Continuing in the rash of ultra-hip young directors who make movies about long-loved kids books, Wes Anderson comes out with this film, based on the classic Roald Dahl book. There has been some press over the past few weeks about how Anderson didn't really *direct* this film in the way an animation director normally does - rather, he instructed deputies about his general will for tone and look and left the details to them. However it was done, though, this is a fun, funny and charming movie.
In the film, Mr. Fox, voiced by George Clooney, is a devoted family man who has a passion for bird and cider robbing from the poultry and apple farms near his house. He gets into a war with the three farmers nearby over his penchant for elaborate heist schemes. When they kidnap his tail, he enlists the help of friends and family (of the animal kingdom, of course) to exact revenge.
There is a lot to love in this movie, but the best part is its stop-motion animation and wonderful texture of the characters. It feels like a warm animated show that one might have seen in the 1970s or 1980s - before stupid, and ubiquitous CGI animation took over. There is a lot more warmth to the footage here and a lot more interesting details than in computer animations. In the close-up shots of Mr. Fox and the other characters, the individual hairs on his face blow in the wind. It is wonderful to look at it and think that you can reach out and touch the characters and settings. Of course, everything looks very much like a Wes Anderson movie - all super-stylized and packed with kitschy specifics. It works here (better, I think than in much of his live-action films), as this feels fresh and new and furry (the stop motion is not just clay, but little hairy dolls).
The script is very good (adapted by Anderson and Noah Baumbach of The Squid and the Whale) - and the dialogue is very snappy and funny. The voice acting, especially by Clooney and Jason Schwartzman (as Fox's son, Ash) is rather matter-of-fact, smart and full of irony (for the adult viewers). However it is recorded, it sounds very much like I remember stop-motion films sounding in the past - like Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer. Almost like the sound is put on top of the images in little drops, rather than being mixed in with the pictures to create a real-ish atmosphere. This is a nice effect. I guess it might be lost on kids, but it worked well to make me feel nostalgic and warm.
It's hard for me to figure out if I liked this movie more simply because it was charming and well done, or because it felt like a Wes Anderson movie without too much Wes Anderson in it. I am pretty tired of his shtick and this felt like a taste of his stuff without being too strong with his style. At the end of the day, it feels like a fun animated film that might be an allusion to Anderson's oeuvre, but not an Anderson film per se. It borrows strongly from Wallace and Gromit, but only in a good way. It is original, keen and very entertaining.
Stars: 3 of 4
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