FANTASTIC MR. FOX 3.0*** (almost 3.5***)
“Fantastic Mr. Fox” is such a good time movie that when the credits begin to roll at the end and the delightful movie characters are joyfully dancing in a humongous supermarket, you just can’t help but smile.
“Fantastic” is the operative word in director Wes Anderson's adaptation of Roald Dahl’s classic. The film tells the story of Mr. Fox, who gave up his life of stealing chickens to settle down with his wife, Mrs. Fox, and start a family, but when Mr. Fox relapses into his chicken-stealing ways , everything just busts loose, and the movie fun really begins. The film is a marvelous piece of stop-motion animation. Yes. I said “stop action”. Many of you may have seen similar “stop action” films such as “Nightmare Before Christmas”. But this stop-motion film is so much more clever, charming, and lovable than the others, and the design of the furry animals are quite cute and adorable.
The animation is brought to life, thanks to the terrific voice-acting from the terrific “voice “cast. The titular character is done by George Clooney as the sly Mr. Fox, the upright soul with the sharp clothes and snappy dialogue ,and Meryl Streep is his long-suffering but loving wife. Other animals include Bill Murray's Badger, Willem Defoe's Rat, and Wallace Wolodarsky's Possum who nearly steals the show with frequent funny lines. Complementing the unique screen characters are the colorful sets, and the amazing soundtrack with both original tracks and carefully selected tracks from other artists like Burl Ives, The Beach Boys, and The Rolling Stones.
The real fascination with this movie lies in the notion of how long it actually must have taken these top notch art designers to bring everything to life. There are forces at play here that give one a clear sense of the fact that stepping away from a computer screen and getting things done the “good-ole fashion hard way” pays off when witnessing the final product. Production value is quite noticeable and I, for one, was transfixed by the universe of Mr. Fox.

Clark