You Know What I Mean?

Fantastic Mr. Fox is truly fantastic. I can't claim to remember the Roald Dahl book perfectly, but the film certainly offers a fun and corky plot line, with witty foxes whom have human like characteristics and lifestyles. Wes Anderson took adaptations and visions both from what a kid and an adult would take from a story such as Roald Dahl's 'Fantastic Mr. Fox'.

Mr. Fox (voiced by George Clooney) and Mrs. Fox (Meryl Streep) are middle aged-married foxes, coping with Mr. Fox's unhappiness with his job and urge to re-capture his youth and "old ways". Their son (Ash - Jason Schwartzman) dresses as a super hero, can't get the girls, struggles to live up to his father's sporting achievements and resents his cousin (Kristofferson- Eric Anderson), who is athletically and socially better then him.

The supporting cast members are a collection of awkward misfits, working as estate agents, lawyers and pediatricians and business men. Don't be surprised when you recognize the voices of all of them! Remember Wes Anderson has a particular protocol for who does what in his films. In other words, he never falls short of high profile actors with extreme personalities to play his roles. Entertainment at its finest, if you ask me!

I will let you decide for yourself, but Jason Schwartzman's character in my opinion was the most on point casted role. Remember the dork in Rushmore or the awkwardness of Jason in bed with Kirsten Dunst in Maria Antoinette? Well take those roles for Jason and imagine a dorky fox character with his voice.

Do you recall George Clooney in Ocean's Eleven? He needed to get one last job done, he needed to build the right team and have the right plan. Well you can expect to find similar tendencies in the character of Mr. Fox.

The visual aspect of the movie was very well done. It isn't your typical animated, 3d like effect you see in most Pixar and Disney movies these days. Instead it kept the look and feel of a coloring book, with countryside colors and somewhat of a claymation feel to it. The most colorful parts of the film are the foxes and the scenes that are filmed at Ash's (Jason Schwartzman) school.

The plot is pretty fantastic for Wes Anderson to work with. The characters offer similar humor to that of his characters in Darjeeling Limited and The Royal Tenenbaums; but of course we are talking about animated pictures and foxes (not humans). This is not a story about your typical fox family and so it does make sense that Wes Anderson found this book compelling to create a film out of. As demonstrated in most of his films, but more specifically The Royal Tenenbaums, Wes Anderson works well with stories about family dysfunction and the coming of age. Anderson works the deviant characteristics of these foxes into a story that children will perceive as a lesson well learned and adults will find refreshingly funny.

Like usual in Wes Anderson films, the music plays a large role and is perfect to the par in theme with the characters and the witty punchlines. The soundtrack is fun and upbeat and a little edgy at all the appropriate times.

1. “American Empirical Pictures”*
2. “The Ballad of Davy Crockett” - The Wellingtons
3. “Mr. Fox in the Fields”*
4. “Heroes and Villains” - The Beach Boys
5. “Fooba Wooba John” - Burl Ives
6. “Boggis, Bunce, and Bean”*
7. “Jimmy Squirrel and Co.”*
8. “Love” - Nancy Adams
9. “Buckeye Jim” - Burl Ives
10. “High-Speed French Train”*
11. “Whack-Bat Majorette”*
12. “The Grey Goose” - Burl Ives
13. “Bean’s Secret Cider Cellar”*
14. “Une Petite Île” - Georges Delerue
15. “Street Fighting Man” - The Rolling Stones
16. “Fantastic Mr. Fox AKA Petey’s Song” - Jarvis Cocker
17. “Night and Day” - Art Tatum
18. “Kristofferson’s Theme”*
19. “Just Another Dead Rat in a Garbage Pail (behind a Chinese Restaurant)”*
20. “Le Grand Choral” - Georges Delerue
21. “Great Harrowsford Square”
22. “Stunt Expo 2004″*
23. “Canis Lupus”
24. “Ol’ Man River” - The Beach Boys
25. “Let Her Dance” - Bobby Fuller Four

*Music Composed, Conducted, and Produced by Alexandre Desplat

All in all, I would say spend that $12.00 and treat yourself to a fabulous film. If you have a little sibling, bring them with you, because unlike Where The Wild Things Are - this film will appeal to all ages.

Fantastic Mr. Fox in theaters November 12th.