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I'll admit that while I was completely excited to squeeze in the packed theater with viewers of all ages waiting for Fantastic Mr. Fox to begin, a tiny worry was playing on the tip of my popcorn-reaching fingers.
The reviews of the movie, which opened across the country yesterday, have been outstanding. I love all things Wes Anderson, so I had tremendous confidence in the way he would handle the beloved Roald Dahl classic. The trailer for the film shows beautifully detailed puppets, clothing and set decoration, so I imagined it would be a visual feast. Amazing comedic talent was the foundation for the furry cast, including George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Willem Dafoe and Bill Murray. And in an interview Jason Schwartzman beguiled me with descriptions of the experimental creativity devoted to the shooting of the film's sound and animation.
I knew I was intrigued by and would admire Fantastic Mr. Fox, and I couldn't wait to see it as a creative work. But I didn't expect to love it, because could I truly love a movie, love the entertainment offered by a film, that was so, well, anthropomorphic?
You see, I have a problem, or some would say a black-spot in my soul, about talking animals. They wear thin on me, even greats like Wind in the Willows and Watership Down eventually annoy me, and don't get me started about Disney and Pooh. What I'm saying is I can appreciate talking animals in art, literature and movies, but I don't love them. This bias inexplicably goes way back. I remember being really annoyed at Beverly Cleary for messing with my head with the Mouse and the Motorcycle books. I know you love Ralph S. Mouse. Don't judge me.
So if Fantastic Mr. Fox felt like a Richard Scarry zippity-do-foxes-can-drive oevre, I was going to be one step removed from the show, watching how it worked but not letting it in.
I'm happy to say that Fantastic Mr. Fox got into my little Grinch heart. I loved every furry, corduroyed, bewhiskered, cider-drinking tiny mammal part of it. I want a little foxy Mrs. Fox doll to sit with crossed legs on my computer monitor. I want to make glassy-eyed puppets out of felt and cast them in an animated short 80s-style video called "Voles Just Wanna Have Fun." Okay, maybe I won't follow through with that.
But Mr. Fantastic Fox is perfectly balanced, and most importantly it never swallowed its own elevator pitch in a precious way. The wicked humor, and the subversive mirror-unto-a-mirror theme of anthropomorphized animals craving the wild broke through the cynicism of dumbed-down talking animal constructs. Anderson gives us amazing actors who aren't just voices for puppets; they are playing foxes and badgers and rats who have become animated foxes and badgers and rats to tell us their story in a way that can also hold ours. Those layers? Oh, man, so much fun, and the opposite of flat, the opposite of twee.
The themes are brilliant. Mr. Fox's midlife crisis. Ash's feelings of adolescent insecurity and need for attention. Corruption and greed. Triumph over oppression. Fighting for your right to par-tay. It's definitely a film an adult can respect, and I daresay, even love. I plan to see it again, soon.
Rachel Fox of Guttersnipe seems to agree. "Many of the cast are Anderson regulars and are delightful here, especially Jason Schwartzman (perfect as the grumpy son with an inferiority complex), Willem Dafoe and Bill Murray. It is utterly refreshing to have actors who perform, gifted with vocal talents that extend beyond the limited novelty offered by virtue of their celebrity recognition (I’m looking at you, Cameron Diaz—animated or otherwise)."
But what about the kids? With Anderson at the helm, there are understandable concerns that Fantastic Mr. Fox would play well for his fans but not for the upper elementary-aged kids who read the Dahl novels or the younger children who devour family films. I saw the movie with teenagers who loved it, and we heard children howling with laughter and cheering throughout the film, with only the toddlers seeming to max out when their candy was gone.
Jspicer, one of the smart women at Tiny Mix Tapes, says:
But the true measuring stick of Fantastic Mr. Fox lies in how kid-friendly
