Fantastic Mr. Fox

Wes Anderson (The Royal Tenenbaums, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou) is at the helm of something different this time as he directs some wonderful classic handmade stop motion techniques to tell the story of the best selling children’s book by Roald Dahl. The result is as warm and humorous as a Wallace and Gromit caper, appealing to both young and old alike. Albeit that the nuances in many of the characters are probably too subtle for a younger audience.

Mr Fox (George Clooney) just can’t bury his old ways as a chicken poacher despite now being a family man and having a job as a columnist for a newspaper. Lured by the temptation to rip off a trio of evil farmers, Boggis, Bunce and Bean, he ends up putting the lives of those dearest to him at risk. But, of course, Mr Fox is never short of a plan, nor is he ever in doubt of his own self-belief that he is, well, ‘Fantastic’. Consequently, the three farmers are determined to get Mr Fox, by whatever means.

Anderson uses a certain degree of creative license to pad out the screenplay to movie length but succeeds in not loosing the heart of Dahl in the process. As an animation, Anderson is able to apply his quirky vision freely without the hindrance of ‘real’ actors that in past movies have, at times, been irritating to watch. Instead, the animated characters have bucket loads more personality and wit, and succeed in getting the life-affirming message of love and relationships across so much more tangibly, and with a lot more fun.

George Clooney is as charming as ever and the perfect choice for the rapscallion Mr Fox, while Michael Gambon, as the nastiest of the three farmers, Bean, adds a wonderful touch of Kray-like villainy. Tomfoolery abounds as the baddies try to outwit Mr Fox and his menagerie of friends and of course, we all know who comes out tops in the end.

It seems that the cinema has been awash with animated flicks in recent years. Pixar have dominated, but Anderson has produced something rather delightful that stands up to the best of them.