Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)

Director:

Wes Anderson

Writers:

Roald Dahl (novel) and
Wes Anderson (screenplay)

Release Date:

25 November 2009 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Adventure | Comedy | Family

Tagline:

Dig the life fantastic.

Plot:

Angry farmers, tired of sharing their chickens with a sly fox, look to get rid of their opponent and his family.

Plot Keywords:

Fox | Farmer | Cider | Tale | Anthropomorphic

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 5 wins & 8 nominations

Cast

George Clooney	...	Mr. Fox (voice)
Meryl Streep	...	Mrs. Fox (voice)
Jason Schwartzman	...	Ash (voice)
Bill Murray	...	Badger (voice)
Wallace Wolodarsky	...	Kylie (voice) (as Wally Wolodarsky)
Eric Chase Anderson	...	Kristofferson (voice) (as Eric Anderson)
Michael Gambon	...	Franklin Bean (voice)
Willem Dafoe	...	Rat (voice)
Owen Wilson	...	Coach Skip (voice)
Jarvis Cocker	...	Petey (voice)
Wes Anderson	...	Weasel (voice)
Karen Duffy	...	Linda Otter (voice)
Robin Hurlstone	...	Walter Boggis (voice)
Hugo Guinness	...	Nathan Bunce (voice)
Helen McCrory	...	Mrs. Bean (voice)

MPAA:

Rated PG for action, smoking and slang humor.

Runtime:

87 min

Country:

USA | UK

Language:

English | French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | SDDS

Certification:

USA:PG (certificate #45468) | Ireland:PG | Australia:PG | UK:PG | South Korea:All | Singapore:PG | New Zealand:PG | Canada:G (British Columbia/Manitoba/Quebec) | Canada:PG (Alberta/Ontario) | South Africa:PG | Philippines:G (MTRCB)

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

Roald Dahl's "Fantastic Mr. Fox" was the first book Wes Anderson owned. His mother, Texas Ann Burroughs, bought it for him at the St. Francis book fair in Austin, Texas when he was about seven years old. Anderson has kept this same copy on his bookshelf ever since.

Goofs:

Continuity: In long-shots, there is a building between the second and third of the four silos on the Bean farm ("E" and "A"). In closer angles, the silos are equally spaced and the building is not readily visible.

Quotes:

Mrs. Fox: [Mr. Fox and Kylie are sneaking through the Fox family's kitchen, Kylie is wearing a bandit mask; Mrs. Fox sees them from a doorway] Another book party?
Mr. Fox: [surprised] Oh! I didn't see you sitting in the dark over there.
[grins sheepishly]
Mr. Fox: Yeah! No actually, there's a fire. I just got the call; they said maybe it's arson. I've got to interview the marshal and see if it's...
Mrs. Fox: Kylie,
[turns on the light]
Mrs. Fox: is he telling the truth?
Kylie: [turns to Mr. Fox] I... I don't want to be put into the middle of this!
Mrs. Fox: [notices something off to her right] Why is he wearing that bandit hat?
[points to Kris, who is halfway out the door leading to the kitchen from the starwell leading upstairs; Kris pulls his bandit hat up to unobscure his face]
[...]

Movie Connections:

References Robin Hood (1973)

Soundtrack:

The Grey Goose

A feast for the eyes and ears. No Roald Dahl in sight though

After reading the reviews on here I wasn't put off watching this film. As a huge fan of animation, as well as Wes Anderson films this film definitely did everything and more for me. There's so much going on in every scene, I found it even funnier than other Anderson films, and as usual I loved all the characters. Anderson manages to keep all the coin facial expressions/awkward silences between characters/quirky background stories that appear in all his films. It's a true work of brilliance! This film has a 'kids film' label on it, but it's not really for children in my opinion, I urge anyone who appreciates animation and is looking to watch something quirky and intelligent to go for this film. Don't be put off due to the hordes of children. Anderson films are best watched on the big screen, so go see it now before it finishes at our cinemas.

The only criticism I will say about this is that I don't think Anderson should have kept the original title of Roald Dahl's story 'Fantastic Mr Fox'. Mainly because it has been adapted so much to Anderson's style (as well as being Americanised) that it isn't really in keeping with Dahl's story, and fans of the acclaimed writer who want to experience the film adaptation of his story will be disappointed I feel. I think he should have given it a different title, like 'Foxxed' or something (that's a rubbish suggestion, but you get what I mean), as I loved it, and wouldn't change anything else, but marketing it as an adaptation of Dahl's book is a little mis-leading (definitely for British people anyway).

-As a side point I think that as much as Dahl supplies a brilliant story and tons of material to make a very good film, I think Dahl's stories are best kept where they belong, and that is on paper. It is his literacy genius where the magic of his stories lie, and reading them (rather than looking at them) gives me the most enjoyment than I could ever get from watching a film of one of his stories.

I left the cinema with a huge grin on my face and felt like bouncing along the pavement as I made my way home. It definitely has been the highlight of my week, and will be without a doubt one of the best films I've seen this year.