Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)

Director:

Wes Anderson

Writers:

Roald Dahl (novel) and
Wes Anderson (screenplay)

Release Date:

25 NOVEMBER 2009 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Adventure | Comedy | Family

Tagline:

Dig the life fantastic.

Plot:

Angry farmers, tired of sharing their chickens with a sly fox, look to get rid of their opponent and his family.

Plot Keywords:

Fox | Farmer | Cider | Tale | Anthropomorphic

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 5 wins & 8 nominations

Cast

George Clooney	...	Mr. Fox (voice)
Meryl Streep	...	Mrs. Fox (voice)
Jason Schwartzman	...	Ash (voice)
Bill Murray	...	Badger (voice)
Wallace Wolodarsky	...	Kylie (voice) (as Wally Wolodarsky)
Eric Chase Anderson	...	Kristofferson (voice) (as Eric Anderson)
Michael Gambon	...	Franklin Bean (voice)
Willem Dafoe	...	Rat (voice)
Owen Wilson	...	Coach Skip (voice)
Jarvis Cocker	...	Petey (voice)
Wes Anderson	...	Weasel (voice)
Karen Duffy	...	Linda Otter (voice)
Robin Hurlstone	...	Walter Boggis (voice)
Hugo Guinness	...	Nathan Bunce (voice)
Helen McCrory	...	Mrs. Bean (voice)

MPAA:

Rated PG for action, smoking and slang humor.

Runtime:

87 min

Country:

USA | UK

Language:

English | French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | SDDS

Certification:

USA:PG (certificate #45468) | Ireland:PG | Australia:PG | UK:PG | South Korea:All | Singapore:PG | New Zealand:PG | Canada:G (British Columbia/Manitoba/Quebec) | Canada:PG (Alberta/Ontario) | South Africa:PG | Philippines:G (MTRCB)

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

According to Henry Selick, Wes Anderson would act out scenes while in Paris and send them to the animators via his iPhone.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): Mr. Fox says he can't say opossum in Latin because the ancient Romans had no word for it. The ancient Romans are irrelevant, as Latin has lived on as a scientific language ever since the general public stopped speaking it. Swedish Carolus Linnaeus (who Latinised his own name from Carl Von Linne') developed the Latin animal double-names in the mid-1700s, and thousands of new names have been added to that list regularly for at least 230 years. The name for opossum in this system is Didelphis virginiana.

Quotes:

[Kristofferson comes to Ash's defense after seeing Beaver's son forcing him to eat mud]
Kristofferson: Don't do that.
Beaver's Son: [Looking at Kristofferson's feet] Why'd you take your shoes off?
Kristofferson: So I don't break your nose when I kick it.

Movie Connections:

References Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier (1955)

Soundtrack:

Let Her Dance

A feast for the eyes and ears. No Roald Dahl in sight though

After reading the reviews on here I wasn't put off watching this film. As a huge fan of animation, as well as Wes Anderson films this film definitely did everything and more for me. There's so much going on in every scene, I found it even funnier than other Anderson films, and as usual I loved all the characters. Anderson manages to keep all the coin facial expressions/awkward silences between characters/quirky background stories that appear in all his films. It's a true work of brilliance! This film has a 'kids film' label on it, but it's not really for children in my opinion, I urge anyone who appreciates animation and is looking to watch something quirky and intelligent to go for this film. Don't be put off due to the hordes of children. Anderson films are best watched on the big screen, so go see it now before it finishes at our cinemas.

The only criticism I will say about this is that I don't think Anderson should have kept the original title of Roald Dahl's story 'Fantastic Mr Fox'. Mainly because it has been adapted so much to Anderson's style (as well as being Americanised) that it isn't really in keeping with Dahl's story, and fans of the acclaimed writer who want to experience the film adaptation of his story will be disappointed I feel. I think he should have given it a different title, like 'Foxxed' or something (that's a rubbish suggestion, but you get what I mean), as I loved it, and wouldn't change anything else, but marketing it as an adaptation of Dahl's book is a little mis-leading (definitely for British people anyway).

-As a side point I think that as much as Dahl supplies a brilliant story and tons of material to make a very good film, I think Dahl's stories are best kept where they belong, and that is on paper. It is his literacy genius where the magic of his stories lie, and reading them (rather than looking at them) gives me the most enjoyment than I could ever get from watching a film of one of his stories.

I left the cinema with a huge grin on my face and felt like bouncing along the pavement as I made my way home. It definitely has been the highlight of my week, and will be without a doubt one of the best films I've seen this year.