Fantastic Mr Fox

If you are reading this then you may have noticed that the Autumn has kicked in and the inevitable has happened, the trees are losing their leaves, the nights are drawing in and fantasy novel adaptations are being released at multiplexes worldwide. The latest in a wave of books to film adaptations is the Roald Dahl classic Fantastic Mr Fox, the question is whether Wes Anderson is capable of doing the source material justice!

Well the answer to that is yes and no. There are several things in this film that work and others that don’t resulting in a rather lukewarm hour and a half that doesn’t match up to other Dahl adaptations such as The Witches and Charlie and the chocolate factory (both versions). If there is a vital element missing from this film is that it just doesn’t capture the whole Roald Dahl atmosphere instead resorting to an overly contemporary manner in which the animal characters spend a little too much time bantering over minor things and using modern youth slang much in the style of a feel good drama/comedy giving it a sense of forced commercialism.

Another thing that doesn’t quite work was that most of the characters speak in American accents animals and humans alike and use American terminology despite the film having a British aesthetic and the three farmers all having British accent. Was this a deliberate clash of cultures or a genuine mistake on the film makers part. I genuinely can’t tell. Also worth mentioning is that George Clooney provides the voice of Mr Fox but it is blatantly George Clooney.

However there were certain plot elements that appealed to me, such as Mr Fox’s son Ash coping with life as an under achieving underdog who feels over shadowed by his too perfect cousin. Another interesting twist on this film version was by having the three farmers Boggis, Bunce and Bean take the whole ‘catch the fox’ thing way too far by deploying their entire work force to catch the fox and even having a news crew cover the event on television. Also note worthy was the film’s impressive visuals and animation style which use various interesting techniques.

If this film appeals to you then I suggest viewing it for solid entertainment, just don’t expect fireworks.

3 STARS

About two thirds of the way through this film a woman who I don’t think was all there got up and turned to me and Aaron and asked us what the time was, “9.45” Aaron replied, then she slowly left, struggled to find the exit then eventually left. For the next ten minutes I was giggling.