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Fantastic Mr. Fox (film)

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Fantastic Mr. Fox
Official poster
Directed byWes Anderson
Written byWes Anderson
Noah Baumbach (screenplay)
Roald Dahl (book)
Produced byWes Anderson
Scott Rudin
Allison Abbate
Steven M. Rales
StarringGeorge Clooney
Meryl Streep
Jason Schwartzman
Bill Murray
Jarvis Cocker
Owen Wilson
Willem Dafoe
Helen McCrory
CinematographyTristan Oliver
Edited byAndrew Weisblum
Music byAlexandre Desplat
Production
companies
Distributed by20th Century Fox
Release dates
United Kingdom:
October 23, 2009
United States:
November 13, 2009 (limited)
November 25, 2009 (wide)[1]
Running time
87 minutes
CountriesTemplate:FilmUK
Template:FilmUS
LanguageEnglish
Budget$30,000,000
Box office$13,908,315[2]

Fantastic Mr. Fox is a Template:Fy stop-motion animated film based on Roald Dahl's book of the same name. It was produced by Regency Enterprises and Indian Paintbrush, and premiered on October 14, 2009 at the London Film Festival. It went on general UK release on October 23, 2009, distributed by 20th Century Fox. It was limited released in the US on November 13, 2009 and released everywhere on November 25, 2009. It features the voices of George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzman, and Bill Murray. It is the first animated film directed by Wes Anderson, and 20th Century Fox's first stop-motion animated film.

Development began in 2004 as collaboration between Anderson and Henry Selick (who worked with Anderson on the 2004 film The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou) under Revolution Studios. In 2006 Revolution folded, Selick left to direct Coraline, and the project moved to 20th Century Fox. Production began in London in 2007. Anderson chose to record voices outside rather than in a studio.

Plot

While raiding a chicken farm, Mr. Fox and his wife Felicity (George Clooney, Meryl Streep) trigger a trap that drops a cage over them. Felicity reveals that she is pregnant and pleads with Fox to find a safer job as soon as possible.

Two years later, the Foxes and their son Ash (Jason Schwartzman) are living in a hole. Fox, now a newspaper columnist, decides to move the family into a better home and buys one in the base of a tree, ignoring the warnings of his lawyer Badger (Bill Murray). The location is very close to the enormous facilities run by farmers Walter Boggis (chickens), Nathan Bunce (ducks and geese), and Franklin Bean (Michael Gambon) (turkeys and apples, the latter for making cider).

Soon after the Foxes move in, Ash’s cousin Kristofferson (Eric Chase Anderson) arrives for an extended stay. Kris performs better than Ash in schoolwork and athletics, prompting jealousy and resentment from Ash. Meanwhile, Fox and the opossum building superintendent Kylie (Wallace Wolodarsky) make plans to steal from the three farms, one by one. They succeed each time, bringing Kris along for the raid on Bean’s cider cellar, but are almost foiled by both Bean’s wife and his security guard Rat (Willem Dafoe).

Deciding to try and kill Fox, the three farmers camp outside near the family home. When the team emerges again, they open fire and blow off Fox’s tail, which Bean later begins to wear as a necktie. Next the farmers attempt to dig Fox out by hand, but he and the family foil them by burrowing even deeper underground. Bean has three excavators delivered to the site; he, Boggis, and Bunce tear up the entire hill on which the tree is growing and uncover the Foxes’ escape tunnel.

Reasoning that the Foxes will eventually have to surface in search of food and water, the farmers and their men lie in wait at the tunnel mouth. Underground, Fox encounters Badger and many of the other local residents whose homes were also destroyed. They are counting on him to save them, so he leads them on a digging expedition that allows them to plunder all three farms and feast on the spoils.

Meanwhile, Ash and Kris team up to steal Fox’s tail back from Bean’s farm. They search the area, only to realize from a television news broadcast that Bean is still wearing it. When they are interrupted by the arrival of Bean’s wife, Ash escapes but Kris is captured.

Once the farmers discover the animals' tunnel network, Bean decides to flood them out by pumping it full of cider. The animals are forced to retreat into the sewers, and Fox learns that the farmers plan to use Kris as bait to lure him into an ambush. As he makes his way toward the surface, Felicity and the others desperately search the tunnels for any sign of Kris, but are confronted by Rat. He tells them that Bean is willing to trade Kris (whom he believes to be Fox’s son) for Fox; when Ash corrects him, he grabs Ash and tries to haul him away despite Felicity’s attempt to intervene.

Fox returns to protect his son and brawls with Rat, eventually throwing him against some high-voltage wires and electrocuting him. As Rat lies dying, he divulges Kris’ location and asks for some of Bean’s cider, the only thing he ever wanted from his career. Fox feeds him some sewer muck, which he believes to be delicious cider, then lets his dead body float away on a current of sewage.

Now Fox sends a message to the farmers, asking for a meeting in a town near the sewer hub wherein he will hand himself over in exchange for Kris’ freedom. The farmers set up an ambush, but Fox and the others are ready for it and launch a counterattack. Fox, Ash, and Kylie then leave the battle and slip into Bean’s farm, where Ash frees Kris and turns a rabid beagle loose to keep the farmers at bay while the group escapes. They also recover Fox’s tail, but not before the rabid dog mauls the fur off it.

Though the animals are still trapped in the sewers, Fox leads them to a drain opening that is built into the floor of a large supermarket owned by the three farmers. They celebrate their new food source, Fox’s “completely detachable” tail, and Felicity’s announcement that she is pregnant again as the couple shares a dance in the aisle.

Cast

Production

Joe Roth and Revolution Studios bought the film rights to Fantastic Mr Fox in 2004. Wes Anderson signed on as director with Henry Selick, who worked with Anderson on The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, as animation director. Anderson signed on because Roald Dahl is one of his heroes.[8] In adapting the novel, the story the novel covers would amount to the second act of the film. Anderson added new scenes to serve for the film's beginning and end.[9] Selick left the project to work on the Neil Gaiman story Coraline in early 2006.[10] Mark Gustafson is his replacement.[11] 20th Century Fox became the project's home in October 2006 after Revolution folded.[12]

In September 2007, Anderson announced voice work would begin.[3] The director chose to record the voices outside rather than in a studio: "We went out in a forest, [..] went in an attic, [and] went in a stable. We went underground for some things. There was a great spontaneity in the recordings because of that."[11] He said of the production design, "We want to use real trees and real sand, but it's all miniature."[3] Great Missenden, where Roald Dahl lived, has a major influence on the film's look.[8] The film mixes several forms of animation but consists primarily of stop motion.[12] Animation took place in London,[11] with Anderson directing the crew who animated Tim Burton's Corpse Bride.[13] Selick, who kept in contact with Anderson, said the director would act out scenes while in Paris and send them to the animators via iPhone.[14]

Fantastic Mr. Fox is Regency Enterprises' first completely-animated film.

Soundtrack

Jarvis Cocker commented that he wrote three or four songs for the film, one of which was included on the soundtrack.[15]

The released soundtrack includes the following[16]:

  1. "American Empirical Pictures" - Alexandre Desplat
  2. "The Ballad of Davy Crockett" - The Wellingtons (from Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier)
  3. "Mr. Fox in the Fields" - Alexandre Desplat
  4. "Heroes and Villains" - The Beach Boys
  5. "Fooba Wooba John" - Burl Ives
  6. "Boggis, Bunce, and Bean" - Alexandre Desplat
  7. "Jimmy Squirrel and Co." - Alexandre Desplat
  8. "Love" - Nancy Adams
  9. "Buckeye Jim" - Burl Ives
  10. "High-Speed French Train" - Alexandre Desplat
  11. "Whack-Bat Majorette" - Alexandre Desplat
  12. "The Grey Goose" - Burl Ives
  13. "Bean's Secret Cider Cellar" - Alexandre Desplat
  14. "Une Petite Île" - Georges Delerue (from Two English Girls)
  15. "Street Fighting Man" - The Rolling Stones
  16. "Fantastic Mr. Fox AKA Petey's Song" - Jarvis Cocker
  17. "Night and Day" - Art Tatum
  18. "Kristofferson's Theme" - Alexandre Desplat
  19. "Just Another Dead Rat in a Garbage Pail (behind a Chinese Restaurant)" - Alexandre Desplat
  20. "Le Grand Choral" - Georges Delerue (from Day for Night)
  21. "Great Harrowsford Square" - Alexandre Desplat
  22. "Stunt Expo 2004" - Alexandre Desplat
  23. "Canis Lupus" - Alexandre Desplat
  24. "Ol' Man River" - The Beach Boys
  25. "Let Her Dance" - Bobby Fuller Four

Release

The film had its world premiere as the opening film of the 53rd edition of the London Film Festival on October 14, 2009.[17]

Reception

Fantastic Mr. Fox has received very positive reviews from critics[18], with the film currently having a 92% 'Certified Fresh' rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 145 reviews.[19]. Also, it has a 86 "universal acclaim" average review score from review aggregator Metacritic, which includes very positive reviews from publications such as Rolling Stone and The New York Times. It also received a very positive review from The Arts Section.[20]

References

  1. ^ "Release Dates for Fantastic Mr. Fox". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved November 15, 2009.
  2. ^ http://www.the-numbers.com/movies/2009/MRFOX.php Box Office
  3. ^ a b c d Josh Horowitz (September 26, 2007). "Wes Anderson Enlists Bill Murray For 'The Fantastic Mr. Fox'". MTV Movies Blog. Retrieved September 26, 2007.
  4. ^ Michael Fleming (August 6, 2008). "Streep in deep with Meyers". Variety. Retrieved August 8, 2008.
  5. ^ "Meryl Streep voicing a role in Wes Anderson's 'Fantastic Mr. Fox'". Entertainment Weekly. May 6, 2009. Retrieved May 6, 2009.
  6. ^ "EXCL: 1st Mr. Fox pic!". JoBlo.com. July 10, 2009. Retrieved July 11, 2009.
  7. ^ Max Evry (October 9, 2008). "Talking to City of Ember Mayor Bill Murray". ComingSoon.net. Retrieved October 9, 2008.
  8. ^ a b "The Darjeeling Limited: Who needs a film set in LA when you have a speeding train in India?". The Telegraph. November 17, 2007. Retrieved November 22, 2007.
  9. ^ "Selick Crazy For Fox". Sci Fi Wire. December 15, 2004. Retrieved November 22, 2007.
  10. ^ "Selick no longer at work on The Fantastic Mr. Fox". Ain't It Cool News. February 15, 2006. Retrieved July 11, 2006.
  11. ^ a b c Joe Utichi (November 22, 2007). "Interview: Wes Anderson talks Darjeeling Limited and Mr. Fox". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved November 22, 2007.
  12. ^ a b Michael Fleming (October 25, 2006). "Fox catches Dahl's Fox". Variety. Retrieved February 25, 2007.
  13. ^ Edward Douglas (February 2, 2009). "Henry Selick on Making Coraline". ComingSoon.net. Retrieved February 2, 2009.
  14. ^ Steve Prokopy (February 2, 2009). "Capone Talks with CORALINE Director and Wizard Master Henry Selick!!!". Ain't It Cool News. Retrieved February 2, 2009.
  15. ^ Brent DiCrescenzo (July 17, 2008). "From the UK to the Magic Kingdom". Time Out. Retrieved August 8, 2008.
  16. ^ http://www.slashfilm.com/2009/09/21/fantastic-mr-fox-soundtrack-listing/
  17. ^ Ben Child (July 28, 2009). "Fantastic Mr Fox to open London Film Festival=[[The Guardian]]". Retrieved July 28, 2009. {{cite news}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help)
  18. ^ "Picture-book classic mixes the familiar and the stylish with imaginative results". Weekly Alibi.
  19. ^ "Fantastic Mr. Fox". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved November 3, 2009.
  20. ^ "Film: Fantastic Mr. Fox". The Arts Section. Retrieved November 20, 2009.
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