Fantastic Mr Fox

Director: Wes Anderson
Cast: (Voices of) George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzman, Michael Gambon, Willem Dafoe and Bill Murray
Releasing in cinemas: 1 January 2010
Rated: PG

Fox among the hounds

Fantastic Mr Fox is a cinematic curiosity. By any conventional wisdom, this film just should not work. For a start, it eschews modern CGI for what is now considered quaint stop-motion animation. It's based on a children's book by Roald Dahl, but is directed by the not-very-kid-friendly Wes Anderson. Its main character is a raffish rogue rather than a goody-two-shoes type common in children's literature; and for a kid's flick, there's a fair smattering of violence. And yet somehow, this oddity comes together, thanks largely to its director's singular vision.

What makes Fantastic Mr Fox tick is that Anderson is able to fuse his own distinctive style with at least the essence (if not the letter) of Dahl's book. As those familiar with the book will appreciate, Anderson has embellished somewhat on the slim pages to provide some back story, to beef up the events and to add a new and rather whimsical ending to replace the Godot-like one provided by Dahl.

Our hero, naturally, is Mr Fox (voiced by George Clooney), a reformed chicken thief who's gone straight for the sake of his wife Mrs Fox (Meryl Streep). He now writes for the local (animal) newspaper; but old habits - and longings - die hard. Perhaps Mr Fox is stirred into action by the arrival of his nephew, Kristofferson (Eric Chase Anderson), a talented and likeable pup, and a complete contrast to his milquetoast son Ash (Jason Schwartzman); but he decides to go back to chicken stealing. Problem is, his target isn't just chicken. His raids on neighbouring farms have targeted the three wealthiest - and meanest - farmers in the region - Boggus (Robin Hurlstone), Bunce (Hugo Guinness) and Bean (Michael Gambon). When Mr Fox's nocturnal activities are discovered, the farmers' retribution is swift and terrible; actions which don't just affect the Fox family, but all the animals living nearby.

Themes from Anderson's other films wend their way through this tale. Familial conflict, the attraction and consequences of irresponsibility and the triumph of joy over malice - all familiar from films like The Royal Tenenbaums and The Darjeeling Limited - all surface again here. The presence of those themes (not to mention an environmental message) is however diluted somewhat, with the plot concerning the struggle between the animals and the farmers taking centre stage.

Most of all though, Fantastic Mr Fox is about fun. The already picaresque tale is enlivened by Anderson's sense of whimsy and wonder. This is the type of film that underplays rather than overplays its hand, and is all the better for it. Anderson collaborated on the script with Noah Baumbach (director of the terribly serious The Squid and the Whale). The pair had worked together previously on the script for Anderson's The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. This script is a lot tighter, and Anderson keeps the plot barrelling along with some astute direction.

One of the question marks over the film is how kids will react to it. Certainly, Anderson's muted style, elliptical humour and meaningful pauses may prove a challenge for their comprehension of the film. Perhaps more problematic however is the violence, which is quite graphic at times (for example, Mr Fox's tail is shot off at one stage, with Bean subsequently wearing it as a necktie). This may prove a bit much for little ones; although I suspect it won't trouble over-8s too much. One other feature of the screenplay is the use of the word "cuss" to replace swear words. While I found it quite a funny little touch, some might find it goes a little far.

The film has a particular visual style that's quite charming. The animal characters aren't "to-scale" with the human characters, and even among the animals themselves, there's a variety of shapes and sizes. The world of the valley where the action takes place is constructed much like a static diorama, with the camera moving back and forth to locations within it. I also found the ease of the digging style employed by the animals hilarious; but then again, it may be an inspired choice - I mean, who wants to watch laborious digging anyway? Anderson also pays great attention to detail, with plenty of visual gags along the way, as well as several references to other films.

The voice talent is top notch as would be expected. Perhaps a little oddly, George Clooney's and Michael Gambon's voices really stand out as being their "real" voices; whereas those of many of the other actors become rather generic and difficult to posit as distinctive.

I've noted previously in these pages that I'm a fan of Wes Anderson's, and Fantastic Mr Fox does nothing to dispel that view. This is an intricately constructed, finely observed and vibrant journey into a fantasy world that offers just as much for adults (arguably, more) than it does for kids. Despite a few reservations, this is a superior family film that will appeal to those willing to take a gamble on something a bit out-of-the-ordinary.

David Edwards