Fantastic Mr. Fox is like watching a fusion of Ocean’s Eleven and Over the Hedge on three tabs of acid. There’s an initial creepiness to the film’s stop-motion animation that lessens over time but still guarantees a few nightmares of fox puppets locking lips. Nevertheless, Wes Anderson’s seventh film finally gets it right.
Mr. Fox (George Clooney) has a propensity for theft — something he gave up once his son was born. Two years later (12 in fox years), he decides to orchestrate one last grand heist: robbing the three nastiest, wealthiest, scariest farmers on his side of the river. Everything goes according to plan at first, but the three farmers eventually decide to fight back, jeopardizing the livelihoods of Mr. Fox and his family.
The film excels beyond Anderson’s previous projects in that its comedy has finally become accessible. It flourishes where The Darjeeling Limited and The Life Aquatic fell flat, enjoying its humor rather than leaving its audience on the outside of an inside joke. Ostensibly a children’s movie, it replaces the use of swearwords with ‘cuss,’ leaving little to the imagination and giving the adult crowd an extra chuckle at Mr. Fox’s casual use of ‘clustercuss’ and ‘mindcuss’.
Fitted with smart dialogue and pacing, it’s prime choice for the film’s pitch-perfect cast. Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzman and Bill Murray bring Anderson’s playful wit to life, conveying their unique offbeat humor even through their furry animated onscreen doppelgangers.
In the end, it’s a story of a survival. “Deep down, I’m a wild animal,” says Mr. Fox, and surviving each other’s flaws becomes more important than surviving enemies.
4 stars Directed by: Wes Anderson Voices of: George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Bill Murray Rated PG, 87 min.
