9 Reasons Why Fantastic Mr. Fox is the Coolest Film
1) FMF shows how sly indie smarts can defy the corporate factory farm machine.2) The film suggests there is a subversive affinity between artists and thieves. Somewhat like Godard and Truffaut in their youth, Mr. Fox is a chicken thief who has difficulty kicking the habit. Anderson inspires us by ripping off what inspires him, including allusions to Toy Story (a character trapped in a milk crate), The Third Man (the sewer sequence), The Man in the White Suit (Bean has an apple cider machine that makes the same noise that Alec Guinness'character's invention makes), Bonnie and Clyde (men with guns hiding in the bushes for an ambush), and West Side Story (Rat (Willem Dafoe) snaps his fingers in a way reminiscent of the movie's choreography).
3) FMF juxtaposes the passionate instincts of the wild with Anderson's trademark cerebral creative control. Fox cannot help himself because of his wild nature. Late in the film, a wolf appears in the distance. Anderson keeps the wolf in an extreme long shot, and even though the wolf shares with Fox a paw pump of solidarity, the wildest creature stays aloof, separate, and by implication superior to the rest of the animals who have to find ways to accommodate humanity.
4) In every shot, FMF celebrates the detail. Mr. Fox has an impeccable fashion sense--thin ties and corduroy suits. Wes Anderson took photographs of all of the furniture in Roald Dahl's house, had miniature versions made, and scattered them throughout the movie. I found FMF annoying in its way, because so many ingenious details and inventive shot compositions demand a re-viewing. One feels obliged to play the film slowly on DVD and freeze-frame scenes to catch everything.
5) I'm not sure, but it seems that The Darjeeling Limited becomes part of a train set in FMF that consoles Kristofferson when he is blue.
6) FMF treats the difficulties of parenting and sibling self-esteem issues without being annoying.
7) FMF shares with Watership Down a concern with the way humans violate the land for petty reasons.
8) FMF celebrates the moment. Anderson makes sure to add some unexpected flourish to every scene. Even in the midst of an action scene, he will pause to show how Kylie (Wallace Wolodarsky), Mr. Fox's dim but loyal possum sidekick, did have "blueberries" written on his paw, even though he forgot to bring them. We also learn, again in the midst of an exciting sequence, that Kylie's good about paying off his debts, thereby earning a nice credit card. After the rat dies, the gang has a poignant moment, thinking that the rat did redeem himself, but then Mr. Fox says with metaphysical aplomb, "At the end of the day, he's still just a dead rat in a garbage pail behind a Chinese restaurant."
9) Sly, conniving, resourceful, devious--what creature is cooler than a fox? Just as Mr. Fox and his gang elude the evil farmers Boggis, Bunce, and Bean, so does Fantastic Mr. Fox eludes the viewer's attempt to apprehend it. I've never seen such an intellectually engrossing children's movie.
Comments
I thought of a 10th reason: FRF includes the spiral and crossed-out eye effects (when characters act weird or pass out) of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, another classic of stop-motion animation, not to mention several Burl Ives songs.
This is absolutely the second best animated film this year behind UP, but I am not sure if you liked that Pixar or not.
Thanks for further answering Tracey's point about Mrs. Fox. I brought up with my significant other the idea that Mrs. Fox may embody the constraints of civilization, and she said "What's wrong with that? Mr. Fox needs to grow up sometime."
Thanks, Jake. I confess I usually enjoy Anderson's films except for The Royal Tenenbaums. Rushmore is still my favorite.
Thanks, Sam. I agree that Roald Dahl is one of the best children's writers, in part due to his playfully vicious imagination.
I had problems with Up mostly because of the extreme praise the film received. I like to think that Fantastic Mr. Fox and Coraline will tie as the year's best animated film at the Oscars.
Actually, I'm a Wes Anderson virgin. Not really, I've seen Darjeeling a couple of times but never manage to finish it, and I was Richie Tannenbaum, Halloween '05, after my girlfriend picked it up for me (she was Margot). Lamest costume ever. Nobody gets it. Everyone thought I was a hippie John Mc Enroe. I've sworn to hate Wes Anderson for the rest of my life. The closest thing that I know of Wes' aesthetic was that McCain ad, which spoofs his cinematic style (figured that out on the Youtube commentaries). So I'm a virgin and a half (wut?). But I liked FMF anyway.
As in any auteur driven film, one is obligated to know the style or motifs of the director, but in FMF's case, it is not necessary to know Anderson's previous works to enjoy the film. With those points you laid out, Film Doc, I now want to check out Wes' other works. Or maybe just finish Darjeeling. Those mini surprises makes me like the film even more. Like I lol'd at Jarvis Crocker's cameo even without knowing who he was. Turns out he was a songwriting hero in his native Britain.
Btw, I still don't get the wolf scene.
Don't get me wrong, I didn't loath this film. It did charm me here and there. But I was sorry to find myself unemotional about it most of the time. I suspect you're right that there are new details to be cherished on repeated viewings, but this movie doesn't call me to see it again (which doesn't mean I won't end up seeing it again anyway).
Oh, by the way: The helicopter at the end looks exactly like TC's "Island Hoppers" helicopter from Magnum P.I. -- so there's another allusion.
I agree with Tracey, though, that the women were given sweet F.A. to do, and I also didn't understand why all the animals were voiced by Americans and all the humans by British.
And I can see where Jason is coming from, but I got more out of these characters than I did anyone in Life Aquatic or Darjeeling. FMF has all the typical themes of an Anderson film -- chiefly a dysfunctional family that ultimately proves it love -- and I was surprised at how much I connected with the characters in all their post-ironic coolness.
This has been a weird, fascinating year for cinema ostensibly aimed at children.
Thanks, Jason, for the other allusion. I wonder if the motorcycle and the side car could be a subtle reference to Duck Soup, and doubtless there are dozens of others. Otherwise, I know what it is like to not have the same gut response to a film. Weirdly, I had to deal with two screaming brats in the back of the theater distracting me at times, while watching FRF, and even that failed to diminish my pleasure in the movie. Perhaps the film works because Anderson found a way to not talk down to adults while fashioning a film for kids.
Thanks, Jake. Your comment lines up with what I just wrote. I also liked the film's references to Zen meditation. Even David Lynch would approve. Yet, there's something basically subversive about FRF. As Fox revolts against the three B's, he defies the man with elan.
Anyway, as a side note, it seems completely appropriate to me for Wes Anderson to be doing animation. Did anyone ever see this great Bill Melendez documentary clip on YouTube that mentions the Peanuts cartoon director's influence on Anderson? It puts scenes from Rushmore side by side with Peanuts clips. So cool. Check it out here:
http://www.cartoonbrew.com/animators/a-little-love-the-art-of-bill-melendez.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+CartoonBrew+(Cartoon+Brew)&utm_content=Google+Reader
No, I hadn't seen that documentary about Melendez. I was very impressed with it. Thanks for calling it to my attention.
This is one of the best movies of last year. The dialogue and characterizations are wonderful. It is perfectly cast and the stop motion and music track are amazing.