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Fantastic Mr. Fox (film)

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Fantastic Mr. Fox
Theatrical 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
Michael Gambon
Jarvis Cocker
Owen Wilson
Willem Dafoe
Helen McCrory
CinematographyTristan Oliver
Edited byAndrew Weisblum
Music byAlexandre Desplat
Production
companies
20th Century Fox Animation
Indian Paintbrush
Regency Enterprises
American Empirical Pictures
Distributed by20th Century Fox
Release date
  • November 25, 2009 (2009-11-25)
Running time
87 minutes
CountriesTemplate:Film US
Template:Film UK
LanguageEnglish
Budget$40 million[1]
Box office$46,293,911[1]

Fantastic Mr. Fox is a 2009 stop-motion animated film based on the Roald Dahl children's novel of the same name, released in the autumn of 2009. It was produced by Regency Enterprises and Indian Paintbrush, and features the voices of George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzman, and Bill Murray. It is the first animated film directed by Wes Anderson, and the first stop-motion animated film to be distributed by 20th Century Fox, also the first film by Anderson not to be rated R by the MPAA. Development on the project 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 2007 Revolution folded, Selick left to direct Coraline, and work on the film moved to 20th Century Fox. Production began in London in 2007.

Plot

While raiding a squab farm, Mr. Fox (George Clooney) and his wife Felicity (Meryl Streep) trigger a fox trap and become caged. Felicity reveals to Fox that she is pregnant and pleads with him to find a safer job should they escape.

Two years later, the Foxes and their sullen 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 tree is located very close to the enormous facilities run by farmers Walter Boggis (Robin Hurlstone), Nathan Bunce (Hugo Guinness), and Franklin Bean (Michael Gambon). Soon after the Foxes move in, Felicity's nephew Kristofferson (Eric Chase Anderson) comes to live with them, as his father has become very ill. Ash finds this situation intolerable considering his soft-spoken cousin is apparently superior to him in every possible aspect and seemingly everyone, including his own father, is charmed by Kristofferson at Ash's expense.

Fox and the opossum building superintendent, Kylie (Wallace Wolodarsky), make plans to steal various types of produce and poultry from the three farms, one by one. After all three heists are a success, the farmers decide to camp out near the Fox family's tree and kill Fox. When he emerges, the farmers open fire, only managing to shoot off his tail before he retreats back into his home. The farmers then attempt to dig Fox out, first by hand and then with three excavators. After tearing the hill site of the tree into a massive crater, the farmers discover that the Foxes have dug an escape tunnel deep underground.

Reasoning that the Foxes will eventually have to surface in search of food and water, the farmers lie in wait at the tunnel mouth. Underground, Fox encounters Badger and many of the other local animal residents whose homes have also been destroyed. As the animals begin to fear starvation, Fox leads a digging expedition to the three nearby farms, robbing them clean of Boggis' chickens, Bunce's ducks and geese, and Bean's turkeys, apples, and alcoholic cider. While the other animals feast, Ash and Kristofferson, beginning to reconcile after Kristofferson defended his cousin from a bully, return to Bean's farm, intending to reclaim Fox's tail, only to find that Bean has taken to wearing it as a necktie. When they are interrupted by the arrival of Bean's wife, Ash escapes but Kristofferson is captured.

After discovering that Fox has stolen all of their produce, the farmers decide to flood the animals' tunnel network by pumping it full of cider. The animals are forced to retreat into the sewers, and Fox learns that the farmers plan to use Kristofferson as bait to lure him into an ambush. They are soon confronted by Rat (Willem Dafoe), Bean's security guard. After a struggle with Fox that leaves him mortally wounded, Rat divulges Kristofferson's location.

Fox sends a message to the farmers, asking for a meeting in a town near the sewer hub wherein he will surrender in exchange for Kristofferson's freedom. The farmers set up an ambush, but Fox and the others anticipate it and launch a counterattack. Fox, Ash, and Kylie escape the scene at the town and slip into Bean’s farm. In the operation, a much matured Ash frees Kristofferson and later deeply impresses his father and the gang by braving enemy fire to release a rabid beagle loose to keep the farmers at bay while the group escapes back to the sewers. The group manage to grab Fox's tail from Bean as they flee the compound.

The animals become accustomed to living in the sewers, and Ash and Kristofferson have completely settled their differences and have become good friends, sharing meditation time together among other activities. Fox, now taking to wearing his tail as an pin-on, leads them to a drain opening that is built into the floor of a large supermarket, which is shown to the viewing audience to be owned by the three farmers. Celebrating their abundant new food source and the news that Felicity is pregnant again, the animals dance in the aisles.

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 stated that he signed on because Roald Dahl was one of his heroes.[7] 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.[8] The new scenes precede Mr. Fox's plan to steal from the three farmers and follow the farmers' bulldozing of the hill, beginning with the flooding of the tunnel. Selick left the project to work on the Neil Gaiman story Coraline in early 2006.[9] Mark Gustafson is his replacement.[10] 20th Century Fox became the project's home in October 2006 after Revolution folded.[11]

In September 2007, Anderson announced voice work would begin.[2] 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."[10] He said of the production design, "We want to use real trees and real sand, but it's all miniature."[2] Great Missenden, where Roald Dahl lived, has a major influence on the film's look.[7] The film mixes several forms of animation but consists primarily of stop motion.[11] Animation took place in London,[10] on stage C at 3 Mills Studio,[12] with Anderson directing the crew, many of whom 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.[citation needed]

Soundtrack

Untitled

The score for the film was composed by Alexandre Desplat. Jarvis Cocker commented that he wrote "three, four" songs for the film, one of which was included on the soundtrack.[15] The soundtrack also contains a selection of songs by The Beach Boys, The Bobby Fuller Four, Burl Ives, Georges Delerue, The Rolling Stones, and other artists.

A soundtrack album for the film was released on November 3, 2009. It contains the following tracks:[16]

No.TitleArtistLength
1."American Empirical Pictures"Alexandre Desplat0:15
2."The Ballad of Davy Crockett" (from Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier)The Wellingtons1:40
3."Mr. Fox in the Fields"Alexandre Desplat1:03
4."Heroes and Villains"The Beach Boys3:37
5."Fooba Wooba John"Burl Ives1:07
6."Boggis, Bunce, and Bean"Alexandre Desplat0:51
7."Jimmy Squirrel and Co."Alexandre Desplat0:46
8."Love" (from Robin Hood)Nancy Adams1:49
9."Buckeye Jim"Burl Ives1:19
10."High-speed French Train"Alexandre Desplat1:26
11."Whack-bat Majorette"Alexandre Desplat2:57
12."The Grey Goose"Burl Ives2:49
13."Bean's Secret Cider Cellar"Alexandre Desplat2:07
14."Une Petite Île" (from Two English Girls)Georges Delerue1:36
15."Street Fighting Man"The Rolling Stones3:15
16."Fantastic Mr Fox AKA Petey's Song"Jarvis Cocker1:21
17."Night and Day"Art Tatum1:28
18."Kristofferson's theme"Alexandre Desplat1:36
19."Just Another Dead Rat in a Garbage Pail (behind a Chinese Restaurant)"Alexandre Desplat2:34
20."Le Grand Choral" (from Day for Night)Georges Delerue2:24
21."Great Harrowsford Square"Alexandre Desplat3:21
22."Stunt Expo 2004"Alexandre Desplat2:28
23."Canis Lupus"Alexandre Desplat1:16
24."Ol' Man River"The Beach Boys1:18
25."Let Her Dance"The Bobby Fuller Four2:32

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] It went on general UK release on October 23, 2009, distributed by 20th Century Fox.[citation needed] A limited US release of the film began on November 13, 2009, followed by a nationwide release on November 25, 2009.[citation needed] As of January 28, 2010 the film has made $20,226,767 in the United States.[citation needed]

The film was released on DVD and Blu-Ray on March 23, 2010.[18]

Reception

Fantastic Mr. Fox has received positive reviews from a vast majority of critics,[19] with the film currently having a 93% 'Certified Fresh' rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 197 reviews (and 100 % of the site's 'Top Critics,' out of 36 reviews), becoming the second highest-rated animation film in 2009 in the site, behind Up.[20] Also, it has an 83 "universal acclaim" average review score from review aggregator Metacritic, which includes positive reviews from publications such as Rolling Stone and The New York Times.[21]

However, despite its critical success, it didn't gain a huge audience (although the film managed to gross slightly above the $40,000,000 budget). The film grossed $21,002,919 in the U.S., and $25,000,000 worldwide, making a total of $46,002,919 as of May 2010.[citation needed]

Awards

The film was nominated for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Score at the 82nd Academy Awards. The film has also nominated for the 2010 Critics Choice Awards for Best Animated Feature,[22] and the film was also nominated for The 2010 Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature Film,[23] but ultimately lost all the nominations to Up.

On January 14, 2010, the National Board of Review awarded Anderson a Special Filmmaking Achievement award.[24] After giving his acceptance speech, the audio of the speech was used in a short animation of Anderson's character (Weasel) giving the speech, animated by Payton Curtis, a key stop-motion animator on the film.[25]

References

  1. ^ a b "Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 28 January 2010.
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ Michael Fleming (August 6, 2008). "Streep in deep with Meyers". Variety. Retrieved August 8, 2008.
  4. ^ "Meryl Streep voicing a role in Wes Anderson's 'Fantastic Mr. Fox'". Entertainment Weekly. May 6, 2009. Retrieved May 6, 2009.
  5. ^ "EXCL: 1st Mr. Fox pic!". JoBlo.com. July 10, 2009. Retrieved July 11, 2009.
  6. ^ Max Evry (October 9, 2008). "Talking to City of Ember Mayor Bill Murray". ComingSoon.net. Retrieved October 9, 2008.
  7. ^ a b Gritten, David (November 17, 2007). "The Darjeeling Limited: Who needs a film set in LA when you have a speeding train in India?". The Telegraph. London. Retrieved November 22, 2007.
  8. ^ "Selick Crazy For Fox". Sci Fi Wire. December 15, 2004. Archived from the original on October 13, 2007. Retrieved November 22, 2007.
  9. ^ "Selick no longer at work on The Fantastic Mr. Fox". Ain't It Cool News. February 15, 2006. Retrieved July 11, 2006.
  10. ^ a b c Joe Utichi (November 22, 2007). "Interview: Wes Anderson talks Darjeeling Limited and Mr. Fox". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved November 22, 2007.
  11. ^ a b Michael Fleming (October 25, 2006). "Fox catches Dahl's Fox". Variety. Retrieved February 25, 2007.
  12. ^ "Who Are the Animators on Fantastic Mr. Fox?". Lineboil. January 12, 2010. Retrieved January 17, 2010.
  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. ^ http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001QOGYBI/
  19. ^ "Picture-book classic mixes the familiar and the stylish with imaginative results". Weekly Alibi.
  20. ^ "Fantastic Mr. Fox". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved January 12, 2010.
  21. ^ "Fantastic Mr. Fox". Metacritic. Retrieved 2010-01-12.
  22. ^ "15th Annual Critics Choice Award Nominees". ScreenCrave. Retrieved December 14, 2009.
  23. ^ "Nominations and Winners". Hollywood Foreign Press Assoc. Retrieved December 15, 2009.
  24. ^ "National Board of Review: Special Filmmaking Achievement award list". National Board of Review. Retrieved January 17, 2010.
  25. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTMSJ_qDC6o
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