The charming children's movie still exists. Pixar of course fits into that grouping, and as much as I love what Pixar does with the animation none of it is physically tangible. Unlike this film which is all stop motion, and far from perfect in its animating type.
Mr. Fox is a chicken thief, and not a particularly great one, he spends more time talking and plotting than he does actually being good at what he does. When him and his pregnant wife get caught by some farmers and have to escape quickly he vows to her he will stop. And he does, for many years, but that old creeping feeling is coming back, he's tired of being poor, he wants the adventure back. He schemes up a plot to steal from the three scariest farmers around, and so ignites a war between the animals and the people with each new move upping the stakes.
The stop motion is great, the fur moves from frame to frame since they had to physically handles the models a few pieces of the fur would move and thus you get this very organic effect. The color palette like so many of Wes Anderson's films is vibrant and dense but some how feels artificial. But then again that is what he does, that's his style, and we take it for what it is. For people in film that are part of the Art Dept. this is a real treat, everything is built, it is all planned to a T.
The voice talent spans Anderson's usual cohorts to new and interesting people, Clooney and Streep do a great job, as do smaller characters like Bill Murray and Jason Schwartzman. The list keeps going. The characters are cute and mature, yes unrefined at the same time.
A problem with this film is that it is made by someone who understands Generation X, and Y, but not the children of today. I am almost 25, and am part of Y, so I see this and find is familiar and likable, where as I feel most children will not like it, or not get it. It isn't as wild and colorful as Shreck, or some of these other icons that are so steeped in pop culture its hard to see where one begins and the other ends. As well as I don't know if kids know these characters, or get Roald Dahl's writing, perhaps those books are outdated and have been replaced.
This is a film for people who like Wes Anderson and what he does. I like it, but I feel his work as of late has become repetitive and increasingly underwritten character wise. This on the other hand was different, it had room to breathe and places for the characters to grow. I feel this was possible because Anderson directed this film by E-mail, he was almost never there for when they were shooting it, so the crew was able to take some chances and let things happen like they should have without him planning every single second of the film.
This was fun, I had heard it was good, it fits his style perfectly, it is silly and strange, and adult. Even though they are sure not to swear (all the characters say "cuss" in the place of actual swears) it still isn't kid friendly. Not in content, but in the fact that I think most kids wouldn't like this, or get it for a few more years. Those kids who do will like it. Worth renting, 8/10 stars.
Director: Wes Anderson
Starring: George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, Eric Chase Anderson, Michael Gambon, Willem Dafoe, Owen Wilson
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