Fantastic Mr. Fox (www.the-usher.com)

"It's my trademark"

Mr. Fox (Clooney) was the best chicken thief ever but when Mrs. Fox (Streep) announced she was pregnant, he decided to hang up his bandit hat and take a safer job. Twelve fox-years later and Mr. Fox is the writer of a mildly successful newspaper column and still living in his hole in the ground with his wife and son, Ash (Schwartzman) but he wants a change. So, against the advice of his friend and lawyer Badger (Murray), he moves his family into a tree but the tree happens to border the farms of Boggis (Cox), Bunce and Bean (Gambon), the most successful businessmen in the region but will the bounty of their farms be too much for our fantastic Mr. Fox.

When it comes to transforming a British classic children’s novel to the silver screen should an American be in charge?

Roald Dahl is one of Britain’s most acclaimed children’s novelist and a firm favourite for generations of families around the world. Classic tales like ‘Matilda’, ‘The Witches’, ‘The BFG’, ‘Danny the Champion of the World’, ‘James and the Giant Peach’ and ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’, are much loved and have attracted TV and Hollywood in adapting them for the big screen. One story that hasn’t made it to the silver screen is ‘The Fantastic Mr. Fox’, until now.

When it was announced that cult director Wes Anderson was going to adapt the Roald Dahl novel, fans of the great writer were worried that the story would just end up been an American mess, losing all of the charm of the original British story. Fans of Wes Anderson rejoiced however, hoping his quirky style would transfer successfully into animation, after dabbling with it during ‘The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou’. What we have however is a blend of Dahl and Anderson that brings this beloved story to the screen with a real sense of charm and comedy.

As with all Roald Dahl stories, the premise is delightful. Here we have Mr. Fox, the best chicken thief ever to have graced this fair land but when his wife, Mrs. Fox tells him she is pregnant after they came close to getting caught, he decides to hang up his bandit hat and become a journalist. Now with his son Ash all grown up and Mr. Fox himself getting on in fox years, he decides, against the wishes of his best friend and lawyer Badger to move above ground and live in a tree. The problem is from his new home he can see the farms of Boggis, Bunce and Bean and it isn’t long before his bandit hat comes out of retirement. This, of course, creates a war between Mr. Fox and the farmers, with the rest of the creatures of the forest been dragged into the conflict.

With an excellent story, animation was always the way to go and Wes Anderson and his creative team use the same stop motion technique that worked so well in ‘The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou’. This is a beautifully realised world, bringing the magic of the book and Wes Anderson’s own quirkiness to the fold, to create one of the great pieces of stop-motion animation to grace the silver screen.

The main fuss about the film is the mainly American vocal cast and the Wes Anderson style that is transferred into the dialogue. Here we have creatures philosophising, pondering the meaning of their existence, covering topics that kids won’t understand at all but the action and much of the comedy will appeal to them. While most of the cast are American and Wes Anderson stalwarts, each of them bring something fresh and fun to their characters. George Clooney is excellent as Mr. Fox, making the character as fantastic as he can be and will have you thinking about your own trademark. Bill Murray is great as lawyer Badger, Meryl Streep has fun as Mrs. Fox and Michael Gambon is superb as the villainous Franklin Bean. Stealing the show is Mr. Fox’s son Ash, voiced by Jason Schwartzman, as he proves that you are never too little to have a bandit hat.

While it may not be the adaptation that Roald Dahl fans were hoping for, ‘Fantastic Mr. Fox’ is an extremely fun piece of excellent animation. Great vocal performances meld with stunning animation and the mixing in of that unique Wes Anderson style make this a gem.

PICTURE & SOUND

Presented in Widescreen 1.85:1 Anamorphic with a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack, the transfer is good. Also included on the DVD is the digital copy of the film

BONUS FEATURES

The Look of Fantastic Mr. Fox (7.47 mins)
Director Wes Anderson, producer Jeremy Dawson, production designer Nelson Larry and director of photography Tristan Oliver join Roald Dahl’s widow Felicity Dahl to talk about the look and feel of ‘Fantastic Mr. Fox’ and bringing the story to the silver screen.

The Cast (6.13 mins)
Director Wes Anderson, producers Jeremy Dawson and Allison Abbate and vocal talent Bill Murray and Jason Schwartzman join Roald Dahl’s widow Felicity Dahl to talk about creating the characters of ‘Fantastic Mr. Fox’.

A Beginners Guide to Whack Bat (1.08 mins)
Confused by the rules of Whack Bat? Watch this featurette and you still will be.

OVERALL

The DVD treatment for ‘Fantastic Mr. Fox’ is a little disappointing. With only three short featurettes, Wes Anderson and Roald Dahl fans maybe a little disappointed with the amount of bonus material on the DVD. The Blu-Ray version has much more but you have to have had upgraded to HD to get the most out of the release.

DVD

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2009