Film of the week: Fantastic Mr Fox (PG)

Damon Smith • Published 2 Nov 2009 09:00 0 Comments

HIP indie director Wes Anderson (The Royal Tenenbaums, The Darjeeling Limited) is an odd fit for Roald Dahl's classic children's story.

The film-maker certainly brings his offbeat and distinctly adult sensibilities to bear on Fantastic Mr Fox, creating another portrait of familial dysfunction and miscommunication.

Anderson imprints his personality so indelibly on the script, co-written by Noah Baumbach, that it's hard to see children enjoying the film.

The simplicity and sweetness of the original story, which ran to less than 100 pages with illustrations from Quentin Blake, becomes obscured by rewrites and additions.

Unlike his previous films, Anderson chooses stop-motion animation as his medium here and it works a treat.

Visually, the months of painstaking effort have been worthwhile, including fast-paced action sequences of the wily vulpine sneaking around farmyards in search of a tasty treat.

Mr Fox (voiced by George Clooney) is never content with his life, always looking to move up in the world with his long-suffering wife, Mrs Fox (Meryl Streep).

He plots a daring raid on the chicken coop only to get caught in a trap.

"If we're still alive tomorrow, I want you to find another line of work," seethes Mrs Fox.

Two years later, Mr Fox has followed his wife's dictate and is the bread-winner for his family, including a disgruntled son Ash (Jason Schwartzman) who just wants to win the respect of his old man.

Tension between the generations flares when nephew Kristofferson (Eric Anderson) comes to stay and puts poor Ash in the shade.

Mr Fox cannot completely shy away from his animal instincts, and he turns to stealing from farmers Bunce (Hugo Guinness), Bean (Michael Gambon) and Boggis (Brian Cox), roping in Kristofferson to his hare-brained schemes.

Having been humiliated by the fox, the trio lay siege to the trees where the family resides and open fire on Mr Fox, shooting off his bushy tail.

Luckily, neighbouring critters including Badger (Bill Murray) rally around Mr Fox in his hour of need to help him elude the pursuers.

Fantastic Mr Fox is a visual triumph, let down slightly by a screenplay that doesn't know to which audience it is trying to appeal.

The articulated characters have plenty of personality and there are some neat flourishes like when Mr Fox compliments his wife, "You're practically glowing, maybe it's the lighting", and her head is suddenly illuminated from within.

The vocal performances from Clooney and Streep lend warmth to their warring couple, with fine support from Schwartzman, Murray and co, who are all regular collaborators on Anderson's films.

For its technical ingenuity, Fantastic Mr Fox is a film you admire and marvel at rather than unreservedly love.

Tweet

This article appeared in Reading Chronicle 29 Oct 09

Post a comment

Your Comment:

Registered users log in here

Username or email

Password

If you are registered with us, you can login here. If you are not registered, do so now.
Once logged in you wont have to complete word verification each time you post.

Prefer not to register?

Screen Name *required

Email (not displayed) *required

Usernames must be 4 - 20 characters. Registration only takes a few minutes. Registered users can also take part in competitions and other features of the site.

Word Verification:
Enter the text as shown.

Return to the main index, get more from this section or browse our The Guide archives.

Follow @rdgchronicle