Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)

Genre: Comedy

Directed by: Wes Anderson

Starring: George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzman

Running time: 87 minutes

In my quest to see and review everything in the Wes Anderson catalogue, I came upon his stop-motion animated comedy from 2009, Fantastic Mr. Fox. A list of talented actors, including a few Wes Anderson regulars, has given their voice to the characters. Among the voices, we can hear George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray and Willem Dafoe.

This film, which is based on the Roald Dahl children’s novel of the same name, tells the story of a fox who steals food over and over again from mean and rich farmers. Fed up, the farmers strike a plan to kill their robber and undertake to dig their way into the fox’s homes. Like all foxes, the animals will have to be cunning to survive the onslaught.

Maybe it is the stop-motion style of animation, that has never been my thing, but I had a real hard time getting into this film. In the end, I never really got there. Still, I must mention the soundtrack, which, again, in true Wes Anderson style, is remarkable. The wit of the dialogue is also something I noticed.

Fantastic Mr. Fox has appealed to many people over the last few years; I guess I was not the right public for it.

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