Meanwhile, it's also worth mentioning that I'm in the process of updating the format of my "Movie Review" page and I've added an area where you can sign up for email updates. For those confused what that first part means, I have an area that's intended to ease navigation around my blog. On the side, there's a series of tabs that will direct you to pages and I'm currently modifying those pages to be more user-friendly. Now, you'll be directed to the respective review if you click on any of the banner images with my score and watermarked logo on them. Then if you'd like to subscribe to the email list, just go over to the side tabs and you'll find an area entitled "Follow by Email." Just enter in your preferred email address and press "Submit" to be added to the list and I believe you'll be notified via email anytime I publish something.
'Fantastic Mr. Fox' Review
Nominated For: Best Animated Feature and Best Original Score.
Twelve fox-years (two human-years) after settling down to start a family, Mr. Fox grows tired of his idyllic lifestyle and yearns to satisfy his animalistic urge of raiding farms. Unaware of the consequences, he seizes his ideal opportunity upon moving near the triple farms of Boggis, Bunce, and Bean. However, the tenacious farmers unexpectedly retaliate to his schemes so Mr. Fox, his family, and the surrounding animal community are forced deep underground where they must amass their cunning wits and instinctual gifts to emerge victorious against the shrewd farmers.
Fantastic Mr. Fox is a feature length stop-motion animated film based on Roald Dahl's famous children's book, which is directed by Wes Anderson and features a screenplay cowritten by Anderson and Noah Baumbach. If you're familiar with Anderson's work, you know what you're in for whenever you see a Wes Anderson production. Anderson's established himself in the industry as a filmmaker with an especially specific style, and it's almost impossible to deny that his approach to making movies is entirely unique. In this case, Anderson actually adapted Dahl's book in such spectacular fashion that he managed to marry his own unique sensibilities as a filmmaker with the spirit of Dahl's source material to the degree you'll believe the union was always meant to be.
As a brief aside, I was initially introduced to Wes Anderson through Fantastic Mr. Fox probably seven or eight years ago and I've been drawn to his work ever since! While I haven't explored his filmography extensively, I absolutely adore Moonrise Kingdom, The Grand Budapest Hotel, and can't wait to see Isle of Dogs in a few weeks! I'm quite captivated by Wes Anderson's flicks because they're characteristically quirky, colorful, and obsessively symmetrical with a good bit of wry, witty humor to spare. Seeing as Fantastic Mr. Fox was accomplished with the approach of stop-motion animation, the project seemed a perfect match for Anderson's eccentric artistry.
Stop-motion has to be painstakingly precise if the models are to move with an authentic fluidity when it's all said and done, and I can even speak from personal experience as I dabbled with the medium when I was younger. Which is why I believe Anderson's OCD-like tendencies made him an appropriate artist to tackle this story through this technique. Credit should definitely also be bestowed to the animators for meticulously managing to position the puppets so their movements look genuine and lifelike and, of course, the intricate production design from Nelson Lowry is a nice touch!
Fantastic Mr. Fox isn't just a well-crafted work of stop-motion though... Anderson and Baumbach craftily convey Dahl's story as an exciting, outlandish animal adventure that's energized by a happy-go-lucky soundtrack and supplemental set of cheery compositions from Alexandre Desplat. However, one of the film's most attributed traits is its sharp, hysterical delivery of deadpan dialogue and the imaginative use of farcical situations for amusing interplay.
