do and what humans must do to eat the chickens.
The story of Fantastic Mr. Fox follows the lives of the Fox family – Mr (George Clooney), Mrs(Meryl Streep), and their son(Jason Schwartzman) – and their animal neighbors and friends.
What happens after that can only be described as pure confusion and debauchery.As with most Rhold Dahl stories, the book Fantastic Mr. Fox works to both excite kids and humor adults.
Though perhaps not for everyone, I would recommend Fantastic Mr. Fox for anyone interested in quirky humor, stop-motion animation, or simply a beautifully crafted and well written story..
I'm pretty much the sucker for stop motion animation, so this naturally comes with that wee bit of bias, because I surely take my hats off to the filmmakers, especially the modelers and pretty much everyone who has to painstakingly move everything a little bit at a time, which for folks who are impatient (like myself), would already have driven one nuts.But this crazy effort in bringing to life Roald Dahl's story of a sly fox, is pretty much worth every frame of it.
The man hours and intricate designs are something of an old school technique when compared to the latest computer wizardry, but you'll be amazed at what director Wes Anderson and his team managed to come up with, complete with a solid story, likable characters, and plenty of fun.George Clooney voices Mr Fox, a smug (what else, since Clooney chews these type of roles for breakfast) and wily erm, fox whose specialty is being the chicken thief that he is, providing for family.
Soon he moves his family near three farmers Bean (Michael Gambon), Boggis (Robin Hurlstone) and Bunce (Hugo Guinness), and crafts his final hurrah in hitting all three neighbours, only for them to retaliate and demolish Mr Fox's lifestyle, and not to mention his relationship with wife, family and friends, resulting in a battle of wills and wits.Despite the relatively short run time, the film managed to pack plenty of subplots, characterization, and comedy into one well oiled narrative.
The A-list voice cast also includes the likes of Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, Willem Dafoe, Owen Wilson, Brian Cox, Adrien Brody et al, some of whom you'll know are regulars in Anderson's past works.And if you had enjoyed his past quirky films, then you'd come to expect the same for Fantastic Mr. Fox, with Wes Andersen's signature touches all over the shop, where he made some departures from Dahl's book, but manage to retain the essence of the story, and through a stroke of luck, finding an alternate ending from Dahl's original manuscript which got adopted here in the film.
Anderson films are best watched on the big screen, so go see it now before it finishes at our cinemas.The only criticism I will say about this is that I don't think Anderson should have kept the original title of Roald Dahl's story 'Fantastic Mr Fox'.
I think he should have given it a different title, like 'Foxxed' or something (that's a rubbish suggestion, but you get what I mean), as I loved it, and wouldn't change anything else, but marketing it as an adaptation of Dahl's book is a little mis-leading (definitely for British people anyway).-As a side point I think that as much as Dahl supplies a brilliant story and tons of material to make a very good film, I think Dahl's stories are best kept where they belong, and that is on paper.
This film has Anderson's signature style all over it, right down to the obvious voice casting, which has the likes of George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, Michael Gambon, Owen Wilson, and Willem Dafoe.A lot of people, and I'm including myself in this bunch, might think nothing of this film.
After watching you may find yourself searching out the soundtrack as soon as you get home.The film's style and direction screams Wes Anderson at the top of its lungs and so, haters of his previous work may need to be careful, but I would certainly suggest to give the film a try and see if it can convert you, if not at least not make you feel like you've wasted your money.As a self confessed Wes Anderson fan I was doomed to love this film no matter what, but am genuinely delighted with the end product and believe that more than just the blind Wes Anderson lover will find this film a charming, witty ride of enjoyment..
You might figure out how this is all done, but it's not as much concern as what they do with their creations, like kids with action figures making an epic on 8mm film.Fantastic Mr. Fox has the childlike wonder, the modestly dazzling sets and production design (art-Anderson is basically the way to put it by now with his films, from the title cards of species identification to maps and chapter-headings), and an original sense of perspective when it comes to action scenes and simple little camera moves that comes off extraordinary in this setting.
I'm sure some extra ideas or expressiveness came out of this, because the performances are a great part of what makes this world so tangible: we know these people and animals, sort of, at least as much as any other Wes Anderson movie.And sure, they're foxes, but why not connect with the theme while we're at it?
I will in this case treat "Fantastic Mr. Fox" as something totally unrelated to the book (which remains outside of Anderson's capabilities to ever achieve as long as he resolves to sticking to his gameplan).I will not however gloss over the fact, that the animation has neither the humour and wit of Nick Park, the intelligence and unforgettable charm of Hayao Miyazaki or the heart of Pixar.
Additionally Wes Anderson seems to be incapable of directing movies with likable leads - even in "The Fantastic Mr. Fox" the charmless title character played by George Clooney sounds like a George Clooney with a persistent headache on Valium impression.
That basically means the whole base audience of kids is not suited for this visualisation of the children's book making it an obscure attempt at mainstream by Wes Anderson, which easily explains the poor sales of the movie.If we are to believe that this is an animation for adults, than well...
After viewing the film, I was truly shocked to see such a high rating on IMDb.'The Fantastic Mr. Fox' is an adaption of a beloved children's classic, portraying the story of the smooth, slick protagonist Mr. Fox (or 'Foxy') as he attempts one 'last' heist to steal from the dreaded Boggins, Bunce and Bean.
Meryl Streep shows no emotion, I didn't even realise Bill Murray had a role until the end credits, and Ash, twelve-years old in fox-years, sounds like he's about 30.I love animation, particularly stop motion, but the visual style actually creeped me out a little bit.
Such a sickening amount of time is wasted as numerous failed attempts are made to be sharp, witty and funny.The results are very lifeless and cynical and share 9's problems with narrative and audience.Yet despite all this it is somewhat enjoyable, and one cannot hate it entirely.This is most likely owing to the honest, home-style animation, which is by no means perfect as the work characters' facial expressions are downright awful, but it is definitely the best thing on offer here.Or perhaps it is the novelty of having a voice cast of well-known and well-loved actors – George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Michael Gambon...
To me - and I know many, many people will disagree - Wes Anderson is another one of those directors whose movies I only like one of - I actually quite enjoyed The Life Aquatic (mostly because of Bill Murray and the quality stop-motion animation), but that's it.
However, intelligent adults - people especially with a good vocabulary and a quirky sense of humor - should love "Fantastic Mr. Fox."The hero is even voiced by a real-life elitist, George Clooney.
Yes, it's a cliché story but it's done so differently with such unique dialog and humor that it's fantastically entertaining.If you think animated films are strictly for the young; this movie will change your mind.
The worrying thing is that I think it was, and this is the best that Wes Anderson could come up with.The animation is good in the close-up shots of the animals, however when the camera is further away everything becomes really harsh on the eyes and to be perfectly honest looks like a bit of a mess.
I'm pretty sure George Clooney's voice acting resume consists of two cameo appearances in South Park, one of them where he played a dog.The film is too smug and trying way too hard to be clever and different and is typically, despite the film being set in England, all the good animals are typical Americans playing baseball, whilst the bad guys are stereotypical English with the most insulting English accents.
Note to parents or anyone else who likes upbeat "feel-good" animated movies: This isn't one of them.This isn't for kids.Hell, it's not even for most adults.The problem is the quirkiness of the story, the dry humor, and the drag-on-forever plot.
I'm sick of seeing it in so many movies in the last few years, it's nauseating -- from Little Miss Sunshine to Horton Hears a Who, to this movie.In all honesty, the movie was so boring & unenjoyable to me that I literally have it stopped in the middle and have been entertaining myself now by writing this scathing review.How I rated it: VISUALS/ANIMATION: 5 I liked the style, but it would have worked better in a "happier" movie.CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT: 2 WHAT character development?
"If what I think is happening IS happening...it better not be."I never would have guessed that Wes Anderson would venture into the world of  stop motion animation, but after seeing The Fantastic Mr. Fox, I have to admit that it's a natural fit.
I think having the unlimited creative license that animation provides really let him indulge his creativity, and a absolutely great movie was the result.Anderson and Noah Baumbach took the classic Roald Dahl story and greatly expanded the beginning and end, while giving it a unique look and tone that is quite different from other recent animation.
This is an Anderson movie through and through, with all the eccentric characters, wonderful music, complicated family dynamics, and understated, off-beat humor that the world has come to expect from his work.It's difficult to find any part of Fantastic Mr. Fox to raise a complaint about.
And of course there's Tim Burton's brilliant The Nightmare before Christmas, directed by Henry Selick, who went on to use the technique extensively in Coraline.Return with us, then, to those halcyon days of half a century ago, this time at feature length, for really crappy stop-motion animation in Fantastic Mr. Fox.
It's adult for kids, to kiddie for adults, Mr. Fox really can't settle a target audience and really can't hold a worthy contender for the Best Animation Film.Overall: Far from fantastic, but it's quirky, cooky and a bit of a hoot.
I finally saw this film almost four years after its original release, and have to say it did not work for me, for exactly the reasons that kept me from going to see it in the theater back in '09.The animation is good for the most part, but the changes to the story are forced and unnecessary, the voice acting by the all-star cast is shockingly bland and uninspired, and the whole thing is, in a maddening way, quirky just for quirky's sake.
Directed by the same man, "Fantastic Mr. Fox" is a kind of animated or claymation production with famous actors doing the voices, like "Where the Wild Things Are" or the more animated Pixar and Disney movies.It's not really quite for children, however.
There is a certain complexity in the mix which makes it more fun for adults than kids I would think (much like Coroline and Where the Wild Things are).Overall, this is one of my favorite films of the year and the best movie Anderson has made..
I haven't read the Dahl book, but most of Fantastic Mr. Fox's best moments are definitely Wes Anderson moments, with perfectly chosen music and semi-awkward dialogue and petty character conflict.
I made a conscious decision not to see Fantastic Mr. Fox at the cinema having seen the trailers and thought I wouldn't quite like the style of animation and therefore would not enjoy this, how I was wrong.Mr. Fox (George Clooney) is having trouble settling down to family life after his life of chicken stealing, but when he moves in to his new tree, he finds three villainous farmers as his new neighbours he gets drawn back in for one last job.The stop motion animation works perfectly for this with director Wes Anderson purposely using a slower frame rate to film it in so as your attention is not drawn away from the animation artwork.
There really is something a bit fantastic about Wes Anderson's stop-motion animation debut "Fantastic Mr. Fox." The quirky spirit of the Roald Dahl book could only be captured by a filmmaker with a deep and unforgiving wit.
Anderson's dry and subtle sense of humor might not translate into big dollars (at least by comparison to giants such as DreamWorks and Pixar), but his affinity for diverse and amusing characters fits the world of animation better than anyone might expect.Mr. Fox (voiced by George Clooney) is a cocky yet certainly charming woodland creature who relocates his family to an area where three nasty and powerful farmers named Boggis, Bunce and Bean live nearby.
About the Movie - 1.George Clooney was excellent 2.The stop motion animation was good 3.Story was lengthy but the telling was fast ...so u'll never feel it.
I don't know about the book it is based on, I only review it as a movie.Mr. Fox's longing for old times when he was on top of the game of stealing chickens really gets him and his fellow animal friends into trouble with the farmers who deal with it in a quite brutal way to be honest, but the execution of the story with the humour added makes the ride very enjoyable.The music was also very well composed and added much to the atmosphere of the rural setting and the different situations the main characters end up getting themselves into.I especially liked the subplot of Mr. Fox's son and nephew.
Interesting animation with an old-school charm, good soundtrack and famous names, such as Wes Anderson, George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Bill Murray, Willem Dafoe and Owen Wilson, led me to watch this film with somewhat high expectations.
'The Fantastic Mr. Fox' takes Wes Anderson's quirky directing style and applies it to animation.
A Roald Dahl adaption by Wes Anderson is not something I realized was a match made in heaven until I saw Fantastic Mr.Fox, which, like the first word of it's title, is a kids film that should not be ignored.Wes Anderson is a mastermind when it comes to cinematography, and surprisingly, the same could be said about his hand in Stop-Motion Animation.
Dahl's quirky charm is almost on point with Anderson's, which works wonders as anything not originally there certainly feels like it could have been.Maybe a 10 is too generous, (I don't always see a fault where there are some, after all) but I really do think that Fantastic Mr.Fox is an excellent gateway to the works of Wes Anderson, one that excels greatly as a film itself.
Wes Anderson's cool quirks and characteristics follow him into the land of stop-motion animation with Fantastic Mr. Fox, an eye-popping, hilarious adaptation of the Roald Dahl children's book.It's the timeless tale of Mr. Fox (George Clooney), who has enjoyed a life of doing what foxes do best: prowling for fowl.
Fantastic Mr. Fox is a 2009 American stop-motion animated comedy film based on the Roald Dahl children's novel of the same name.The film features the voices of George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, Willem Dafoe, Michael Gambon, and Owen Wilson.Mr. and Mrs. Fox live an idyllic home life with their son Ash and visiting young nephew Kristopherson.
A pleasurable children's film sometimes over-infused with adult sensibilities, "The Fantastic Mr. Fox" gives us plenty of charm and character, as well as a sense of director Wes Anderson poking a little fun at himself as noted art-house auteur.Mr. Fox (voiced by George Clooney) is a retired fowl-thief who feels rather restricted by his new life as a newspaper columnist.
None of it makes much sense in context but it's good to hear nonetheless.Ultimately, I think that "Fantastic Mr. Fox" is a well-made animated film but likely one with a narrow audience.
Wes Anderson's triumphant tale based on Roald Dahl's story called "Fantastic Mr.Fox" is a delightful and inspiring animated feature that all audiences can relate to.
And if the latter is not for the kids, then nothing is.I love Wes Anderson's films, and in a very thought-through kind of way, I think that Fantastic Mr. Fox might just be his best one.
Yet, the stop-action animation, the characters, and a great deal of restraint from the director, has magically turned Fantastic Mr. Fox into an instant children's and adult classic.Dare I say this is the funniest Wes Anderson film?