Movie Review: The Fantastic Mr. Fox

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In “The Fantastic Mr. Fox” the visionary producer Wes Anderson (“The Darjeeling Limited”) takes on the beloved children’s author, Roald Dahl’s (James & the Giant Peach, Charlie & the Chocolate Factory) book of the same name, meshing Dahl’s voice with his own. With the use of handmade stop motion techniques, Anderson is able to tell the story of the fantastic Mr. Fox and his fantastic family and friends in a brilliant and entertaining way.
The movie introduces you to a wily fox that snatches chickens for a living; Mr. Fox (George Clooney) suited in corduroy, realizes his life must change because his fox wife (Meryl Streep) is pregnant with their first cub, Ash (Jason Schwartzman). After twelve years of raising Ash, Mr. Fox moves the family to a new home, and begins feeling his old, animal instincts kicking in. With the introduction of his three nasty farmers next door: “Boggis and Bunce and Bean, one short, one fat, one lean. These horrible crooks, so different in looks, were nonetheless equally mean,” Mr. Fox returns to his chicken-snatching ways, and brings the whole community in on the action. The plot thickens, and the crew must figure out a way to survive the changes around them.
This film is loaded with great actors including the aforementioned, plus Bill Murray, Willem Dafoe and Owen Wilson, among others. Made for children, but with a witty repartee that adults cannot resist, Wes Anderson’s “The Fantastic Mr. Fox” is a little bit like “Oceans Eleven” with animals. A delight to watch and friendly to all ages, this film makes you “Dig the Good Life.” Click-click, wink, wink!