Movie Review: Fantastic Mr Fox
Monday January 11, 2010
The world of movie animation has taken on a new front over recent years as adults are finding the latest selection of offerings far more "adult-friendly" then animation in the past. Films such as Up, Wall-E and Ponyo have all found adult audiences (and huge box office success in some cases) while remaining within the family films confines. The same can be said for the truly terrific Fantastic Mr Fox.
Fantastic Mr Fox is brilliant in the way it caters for both children and adults while telling the story of cunning Mr Fox and the plight of the animals under the hill. However unlike other animation films of recent years, Fox provides so much more than just adult themes and the occasional adult-aimed remark.
While being insanely adorable and stunning in its visuals using stop motion techniques, the dialogue alone offers up a level of wit and black comedy that literally leaves any adult viewers bursting with laughter. A particular favourite moment was when Mrs Fox is accused of being the "town tramp" in her younger day with Mr Fox, dreamily portrayed by the smooth vocal styling of George Clooney, speedily replying "Hey, she lived. We all did. It was a different time" before starting a martial art-style battle with Rat, voiced with sneering brilliance by Willem Dafoe.
Fantastic Mr. Fox is based on a children's novel by Roald Dahl, a writer renowned for his dark wit and sarcastic edge within children's books that is beautifully captured and enhanced through screenplay writer and director, Wes Anderson. Anderson has developed somewhat of a cult following with a legion of fans who love to be immersed in his strange worlds from the The Darjeeling Limited to The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. His first reach into animation does not disappoint as his trademark wit and black comedy are as evident as they are in any live motion films. What's more, the stellar vocal cast brings these characters to life with the vocal talents of not only Clooney and Dafoe, but Meryl Streep, Bill Murray, Michael Gambon, Owen Wilson and Jason Schwartzman.
The story itself has been extended far beyond the confines of the original story, but the core of it remains the same with Anderson's screenplay remaining true with exactly the way Dahl's characters would behave (or at least the way I expect, I have read the original dozens of times).
Of course, the danger with making a "children" film so appealing to adults through use of dark comedy and quick-witted dialogue is that the kids may actually miss out of some of the fun. While it has been some time since I was myself a child, judging from the audience that surrounded me, the kids weren't missing out on any fun at all. While adults were entertained by the wit and snappy dialogue, the kids had more than enough visual comedy and slapstick moments to keep them well and truly entertained.
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