Donovahn Wyatt is a movie critic for the Samford Crimson. The views expressed in this opinion article do not necessarily reflect the views of the Samford Crimson or Samford University.
Stop-motion is an incredibly time-consuming and difficult style of animation. It may not be commonly seen these days as computer animation films have a stranglehold on the market, but when stop-motion films do come out, they tend to wow both critics and audiences alike. There’s no finer example of this than Wes Anderson’s 2009 stop-motion film, “Fantastic Mr. Fox.”
Figure 1: Theatrical Poster. From IMDB.
Based on Roald Dahl’s children’s novel of the same name, the film follows the titular Mr. Fox as he returns to his life of crime, despite promising his wife to end his criminal ways. Once the consequences of this spree put his family and friends in danger, Mr. Fox must outwit a trio of crazed farmers to save the day. Anderson utilizes the source material to create an effective heist-comedy. The film has a fast and furious pace that is combined with witty humor and fantastic (pun intended) voice acting from an all-star cast with George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Willem Dafoe and Sir Michael Gambon, just to name a few.
Figure 2: Mr. Fox. From Rotoscopers.com
The animation does a phenomenal job of giving human attributes to the animal characters, but there’s more to it than that. It has thematic relevance. A major plot point and theme of the movie involves the idea of fighting against animalistic nature and tendencies. Mr. Fox has spent over a decade “domesticated” in a way, operating as a family man and not the larcenist he once was. He may act suave and sophisticated, but there are moments when he reverts to his animal instincts for comedic effect. For example, there’s a scene in which Mr. Fox has a discussion with his lawyer, a badger, and the two begin to growl and hiss at each other when an argument breaks out between them.
The film also has phenomenal camera movements and shots, despite being stop-motion animation. This film took its time in recreating the Dahl’s characters for a stop-motion adaptation. In fact, it took seven months to make a single model for Mr. Fox.
Figure 3: Behind the scenes. From Stop Motion Magazine.
The film may not have lit up the box office, but it was a critical smash hit. It was nominated for “Best Animated Feature” at the 2009 Academy Awards but lost to Disney/Pixar’s “Up.” It did win an Annie Award for “Writing in a Feature Production” and won “Best Animated Film” at the New York Film Critics Circle Awards. At that same show, George Clooney won “Best Actor” for his performance in the film.
Overall, this is a great movie. Great visuals, great acting, great score, a very heartfelt story and a phenomenal use of stylish colors that evoke feelings of autumn. So, make some popcorn, throw this movie on for your family and/or friends and get ready for a good time. This is a movie that you don’t want to miss.
Sources Cited
Albarran, M. (2020, October 6). Eleven Years of fantastic mr. Fox. Stop Motion Magazine. Retrieved September 24, 2023, from https://stopmotionmagazine.com/eleven-years-of-fantastic-mr-fox/
Fantastic mr. Fox. MUBI. (2009). Retrieved October 30, 2022, from https://mubi.com/films/fantastic-mr-fox
IMDb.com. (2009, November 25). Fantastic mr. Fox. IMDb. Retrieved September 24, 2023, from https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0432283/
Rotoscopers. (2018, June 4). Indie-Mation Club week 18: ‘fantastic mr. Fox’ review. Rotoscopers. Retrieved September 24, 2023, from https://www.rotoscopers.com/2018/06/04/indie-mation-club-week-18-fantastic-mr-fox-review/
Twentieth Century Fox. (2009). Fantastic Mr. Fox.
Wikimedia Foundation. (2022, October 18). Fantastic mr fox. Wikipedia. Retrieved September, 2023, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fantastic_Mr_Fox
Wikimedia Foundation. (2022, October 25). Fantastic mr. Fox (film). Wikipedia. Retrieved September 24, 2023, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fantastic_Mr._Fox_(film)
