Producer Paul's Ramblings

Saw this today in a surprisingly full theater.  This stop motion film is based on the Roald Dahl book about a fox who steals chickens until his pregnant wife makes him promise not to do it anymore.  He agrees, but restless after two years, he goes back to his ways, stealing from the three most powerful farmers in the neighborhood. He arouses their ire, they go gunning for him (literally) and many hijinks ensue.

I am a big fan of Wes Anderson movies, and this one is no exception. Whimsical and offbeat, this movie had me smiling throughout, chuckling many times, and laughing out loud quite a few. And I suspect it’s a movie that will reveal more on multiple viewings, since there were many nuances in the backgrounds.  The stop motion is crude but serviceable and actually adds to the film’s charm.  In this day of ultra slick computer animation, it’s nice to see something handcrafted and even sort of sloppy. You can see hairs moving about even when the creatures are still, as if the animators didn’t take the time to keep thing consistent. But knowing Anderson’s quirks, this was probably intentional.

The voice acting is uniformly excellent, with quite a cast, including George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Bill Murray and Jason Schwartzman. Cooney was perfect for the role, since Mr. Fox is basically an animated version of the rogue Danny Ocean from the Ocean’s films. I almost wish they could have had someone else do the voice, since it was sometimes tough to separate the voice from the action on screen, and I occasionally has flashes of Clooney in the voice booth doing his thing.

But that’s a minor quibble for what is a delightful film with great dialogue, fun situations, and even some beautful camera work. Be sure to check this one out when you get a chance.

8/10