Trivia for
Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009) More at IMDbPro »

• It was rumored that Cate Blanchett was originally the voice of Mrs. Fox, but was replaced by Meryl Streep. According to Wes Anderson, however, he had only spoken to Blanchett about the part around the time of filming The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004), but never got further than that: "I think that was on the internet before it was really meant to be. For a long time there were versions of the cast out there that were not very accurate."
  
  
• The first animated film distributed by Regency Pictures, the first stop-motion animated film for 20th Century Fox, and the first animated film for Fox Searchlight Pictures since Waking Life (2001).
  
  
• Development began in 2004 at Revolution Studios between Wes Anderson and animation director Henry Selick, who had worked with Anderson on The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004) (and who had directed another stop-motion animated film based on a Roald Dahl work, James and the Giant Peach (1996).) When Revolution folded, Selick left the project to direct Coraline (2009), and was replaced by Mark Gustafson.
  
  
• The look of the film was inspired by Great Missenden, a village in Buckinghamshire, England, where Roald Dahl lived and worked. The tree where the Fox family lives is based on a prominent beech tree on Dahl's property, and Mr Fox's study recreates in minute detail the interior of the famous garden hut in which Dahl did most of his writing.
  
  
• Shot digitally using a Nikon D3, which offers a significantly higher resolution than even that of full High Definition. It was also shot at a frame rate of 12 frames per second, rather than the more fluid 24, so that viewers would notice the medium of stop-motion itself.
  
  
• At one time, it was rumored that Brad Pitt would make a voice cameo appearance. During the making of the film, Wes Anderson directed Pitt in a 30-second TV advertisement for Japanese cellphone company Softbank Mobile.
  
  
• According to Henry Selick, Wes Anderson would act out scenes while in Paris and send them to the animators via his iPhone.
  
  
• Mr. Fox's implanting of sleeping powder into blueberries for unsuspecting guard dogs to consume was taken from another Roald Dahl book, Danny the Champion of the World, in which grapes were used similarly on unsuspecting pheasants. When the Dahl attorneys learned of this, they wanted it removed. But because it had already been filmed, Wes Anderson pleaded with them and was able to keep it in the film.
  
  
• The American Cathedral in Paris's choir were hired to sing the "Boggis, Bunce and Bean" limerick. They were recorded at Abbey Road Studios in London, England, in Studio Two, which is most famous for having been where The Beatles recorded almost all of their music.
  
  
• Wes Anderson chose to have the actors record their dialogue outside of a studio and on location to increase the naturalness: "We went out in a forest, went in an attic, went in a stable... we went underground for some things. There was a great spontaneity in the recordings because of that."
  
  
• Director Trademark: [Wes Anderson] [The Rolling Stones] Features "Street Fighting Man".
  
  
• Early versions of the film cast Jarvis Cocker as an on-screen narrator, which baffled test audiences. Cocker said in an interview with the Observer, "I may turn up as a DVD extra in the future." In the theatrical cut, Cocker's spoken (not sung) dialogue is reduced to one line.
  
  
• In the months preceding the opening of the film, controversy arose concerning the little time that director Wes Anderson actually spent on set, choosing to direct the animation via e-mail from his flat in Paris. In an October 2009 Los Angeles Times article, cinematographer Tristan Oliver was quoted as saying, "I think he's a little O.C.D. Contact with people disturbs him. This way, he can spend an entire day locked inside an empty room with a computer. He's a bit like the Wizard of Oz. Behind the curtain." Informed of Oliver's discontent, Anderson said, "I would say that kind of crosses the line for what's appropriate for the director of photography to say behind the director's back while he's working on the movie. So I don't even want to respond to it." On the Wes Anderson fan website The Rushmore Academy, Oliver criticized the article's tone, stating that it made him out to be a villain: "Yes, working with Wes can be frustrating but that is true of any director and I've worked with a hundred who were more irritating and less motivated than Wes. So let's just lay the ghost of this particular myth and oh, it would be nice if the death threats stopped too. Thanks."
  
  
• During one of the outdoor dialogue recording sessions, a best take was almost ruined by the sound of a nearby boat. Open to the randomness, Wes Anderson modified the scene in the film to include an airplane flying through the shot. Anderson said, "I think it was better with the airplane than without... a flaw in the recording gave us a new idea."
  
  
• Film debut of Hugo Guinness, who voices Bunce. Wes Anderson is fan of Guinness, a British artist whose work can be seen on the walls of the Tenenbaums' house in The Royal Tenenbaums (2001).
  
  
• Portions of the audio version of the book can be heard in the film. The music Bunce is listening to on headphones when Mr Fox first steals from his farm is the theme music from the audio book.
  
  
• Film debut of chef Mario Batali, who voices Rabbit. Rabbit wears an orange neckerchief, which echoes Batali's penchant for wearing orange shorts and Crocs. On the Fox Searchlight website for the film, there was even a recipe made available, courtesy of Batali, for Mrs. Bean's Famous Nutmeg Ginger Apple Snaps.
  
  
• Mr. Fox's wardrobe was based on Wes Anderson's own brown corduroy suits.
  
  
• The inspiration for the naming of the character Kristofferson came from singer, songwriter and actor Kris Kristofferson, not only because both Wes Anderson and Noah Baumbach are fans of his work, but also because they simply liked the name.
  
  
• 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.
  
  
• The human characters' hair was actual human hair collected from studio employees at MacKinnon & Saunders, the company that manufactured the puppets for the film.
  
  
• The character of Kylie was based on a handyman (named Kylie) who was living in Wes Anderson's New York apartment when he purchased it from the painter Larry Rivers: "After I bought it, he continued to live there while the place was gutted, but eventually I had to ask him to move out."
  
  
• Marks the first appearance of The Beach Boys' music in a Wes Anderson film. Anderson had originally thought of using their recording of "Sloop John B" for the final scene in The Royal Tenenbaums (2001), but later changed his mind.
  
  
• The song "Looking For A Fox" by Clarence Carter was featured in the first trailer, though it doesn't appear in the film.
  
  
• Throughout the film, the word "cuss" is used in place of actual cursing. When asked about its origin in a radio interview on "Fresh Air" with Terry Gross, Wes Anderson said, "I don't even remember. It think it was just to use the concept of profanity as a replacement for profanity itself. It turned out to be very versatile." In keeping with this theme, one of the buildings seen in the film bears "CUSS" written as spray-painted graffiti.
  
  
• The color scheme of the movie is primarily autumnal (yellows, oranges, and browns) with virtually no green and blue. However, Kristofferson's blue-colored wardrobe was intentional, as it emphasized his being a visiting outsider.
  
  
• According to Wes Anderson, shortly before sessions began for recording the voice of Mrs. Fox, Meryl Streep saw a fox on her doorstep at her home in England. Both Streep and the fox, stone still, stared at each other for five minutes. Mesmerized by this experience, she used it as inspiration for her performance.
  
  
• The titles and text used in the production design are in Helvetica Bold. All previous Wes Anderson movies have utilized Futura Bold.
  
  
• The song Mole plays on the piano is actually Art Tatum's recording of the Cole Porter song "Night and Day". The use of this recording is something of an inside joke, as Tatum was blind and moles are known for having very poor vision.
  
  
• This is Wes Anderson's first film that did not feature one of his signature slow motion sequences.
  
  
• When reciting the Latin names of each animal, Mr. Fox says he doesn't know the one for opossum. It is Didelphis virginiana.
  
  
• Featured in the film are three songs sung by Burl Ives. Ives voiced Sam the Snowman in Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964) (TV) and the Narrator and Older Stuffy in The First Easter Rabbit (1976) (TV), both of which were stop-motion animated productions by Rankin-Bass that influenced the style of this film. Furthermore, all three of the songs featured in the film were first released on Ives' 1960 album "Burl Ives Sings Little White Duck and Other Children's Favorites".
  
  
• Kristofferson's unaccompanied minor badge reads, "Name: Kristofferson Silverfox. Height: 42cm (tall - for a cub). Weight: 3.5kg. Allergies: None. Reason for travel: Ill father."
  
  
• Altogether, 535 puppets were made for the film. Mr. Fox had 17 different styles alone, and each of Mr. Fox's styles had to be done in six different sizes. He has 102 puppets alone.
  
  
• It took 7 months to perfect the very first Mr. Fox puppet.
  
  
• The version of "Ol' Man River" by The Beach Boys used in the film is actually a combination of two versions: the first half is taken from the 2002 rarities compilation "Hawthorne, CA: Birthplace of a Musical Legacy" (which is the version available on the "Fantastic Mr. Fox" soundtrack,) while the second half is taken from a medley entitled "Old Folks At Home/Ol' Man River", available on the "Friends/20/20" two-fer.
  
  

• SPOILER: Wes Anderson and Noah Baumbach worked on the screenplay at Gipsy House which was Roald Dahl's estate. They added a new beginning and ending, adapting the latter part of the story (the war scenario) as the main plot. Unsatified with the book's ending, they found a that the author's original manuscript contained a different ending, with sketches, taking place in a supermarket. Anderson later said, "That was awfully lucky, because we needed a new ending".
  
  
• SPOILER: When everyone toasts with juice boxes in the supermarket at the end of the film, Ash is the only one holding a grape juice box, as opposed to the others' apple juice boxes.
  
  
• SPOILER: The scene in which Rat and Mr. Fox fight to the death originally included Rat making reference to his wristwatch, stating, "I've still got the watch . . . She never asked for it back," referring to Mrs. Fox. The dialogue was inspired by an actual onstage aside from Keith Richards to Eric Clapton at a rehearsal of a concert staged by Sheryl Crow, which was witnessed by Wes Anderson. However, the scene was ultimately changed for the final film.
  
  

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