10/10 -> A

Simply a fantastic movie.

It was finally released here.

A/A-


I love this film. 2009 has been such a great year for animation, one of the best ever, I'd say. Up was a terrific effort by Pixar, even topping WALL-E in my eyes. Coraline was a beauty to behold and The Princess and the Frog was Disney's gloriously successful return to hand-drawn animation. But even standing next to these three great animated films, The Fantastic Mr. Fox can easily hold its own.

I suppose the most interesting thing about me loving it is that I don't like Wes Anderson. Really. I wasn't a fan of Life Aquatic and I really hated Darjeeling Limited. I don't get the humor and dislike the characters. It always felt like he was being indie and artsy for the sake of being indie and artsy. Thankfully I never once had these sentiments during The Fantastic Mr. Fox.

It's simply, all-around fantastic (forgive me the pun). The voice work done by Clooney and Streep is terrific and the same goes for the rest of the cast, though the two definitely carry the film. The different themes explored in the movie all work very well. The family issues as well as the stark contrast in which the animals are portrayed. Civilized on one hand as you'd see them in most Hollywood kid flicks, but on the other hand retaining the specific features of wild animals (like the scenes in which they are eating). The "problem" with this film (which is absolutely not the film's fault) is that it is not for kids, but many parents assume it is. When I saw it in theatres, most of the audiences were families and the children just didn't get the humor - unsurprisingly so! I found it to be very funny, though the humor never overshadowed the film's messages.

It is so difficult to tell about all the aspects of the film I liked simply because there are so many. The score is fantastic (loved the song!), the stop-motion animation is really well-crafted, there's some much love for detail here. The characters are great - Kylie is probably my favorite among the supporting characters. ("I don't know what you're talking about, but it sounds illegal."). The screenplay is great. It is just an all-around terrific adaptation of a children literature classic - with one aforementioned issue - the children just won't get it.

But I didn't mind that and just enjoyed some of the smartest and funniest films of 2009. I have seen it again on DVD since my original theatrical viewing and it actually improves a lot too. It's one of the best animated films of the 2000s and I am not sure Anderson will ever top this film. This, along with Where the Wild Things Are show how much artistically gifted directors can get out of kids-oriented books.

Fantastic Mr. Fox

It is not as polished and as slick as modern CG-animated films, and that is noticeably off-putting for the first few minutes, but what it lacks in "perfection" it more than makes up for in character and style and wit. It's rather charming actually. Not the funniest film, but I enjoyed its verve very much. It's a quirky (obviously; it's Wes) and fun ride. It takes a lot of time hearing George Clooney's voice to finally attach it to the character of Fox, but the rest of the characters instantly adopt their voices. And...it's quite sinister for an animated film. I know animation is a technique and not a genre, but 99% are aimed at children. This is way darker than your average children's animated film, and it's great because of it!

Stop-motion and other forms of animation are such a rarity, but require such talent, and it is a shame when the same old CG-animated crap win the awards every year. Take Fantastic Mr. Fox as an example. It was nominated for Best Animated Feature at the Golden Globes, Critic's Choice, AND Academy Awards, but lost to Up at all three. Fucking Up! Another example being this year's Loving Vincent loss to ... Coco. What.A.Fucking.Joke.

Anyway, this is a gem, and easily Wes Anderson's best film.

A-

Oh, and a special cherry on top for me was seeing that they recreated the independent cinema (The Little Theatre) from my home city (Bath) in the film. A happy surprise.