Fantastic Mr. Fox
Director: Wes Anderson
Stars: George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzman
Classification: PG
Rating: ****
 
American film’s reigning leader in quirky comedy, picture box imagery, and British Invasion soundtracks has returned. Wes Anderson is back with arguably his most visually impressive work to date.

Using Roald Dahl’s novel The Fantastic Mr. Fox as a springboard, the director makes his first foray into feature-length stop motion animation. The film is a visual feast and a triumph for Anderson. The detail in his sets and puppets is remarkable, requiring endless hours of labour from the behind-the-scenes artisans without losing a charmingly handmade quality.

Anderson and co-writer Noah Baumbach use the plot of Dahl’s fairly short book for the second act of their story, while adding embellishments for the opening and conclusion. The film still centres on Mr. Fox (dryly voiced by George Clooney) and his battles with three local farmers, but now features a fully developed backstory for the characters and world.

As a result, it feels more like an Anderson film than a Roald Dahl adaptation (Dahl’s gallows black humour and dark subtext take a back seat to Anderson’s quirky character beats and New Yorker-friendly cultural references). The combination works, but the film will probably play better with fans of the filmmaker than fans of the author.

With Anderson’s style and tone dominating The Fantastic Mr. Fox, it’s difficult to predict how it will play with children. Will they appreciate the deadpan comedy and hipster-friendly soundtrack? Maybe not, but it’s difficult to imagine anyone failing to be charmed by this thoroughly entertaining film.

As a technical achievement it’s remarkable and as a piece of storytelling it’s alternately hilarious, surreal, and oddly touching. Pixar’s incredible streak of animated excellence has raised the bar for family entertainment and it’s nice to see films like The Fantastic Mr. Fox and Coraline getting produced as a result.

It’s a great time to be a pint-sized young cinephile ... or just a regular film fan for that matter.