Movie Review: Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)

Fantastic Mr. Fox is a 2009 animated comedy directed by the one and only Wes Anderson. The film stars Meryl Streep, George Clooney, and Jason Schwartzman in the leading roles and focuses on a fox who after stealing chickens from three farmers, has to band together with friends and family as the farmers try to kill him. I was a huge fan of Roald Dahl as a child and I still greatly respect his work today. I loved the novel Fantastic Mr. Fox and to this day it is one of the most memorable stories from Roald that I recall reading. I didn't know what to expect with this one because the movie seemed good from the marketing campaign and yet I was not coaxed into seeing this film. I watched it and it's a great animated film. Wes Anderson is a hit or miss director for me. I love Rushmore and thought Grand Budapest Hotel was an extremely innovative piece of cinema, but some of his other films (while they have a good story) aren't as enjoyable to watch because of the style. In that sense, I was worried that this movie wouldn't hold up to the ideas of the book and would become a mess of style over substance. I was wrong because this movie was great. This is one of the most deep, thought provoking animated movies that I have ever seen. Exploring the ideas of father and son relationships, family, human difference. This movie nails exactly what was good about the book as well as adding great loads of depth to the story line. George Clooney and Michael Gambon are some of the greatest performances in this film. Mr. Fox himself is hysterical. Jason Schwartzman as Ash is by far my favorite aspect of this film. The story between him and his father is very intriguing. This brings me back to the most interesting aspect of this movie which is how I would define an experience like this. The novel which the movie is based off is a children's book. Yet, I don't think this movie would really interest or even entertain kids. It's very fast paced and there's a lot of plot elements that are extremely heartfelt and that would not be seen in a kids film. The decision to use stop - motion animation was a good decision as the film looks great. These animals don't exactly look real, but they do have aspects of them that are. I also have to mention that this is definitely a re-watchable film from Wes Anderson. It's quirky and also has a decent story. Overall, Fantastic Mr. Fox is a great Wes Anderson movie that has layers of depth to it that I was surprised to see. Three stars