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Fantastic Mr. Fox
The creative forces behind films like The Grand Budapest Hotel and The Squid and the Whale take a premiere dive into the world of animated cinema for the first time and hit a bullseye with 2009's Fantastic Mr. Fox, a deliciously sophisticated animated look at the animal world unlike anything we've seen that absolutely rivals some of the best of Disney Pixar.
Mr. Fox (voiced by Oscar winner George Clooney) and his wife (voiced by Oscar winner Meryl Streep) have led an exciting life together stealing chickens, but when Mrs. Fox learns of her pregnancy, she demands that her husband settle down and find a safer way of living. The Foxes have a kid named Ash (voiced by Jason Schwartzman) and Mr. Fox has taken a safe job as a newspaper reporter. Mr. Fox is restless though and against the advice of his attorney, Badger (voiced by Bill Murray), decides he wants to pull one more chicken heist at the three biggest factories in the forest Boggis, Bunce, and Bean, accompanied by his best friend, an opossum named Kylie (voiced by Wallace Wolardosky).
Mr. and Mrs. Fox are also anticipating the arrival of Kristofferson (voiced by Eric Anderson), their nephew who is a star at school, does yoga, and seems to be taking Ash's place in his father's heart, which Ash is having none of.
This wonderful story is based on a book by Roald Dahl, the author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and has been fashioned into a smart and accessible screenplay by director Wes Anderson and Noah Baumbach that provides intelligent animal characters with brains but never talks down to its audience either. I loved the way whenever Mr. Fox encounters other animals in the story, he refers to them by their latin names. And whenever a character wants to use a curse word, they use the word "cuss".
As with most of Anderson's work, the story requires complete attention and the story does sag a little in the center, but the exposition introducing the characters is a lot of fun and the finale which finds the Fox family on the run and embroiled in a knock down drag out battle with Boggis, Bunce, and Bean is spectacular.
Clooney and Streep head up a terrific voice cast, that includes standout work from other Anderson rep company members like Murray as the Badger, Owen Wilson as the whack bat coach (don't ask), and Willem Dafoe as a rat who's a security guard for Bean's factory where the alcoholic cider is manufactured. Wes Anderson proves to be a filmmaker for any demographic, even children.
The creative forces behind films like The Grand Budapest Hotel and The Squid and the Whale take a premiere dive into the world of animated cinema for the first time and hit a bullseye with 2009's Fantastic Mr. Fox, a deliciously sophisticated animated look at the animal world unlike anything we've seen that absolutely rivals some of the best of Disney Pixar.
Mr. Fox (voiced by Oscar winner George Clooney) and his wife (voiced by Oscar winner Meryl Streep) have led an exciting life together stealing chickens, but when Mrs. Fox learns of her pregnancy, she demands that her husband settle down and find a safer way of living. The Foxes have a kid named Ash (voiced by Jason Schwartzman) and Mr. Fox has taken a safe job as a newspaper reporter. Mr. Fox is restless though and against the advice of his attorney, Badger (voiced by Bill Murray), decides he wants to pull one more chicken heist at the three biggest factories in the forest Boggis, Bunce, and Bean, accompanied by his best friend, an opossum named Kylie (voiced by Wallace Wolardosky).
Mr. and Mrs. Fox are also anticipating the arrival of Kristofferson (voiced by Eric Anderson), their nephew who is a star at school, does yoga, and seems to be taking Ash's place in his father's heart, which Ash is having none of.
This wonderful story is based on a book by Roald Dahl, the author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and has been fashioned into a smart and accessible screenplay by director Wes Anderson and Noah Baumbach that provides intelligent animal characters with brains but never talks down to its audience either. I loved the way whenever Mr. Fox encounters other animals in the story, he refers to them by their latin names. And whenever a character wants to use a curse word, they use the word "cuss".
As with most of Anderson's work, the story requires complete attention and the story does sag a little in the center, but the exposition introducing the characters is a lot of fun and the finale which finds the Fox family on the run and embroiled in a knock down drag out battle with Boggis, Bunce, and Bean is spectacular.
Clooney and Streep head up a terrific voice cast, that includes standout work from other Anderson rep company members like Murray as the Badger, Owen Wilson as the whack bat coach (don't ask), and Willem Dafoe as a rat who's a security guard for Bean's factory where the alcoholic cider is manufactured. Wes Anderson proves to be a filmmaker for any demographic, even children.