A refreshing animated flick with sharp humor in ‘Fantastic Mr. Fox'

Labuza: If you prefer your cinematic foxes not shouting “chaos reigns” and eating themselves alive à la “Antichrist,” you are probably in good company with “Fantastic Mr. Fox.” A departure from the norm for director Wes Anderson (“The Royal Tenenbaums”), the film is an adaptation of the Roald Dahl classic about a fox and his family who are hunted by farmers.

While still employing the same quirky production design and tracking shots, Anderson adds stop motion animation to his repertoire. His characters, voiced by familiars like George Clooney, Jason Schwartzman, and Bill Murray, speak very much in the Anderson tone—they are dysfunctional, spiteful, and existential in nature.

This is what leads Mr. Fox (Clooney) to stop writing unread newspaper columns and return to stealing chickens, despite a promise to his wife. Even if the narrative runs much more swiftly, this is very much a Wes Anderson film, and viewers will probably enjoy it based on their previous experiences with him.

Hsiao: “Fantastic Mr. Fox” usurps Pixar’s monopoly on animated features. Anderson uses the medium of stop motion animation to create a fantastical, but also believable, world with its own rules. Like a children’s book, the heroes and villains of the film are very clearly drawn. Mr. Fox is a charming and good-natured hero while the three farmers he steals from are always one step behind him.

But despite the simplistic plot and lighthearted tone, this is far from just a children’s movie. The humor is sharp, but the underlying themes of alienation, disillusionment, and dysfunctional families are still there, just like in Anderson’s previous films.

Anderson’s approach seems to work, especially with a terrific cast voicing the various roles. Jason Schwartzman is pitch-perfect as Mr. Fox’s son, as is Meryl Streep, who plays Fox’s tolerant and understanding wife.

Labuza: The humor may appeal to some, but like in Anderson’s previous features, there is a malice to the characters that comes off as bitter and produces half-hearted chuckles instead of full-blown laughs. Anderson has created a fantastical world, but he limits himself by departing from the source material.

Anderson’s films have always been technically brilliant, and he is known more for his unique style than for his characterization. “Fantastic Mr. Fox” follows this tradition. By loading his film with the usual themes, he simply transposes his bitterness to an animated world, bringing the same uninspired thoughts that result in an entertaining but hollow movie.

That’s why the best scenes in the film are the ones featuring acrobatics. With visual and musical homages to French New Wave, Anderson employs a fun and witty charm in his heist sequences, which recall his first and best feature, “Bottle Rocket.”

Hsaio: While I agree about the technical ability of Anderson, the film is far from hollow. He relies on fairly predictable resolutions to most of the conflicts and subplots, but the underlying themes of environmental conservatism and purpose (or lack thereof) during midlife crisis are highlighted by the kineticism on screen. Every scene has its own place and the film flows like butter.

Originally, talks of an Anderson animated feature certainly sounded odd, but his unique style grounds Dahl’s vision of woodland creatures outsmarting three farmers. It’s too easy to dismiss “Fantastic Mr. Fox” as an entertaining—if light—parable because, ultimately, it’s more than the sum of its parts.

If there is talk about “The Hangover” receiving a nomination for Best Picture this year at the Oscars, then “The Fantastic Mr. Fox” certainly deserves a spot there too. Jack Black said during last year’s Oscars that he always bets on Pixar to win Best Animated Feature, but hopefully, “The Fantastic Mr. Fox” will prove him wrong.