Fantastic Mr. Fox
Husband and I took the kids to see Fantastic Mr. Fox and let’s just go ahead and get it out of the way: it was fantastic. It really was. I knew from the get-go I was going to love the movie, but Husband wasn’t as confident in the movie’s ability to deliver. I felt really triumphant when we left the theatre and he said it was one of the best movies he’d seen in a while. Admittedly, Fantastic Mr. Fox didn’t have much competition. The last three movies we went to the theatre for were movies you’d expect parents of a 5 and 6 year old to have seen: Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs (absurd but I laughed), Planet 41 (I stayed at home while Husband took one for the team), and Where the Wild Things Are (the great sound and beautiful scenery were not enough to make up for watching the magic of a beautiful kids tale die a slow, slow death).
Why adults will like Fantastic Mr. Fox:
Deadpan humor. If you like humor where half the amusement comes from the fact that the lines were said with a straight face, then you will like Fantastic Mr. Fox. With Wes Anderson at the helm, George Clooney in the lead, and Owen Wilson, Jason Schwartzman, and Bill Murray in supporting roles, Fantastic Mr. Fox is a veritable smorgasbord of deadpan comedians. All I can say is, bandit hat.
Nostalgic. We all grew up watching Rankin Bass films from the wonderful Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer to the creepy one where Santa joins the immortals, and I continue to watch them every Christmas, and sometimes Halloween (Mad Monster Party, anyone?). For all the love I have for Pixar, stop action animation has its place. It’s time it made a comeback.
Timeless. You’ll be able to watch Fantastic Mr. Fox ten years from now and it will still be as funny then as it is now. Unlike the beginning half of Eddie Murphy’s Delirious, you won’t be saying to yourself, “Wow, you can tell this came out in the early 80s.”
Why kids will like it:
Exciting and new. This is likely the first time any of our kids will see a stop-action animated film on the big screen. How cool is that?
For love of the fur. They’re animals! What kids don’t like animals? And these animals are taking on the man! With laced blueberries, flaming pinecones, and a mini motorcycle for two! Huzzah!
A history of classics. Fantastic Mr. Fox was written by Roald Dahl, one of my favorite authors, the man whose dark imagination brought us Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach, and Matilda. Is the movie different from the book? Sure. But it is a reasonable adaptation? Yes. And since this movie is based on a book, now you have another reason to entice your kids to go to the library and read something new. They can read this book and go on to read the rest of Roald Dahl’s works.
So there you have it. My completely subjective, give-it-all-the-love-I-have review of Fantastic Mr. Fox. Go see it. And enjoy. And if you don’t like, sorry about your sense of humor.
