Fantastic Mr. Fox is an old school animation from an old school story. The children’s book was published in 1970 and is written by Roald Dahl. Wes Anderson brings his unique storytelling to the animation world by using stop-motion and puppets. And this is a work of detail and beauty, but there is something missing. I do not know if I was expecting too much or it just did not deliver on everything it should have. Maybe it is a little bit of both.
Mr. Fox (George Clooney) use to be a chicken thief. He was great at it and really enjoyed it. But after Mrs. Fox (Meryl Streep) reveals she is pregnant, Mr. Fox promises to find a more appropriate job. 12 years later (in Fox years), he is not happy being an ignored writer and cannot help but go back to his old ways. It is in his blood. But when he picks a fight with the three meanest, baddest farmers, Boggis, Bunce, and Bean, Mr. Fox endangers his family and all the other animals in his community.
The plot does get interesting and it is about survival. However, there is another sub-plot that involves Mr. Fox’s son, Ash (Jason Schwartzman), and his nephew, Kristofferson (Eric Anderson). Mr. Fox takes a liking to Kristofferson and Ash becomes jealous. Ash wants to win his father’s attention and love. Honestly, Ash may be the funniest character in this film. He seems to have the best lines and the whole film is witty, but especially Ash.
Wes Anderson is known for films like Rushmore, Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, The Royal Tenenbaums, and The Darjeeling Limited. Anderson’s quirky humor and his dialogue is all there in this one as well. This may be his first animated film but you certainly know it’s his animated film. And he assembled a great cast to do the voices for these characters. George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, Michael Gambon, Adrien Brody, and Willem Dafoe is a quite impressive list of talented people.
The cast is great and the standouts are Clooney, Streep, and Schwartzman. Anderson does an amazing job with the use of stop-motion animation and it fits his way of filmmaking and the story really well. I saw a behind-the-scenes of how these puppets were created and how stop-motion is done, and it takes a very long time to create every second of this film. There is a tremendous art to it all, and there is so much creativity and all of it is very well crafted.
So how can I be disappointed with a film that has a great cast, a visionary director, and beautiful animation? I think with such a great combination of all the things I just mentioned, there should have been more. Fantastic Mr. Fox lacks something in its storytelling. Maybe it is just too simple or the fact that it is too predictable. No matter how unique or original the direction or animation is, it still falls in to a pattern we have seen before. All of Fantastic Mr. Fox was suppose to be different. Not just some of it.
There is this unusual experience when you see Fantastic Mr. Fox on the big screen. I mean that in a good way. And maybe that’s the problem. The film has an unusual look but a common story that does not leave you completely satisfied. But it was an impressive attempt.
Brandon Vick is a member of The Music City Film Critics’ Association and the Southeastern Film Critics Association, the resident film critic of the SoBros Network, and the star of The Vick’s Flicks Podcast. Follow him on Twitter @SirBrandonV and be sure to search #VicksFlicks for all of his latest movie reviews.
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