ALARIS' REVIEWS

4th July 2010
Fantastic Mr Fox (2009)

Fantastic Mr Fox is one of the most subdued children’s movies I’ve ever seen. And I’ve watched Where the Wild Things Are (2009).

It’s been fuzzy decades since I read the Roald Dahl book upon which this movie is based, so I can’t really comment on how true an adaptation it is. However, as a standalone film, Fantastic Mr Fox is best described as Wes Anderson does a children’s movie. The story revolves around Mr Fox, a former champion chicken thief, now ostensibly settled with a respectable job and family. However, his nature calls, and he’s tempted to perform one last heist.

Wes Anderson is the director behind films like The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004), and his trademark style is slightly oddball deadpan, bordering on heightened naturalism.

Everything in Fantastic Mr Fox is understated, with understated characters, delivering understated lines, regarding understated events. This gives the film a certain understated charm, but it means the story lacks the depth of emotion and dramatic impact of children’s movies like Toy Story 3 (2010). The glib treatment of the characters also means Fantastic Mr Fox doesn’t have the raw sincerity of Where the Wild Things Are, but it isn’t quirky enough to be endearing, like the Wallace and Gromit movies.

All that aside, Fantastic Mr Fox is easy to watch, and the world inhabited by the animals is certainly charming and eccentric. The stop motion animation isn’t as smooth as that found in Coraline (2009), but there’s a certain retro appeal to the slightly jolting movements and the cotton wool smoke. The voice actors – including George Clooney as Mr Fox, and Eric Anderson as his nephew Kristofferson – all deliver impeccably low key, deadpan dialogue.

The characterisation of Mr Fox is one of the key reasons I cooled towards the end of the film. I have issues with characters who endanger others for selfish reasons, and Mr Fox comes across as cocky and self centred, albeit in an exceedingly understated way. He’s also portrayed as the kind of person who never really learns his lesson, and I find the handling of that theme slightly dissatisfying.

Fans of Wes Anderson will love Fantastic Mr Fox, as will viewers who appreciate the gentle idiosyncrasies of the film. Some kids will enjoy it, but for some it’ll be too oblique.

I’m judging Fantastic Mr Fox perhaps a little harshly because I’ve recently watched some superb children’s programming, including Toy Story 3 and the TV series Avatar: The Last Airbender (2005).

Compared to some of the offensive, mindless junk out there, Fantastic Mr Fox is a model of restrained, imaginative storytelling. However, compared to the best work out there, Fantastic Mr Fox veers a little too much towards the quiet, relationship vignettes lane.

Verdict: A gentle, engaging children’s movie, which might be too subtle for some.

If you like Wes Anderson, you’ll probably like this.