Fantastic Mr. Fox

“I used to steal birds, but now I'm a newspaper man.” Heist movie. Western. Bond flick. Social drama. A film about a crisis (marital and midlife). Existential comedy. There is no point in trying to pigeonhole Fantastic Mr. Fox, because A) that is impossible, and B) that impossibility lies in its fantastical nature (and its point). It’s hard to describe how specifically Anderson's first (and fortunately not his last) animated film is so unique because, for the second time, I was unable to shake off the enchantment of the animated animals in favour of sober analysis. Besides, there are so many wonderful things in the film… A well-designed mise-en-scène that suggests how emotional the heroes are (ready-made Antonioni), the choreography of the characters in front of a camera set in the ideal place (which saves hundreds of needless cuts), a visual rendering that is like a fairy tale in general but realistic in its details. Anderson’s realistically complex story of the struggle with one’s own naturalness astonishes with grand scenes, eliciting amazement (THAT scene with the wolf), as well as small details for the more attentive, when speechlessness alternates with a cry of joy (the inner conflict of civilised wild animals reflected in the idyllic landscape, always with some untameable lightning or tornado in the background). Of the few films that I would rather love than understand, this one is certainly the most colourful. And the wildest! 95% (28/03/2018)

I was really looking forward to another great animated movie, but what I got was a huge and ambitious disappointment. The story overall is interesting and original, but the director didn't quite pull it off in my opinion. It doesn’t have enough pace, the oddly conceived animation didn't appeal to me at all, and I found the drawn-out dialogue desperately angsty and unfunny, with the main characters sometimes solving problems trying to be as close to humans as possible. I really hate to slag films like this, but in this case, unfortunately, after the first viewing, I have no other choice. (17/07/2011)

A drama about a marital crisis, a portrait of a complex father-son relationship, and a regular heist movie in animated guise with affectionate comedic elements thrown in. Yes, it sounds wild and over-the-top, but Wes Anderson just knows how to do this. The fantastic dubbing of the main character by George Clooney and the near-perfect timing of most of the gags then puts Fantastic Mr. Fox in a completely different box than conventional animated films. But therein lies its greatest strength – in its originality, its bold multi-genre execution, and its typical "Andersonian" poetry, which (and I totally get it) may not appeal to everyone, but no one can deny the playfulness and powerful emotional experience. (11/08/2020)

Stop-motion puppet animation is always something that must be appreciated, especially if it has a meaningful story, which in this case it does, even though Roald Dahl's source material is definitely not ordinary. Perhaps it's not a film that's explosively funny, but it's a film that maintains Anderson's peculiar poetics. I enjoyed it. (09/12/2016)

The Great Cheese Robbery Anderson-style. So nothing for kids. In his fox guise Clooney is maybe even more charismatic than usual, Dafoe’s part is one of the unforgettable ones, plus Desplat à la Morricone, not cheaply stealing from him (not like many others), but developing on him fantastically. And in fact this entire movie is a fantastic celebration of fox, uh sorry, human fantasy and playfulness. (04/02/2010)