Wes Anderson is most known for his aesthetic vision as a film-making auteur with movies such as “Bottle Rocket” (1996), “The Royal Tenenbaums” (2001) and “The Darjeeling Limited” (2007). His latest visionary motion picture, “The Fantastic Mr. Fox,” is slightly different from his typical style because it is entirely animated. Although Anderson has implemented animation cutaways in previous movies, like “Darjeeling,” “Mr. Fox” is a near self-portrait adaptation based on Roald Dahl’s classic children’s tale.
The movie begins with Mr. Fox (George Clooney) and his wife, Mrs. Fox (Meryl Streep) nearly being caught while stealing chickens. Mrs. Fox makes her husband promise to give up his primal instincts so that they can settle down and live safely.
Years later, Mr. Fox becomes a columnist for the local animal newspaper, which he fears nobody reads. He and Mrs. Fox now have a grown son, Ash (Jason Schwartzman) who fears he will never live up to his father’s reputation. Before long, Mr. Fox can no longer withstand a life of complacency while living underground in a fox hole, so he takes his family above ground to live in a tree where he can finally enjoy the fruits of life.
Mr. Fox’s nephew, Kristofferson (Eric Chase Anderson) joins the family while his father undergoes “double pneumonia” and poses a threat to Ash. Kristofferson is more intelligent, sleek and nimble than Ash, which makes him feel more inferior in his father’s eyes.
It isn’t long before his primordial hunger comes creeping back. From his new aboveground home, he witnesses three mainstream manufacturers nearby and decides to add some excitement into his life by returning to his thief-like nature. Mr. Fox then devises a master plan to take Boggis, Bunce and Bean for all they are worth.
Anderson’s visual motifs reoccur in this film. His angles, color schemes, choreography and vocal toning are all prevalent in his style as a director. In “The Life Aquatic,” for instance, the color blue was a motif to represent the emotions and drive of the plot and characters. In comparison, “Fantastic Mr. Fox” revolves around the color orange to portray a sense of danger and longing in a life of complacency.
Anderson often uses direct frontal angles parallel to the subject within a shot to convey a personal relationship between his characters and audience. Each character is typically introduced with their own cinematographic angle to give a sense of their personality and purpose within the story itself.
As the plot progresses, the lives of the characters are jeopardized by Mr. Fox’s animal nature. The owners of the companies he robs catch on to his escapades and destroy the homes of his animal friends and family. In the end, it takes the synergy of every animal’s natural abilities to get them out of the hole that Mr. Fox dug.
Critic’s Conclusion:
“Fantastic Mr. Fox” remains true to Roald Dahl’s original story and also implements Wes Anderson’s mannerisms and vision as a creative film-maker. This film may be the most stylized out of his entire filmography due to its animated form, which makes it enjoyable for both children and adults. The movie depicts animal nature and the controversy had when struggling between anatomy and spiritual desires. Anderson’s cast, which usually carries over between films, was more than entertaining as personified versions of animals struggling to survive. “Fantastic Mr. Fox” is an animated delight as far as contemporary cinema is concerned and it may prove to be a classic for families to cherish and remember for years to come. A
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