Last night I got to see a really excellent movie, one from a director that has received nothing but critical acclaim in his career thus far, but until recently hadn't really knocked my socks off. By this post's title you probably know I'm talking about Wes Anderson. His movies have always intrigued me beforehand, amused me throughout, but somehow had left me lacking the satisfaction I wanted. I know I'm in a minority with that, but that's OK. His last movie, however, really did knock my socks off. The Darjeeling Limited had been my favorite of his so far as I was really satisfied with the way that story unfolded. That said, his latest movie, Fantastic Mr. Fox, went beyond even that for me. This movie, an adaptation of Roald Dahl's classic book, sung to a part of me that made this childish giddiness come forth and take over my whole movie-going experience.
The story revolves around a fox family, brought forth by picturesque stop-motion animation, that has all kinds of little problems. Mr. Fox yearns to go back to chicken thieving, his son seriously wants to get his dad's respect, but it's pushed further when his perfect cousin comes to stay with them, and Felicity Fox, a struggling landscape artist, tries to keep it all together. Everything goes south when Mr. Fox's urges get the better of him, and he goes on a robbery spree ending with the local farmers hunting him. It all sounds bleaker than I've described, as its all done in a fun, very often hysterical, way. There's a few themes interweaving here, and they all come together in the end. George Clooney's virtuoso voice-acting breathes life into Mr. Fox like no one else has ever done so in an animated movie, and Jason Schwartzman's role as his son is equally up to the task.
By far, this was the most charming of Anderson's films. His film-making experience has definitely helped him make his most fully formed movie. You'd almost think that this was the one he was born to make, the movie he'd been building and honing his skills towards since Bottle Rocket. His stop-motion characters had all the grace and inventiveness of any actor he's ever directed. Their expressions and movements were priceless, and Anderson delicately moved them in a chorus of perfection befitting of any superior puppet-master. The story kept simple and honest was moved with the pace of the voice-actors' obvious glee towards the material, and the assemblage of actors voicing their counterparts was spot on amazing. Every last voice fit incredibly, and was enhanced greatly by all the wonderful nuances the artists put into their creations. The synchronization of voices and art achieves comedic genius, and I laughed heartily throughout.
Those artists worked some serious magic into every last detail, too. It was a sheer joy to watch every motion. They should feel very good with what they've created as their efforts were on par with any Pixar has made, and seems more impressive as it was all done by hand. To me, Wes Anderson created a masterpiece with Fantastic Mr. Fox, and they should all be proud. Somewhere, Roald Dahl must be as well.
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