Fantastic Mr. Fox Review: The Pretty Good Mr. Fox

Wes Anderson's newest film is based off Roald Dahl's Fantastic Mr. Fox. But don't let that throw you, this movie is distinctly Wes Anderson's.

Right from the get-go Anderson announces his ownership of the material with his trademark bright yellow titles and his slightly mainstream, slightly obscure choice of music - in this case, Brian Wilson's "Heroes and Villains." The style of the stop motion animation is - like all of Anderson's work - reminiscent of the 70s. Hell, even the suit Mr. Fox wears is a suit that Wes Anderson, himself, wears.

The style of animation is not as smooth as contemporary stop motion films, such as Coraline. Fantastic Mr. Fox has a jerky quality to it, but that is part of it's charm. For instance, it is hilarious to watch a beagle suddenly drop to the ground after eating a drugged blueberry. And it works well with the nature of the comedy of the film. The dialogue creates most of its comedy through akward pauses and the jerkiness of the animation works with this.

I would argue that Wes Anderson's films have begun to take a bit of a downturn since he stopped writing with Owen Wilson. Their last script calloboration was the wonderfully dark Royal Tenebaums. For Fantastic Mr. Fox, Anderson has reunited with his collaborator on Life Aquatic with Steve Zisou, Noah Baumbach.

The film is highly stylized, as Anderson's films tend to be. However there are a few problems that do not usually affect his work. The character development is a little weak, leaving some important characters fighting to make themselves understood. Part of the reason for this is the shifting focus of the story. Usually Anderson blends many interesting character together in an interwoven story but in Mr. Fox he chapertizes the narrative. Because of this the characters feel isolated from one another.

Additionally, the music is a little off. Music has always been a strength in Anderson's films but the score feels innappropriate, at times creating a heavy tone that the action doesn't support.

Also the movie runs a little long but nothing rediculous.

Fantastic Mr. Fox is by no means a bad film. It is quite a good one. It is entertaining and has plenty of style and laughs to make the time go by. It's just not up to par with Anderson's usual work.