2009 stop-animated funkRating: 17/20 (Jen: 16/20; Abbey: 19/20; Sophie: 20/20)
Plot: The title fox reluctantly settles down, retiring from chicken thieving and getting a job as a newspaper man to appease his pregnant wife, Mrs. Fox. Seven years later, his itch needs scratching, and he moves the family into a tree with a view of the farms of Boggis, Bunce, and Bean and begins plotting a final triple-header job. He and friend Badger get some bandit hats and pull off the jobs. This ticks off the three farmers who seek revenge.
"That's just weak songwriting. You wrote a bad song, Petey!"
Lots of biases at play here: 1) It's a Wes Anderson movie. 2) It's based on a Roald Dahl book. 3) It's stop-motion animation. 4) I saw it on the big screen. But at least with the first three, it's a menage trois made in heaven. I always think Anderson's movies are refreshing, and I usually find stop-motion stuff refreshing, too. Combine the two, with Dahl's talking animal characters, and you've got something that's downright whimsical. Petey, one of the farmer's personal banjo players and almost a completely useless character, is my favorite character (voiced by Jarvis Cocker), but there isn't a character in this thing that isn't great. I thought the three farmers were really funny, but the majority of the screen time is talking animals. And I love when a cartoon has talking animals that are so human. Great voice acting, too, with a lot of Anderson regulars. The animation is spectacular although intentionally a little low-fi. There are lots of "How are they even pulling that off?" effects, and lots of times when there's an amazing amount of movement happening on the screen at once. This has a handful of laugh-out-loud moments, and although it almost goes a bit too far in the end, this is the type of movie that I'd love to watch again and again. Downright whimsical!
2009 seems like an incredible year for animated movies. And I've not even seen Ponyo, Mary and Max, or A Town Called Panic yet.
loved it. love how all the little bristles of fur are moving around. best clooney performance yet.
ReplyDeleteI don't know about best Clooney ("Up in the Air"?), but he is perfect in this. The first two-thirds of this film put an almost constant smile on my face. The animation is brilliant, the characters and plot were very entertaining, and I laughed a lot at dialogue and expressions (loved the possum eyes). It was all so original. My only gripes came after the cider flood. Logic flaws started to appear, and the action ending didn't really work for me (otherwise this would have been #4). All of the animals stuck in the sewar was kind of a big downer. Still, a 16 for a very entertaining film.
ReplyDelete'Life Aquatic' also erupts into this weird action thing at the end. In that one, I took it as parody. In 'Fox' it's more like something to appeal to the kids. I definitely understand your complaint though.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad there's still a place in our world for stop-motion animation.
I actually think you should rank this higher. There really are no weak parts to it, and its funny all the way through. What Cory seems to miss, is the animals are happy in the sewer because they have access to the three farmers supermarket, and they are completely safe.
ReplyDeleteThere are so many funny parts to this. The various toasts that Fox gives. The great voice work by everyone. Bill Murray, the kid who plays Kristofferson, Jason Shrwartzman (Who I normally cant stand) Willem Defoe is amazing as the rat, and most especially George Clooney, who really nails this entire movie.
The only weak spot I can find, and the only thing keeping this from a perfect 20, is the Meryl Streep voice work. She is flat and lifeless....she seems like a poor mate for the Fantastic Mr. Fox.
My favorite line of dialog, besides Chronic Rabies, Beagle Ticks and Pelt Lice, is this little gem at the end of the movie.
Mr. Fox: [loudly, to the wolf] Pensez-vous que l'hiver sera rude?
Mr. Fox: [aside] I'm asking if he thinks we're in for a hard winter.
It just completely cracked me up..it still does.
This is tied as my favorite modern animated film, with The Incredibles. I give this sucker a 19.
Hmm. So I'm not overly biased here? I guess that's good to know.
ReplyDeleteI do really enjoy the voice work in this one. And I don't remember if I mentioned it here or not, but their "borrowing" of the sound effect from 'The Man in the White Suit' for a cider-making machine (I think) is just brilliant.
I'm a cretin, so I'm not even sure why the quote you've shared is funny...
I see this one in bits and pieces every once in a while. My older daughter likes it. She also lets me play the Beach Boys in the car because she likes "Heroes and Villains" from this movie.