Fantastic Mr. Fox (Three-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo) (2009)

Ordinarily, I watch a movie one time. On rare occasion, twice. Has to be a really special movie (or highly quotable, a la Caddyshack or Pulp Fiction) for me to desire multiple viewings.

That said, I can't stop watching "The Fantastic Mr. Fox". The animation is fascinating, the voices are perfect, and the writing and vibe are pure Wes Anderson. On every subsequent viewing, more details come to light. The expressions on the faces of the characters, the way they eat (you'll have to see it), etc. Can't stop watching. Every wordless gesture invites repeated viewing. i.e., something as simple as Kylie shrugging his shoulders and grinning caused me to watch it over and over. Same with Ash turning to look at the camera after a redemption of sorts.

I'm almost embarrassed by how much I like this movie. I'm 46 years old, for crying out loud. But I do.

When I saw previews for this film in the theatre, by wife and I exchanged eye-rolls. So when I borrowed a friend's copy out of sheer boredom with the current panoply of predictable, music video children's films, my expectations were low. In fact, we began this film close to the kid's bedtime so I'd have a reasonable excuse to bail out early.

Well, the kids loved this movie and so did I. It's wonderfully paced, the animal characters are idiosyncratic and immensely likable, and the dialogue is conversational and amusing. I don't like when an animated children's film includes a stratum of adult innuendo. That, to me, is targeted marketing, and those carefully distributed oblique references that make mom and dad chuckle exist to compensate for a weak story. No gimmicks here. Funny situations, cleverly crafted characters, technically superb animation, and a novel story.

We've must've seen it 10x since that first night. Any other film and I would have accidentally lost the video by now.

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Frankly, they had me by opening the movie with "The Ballad of Davy Crockett," which by the way, is mistakenly listed in the credits as performed by The Wellingtons. Actually it is the soundtrack version by the MelloMen, but I've seen it mislabeled elsewhere too. And the highly underrated "Love" from "Robin Hood." How nice.

The entire score is as unconventional as the film -dominated by banjo and rhythm tracks to give it an "independent film" texture rather than the now-obligatory John Williams-type score (not that I don't love those scores too, this is just a fresh approach and avoids the modern factory film feel).

Even the titles are clever, all in keeping not only with a singular director's vision, but also very much in the Roald Dahl style. This particular book, by the way, is perhaps one of the most challenging to bring to film since it is one of the few Dahl stories without magical fantasy elements.

I think the overall takeaway, and the thread through all the other comments on this topic is -intelligence. That's a prized commodity in so much of today's entertainment, animated or otherwise. This is a film as smart as a fox.

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The Fantastic Mr. Fox isn't a roll of the floor funny type film, but it is one of the funniest films I've seen all year. The film moves along at a quick pace and while no one joke blows you away that fact the it remains funny from start to finish is an achievement that is seldom, well.....achieved!

The animation is quirky almost trippy, kind of like Robot Chicken and Adult Swim type stuff. The voice acting is also strong with Clooney, Murray and company giving the furry characters life. I may not have laughed so hard my stomach ached, but I had a smile on my face from start to finish and that doesn't happen often enough. The DVD transfer looks great, but the extras are pretty bland.

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I haven't seen a lot of films by Wes Anderson. I've seen (and loved) `The Royal Tenenbaums' and I saw (and found highly overrated) `Rushmore'. Even with only those two viewings though, it is apparent that Anderson has a unique style, visually as well as vocally. His humor is very dry to the point where he is either astonishingly clever or almost too gimmicky.

Ok, forget it. I was going to go into this longwinded (as usual) spiel about how Wes Anderson's style is apparent all over this film, but in a good way, but I'm getting too impatient.

All I want to say is, "THIS MOVIE IS FANTASTIC"!

If you know me then you know that I don't normally get overly excited about animated films. Sure, there are the occasional animated features that really reach me, but as a rule I'm not entirely drawn to them. There was something about this film though, that grabbed me from the first promo I saw. I just knew that I HAD TO SEE THIS! I took my daughter (my wife refused to go) and I liked it more than she did (to be fair, this is a very adult cartoon with mature humor and a bland color palate that fails to ignite the interest of a toddler). This is not you average `laugh out loud' type of comedy, but if you are familiar with Anderson then you know that that is not his style.

This humor is subtle yet totally spot on.

The story is that of Mr. Fox, a retired chicken thief who has settled into the life of husband and father, yet he still feels that aching need for adventure. When Mr. Fox attempts to get his thrills in by stealing from three very nasty men, he finds that these men will stop at nothing to destroy Mr. Fox and his family.

The voice work couldn't have been better. The deadpan delivery suits comic actors like Bill Murray and Jason Schwartzman effortlessly, but even George Clooney and Meryl Streep fall beautifully into line. Anderson's direction captures the humor in every scene, and his ascetic is seen all over the place, to glorious effect. I'd easily say that Schwartzman is best in show (I never thought I'd ever say that about him). His voice work totally embodies his character (Ash is just such a brilliant creation) to the point where his every word and action is undeniably unforgettable.

I will say this, the film is not really one I'd recommend for young children, you know, when they are going through that `impressionable stage'. Some of the dialog, while not explicit, could be objectionable to parents. If you don't want your children running around using the word `cuss' in place of colorful expressions you might want to keep them away from this. This is a Roald Dahl adaptation, so the darker themes are to be expected (there are some deaths on screen and some malicious violence), but they are handled with wit and cleverness (that "soap" line is priceless).

I totally recommend this for any adult willing to embrace his inner child!

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