Fantastic Mr. Fox

What most people will notice straight away with Fantastic Mr. Fox is the animation is quite different. Director Wes Anderson has clearly created another masterpiece which will be a much welcomed addition to his collection so far - The Royal Tenenbaums, The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou, The Darjeeling Limited. Cast members from his previous projects like Owen Wilson and Bill Murray, are accompanied by Andersonnewbies George Clooney, Meryl Streep and Brian Cox, creating an extremely powerful backbone. Anderson blends in the kind of acting and humour from his previous titles which has genuinely made this something exclusive and set it apart from any other animation this year.

The narrative behind the film is simple; Fantastic Mr. Fox (George Clooney) is stealing food on a regular basis from the local farm and has done for some time now, but little does he know the greedy farmers are out to get him. Although there is much simplicity in the plot, everything that surrounds it and the outcome makes it a really modern and surprising film. As some of the younger generation may not know, this is an adaptation from the legendary and creative writer Roald Dahl (Charlie & The Chocolate Factory, Matilda, George’s Marvellous Medicine, The Twits, James & The Giant Peach to name but a few) and I find it astonishing that at this age, he is still being remembered; the film reminding us what a genius he was.

What I really appreciate about this motion picture is that it draws a fine line between being a film for adults and being something for just children. I say that because the cast is some what overrun by middle aged adults, but the fusion of this and the animation makes it an instant hit with kids too in my mind. This is exceptional as Wes Anderson has clearly dived straight in the deep end and the result is a triumph.

Andrew Dex

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