The Mother-Cussing Mr Fox

And there I was thinking that Pixar's "Up" might walk away with the big animation honours in the upcoming awards season. Then Fantastic Mr Fox bounded up to me and I'm not so sure. It's difficult to compare quality because they're such different beasts. Up is a classically directed tale with a powerful emotional core.

Mr Fox isn't. This has indie director Wes Anderson's distinctive stamp all over it. The Kurickian shot framing, the whiplash recomposition of frames, the still, immobile camera plus the way characters talk directly into camera. Then you've got his script which, storywise, considerably elaborates on the plot of a clever fox stealing from three local farmers. Dialogue-wise...it's odd. Odd to the point I doubt if kids will get half of it. The discussions are very grown-up in nature, not in pervy way, but in all the talk of real-estate deals, career discussions and relationship debates.

Then there's the quirky humour. Half of this emerges from the subtly ironic, naturalistic banter (actually recorded on location for a more authentic vibe). The other from Anderson's pivoting, dollying camera....recomposing the shot to reveal the gag. Add to that some cool, vintage tunes, some surreal storytelling shots and a wholesale embracing of all things 'odd', and you've got yourself an animated classic.
George Clooney is great in the lead while Meryl Streep, Michael Gambon, Willen Defoe and Bill Murray have fun supporting roles.

Even if kids don't quite get the details in the dialogue, they'll be won over by the offbeat, old school, puppeted animation. It's doesn't get too dark (choosing light, comedic peril over making kids wince with tension) and the emphasis is always on the fun. Think the tone of another caper movie, The Italian Job. With foxes and badgers.

Funny throughout...I wanted to rewatch this again when I'd finished. Oh, and of course there's the swearing joke. The animal inhabitants of Anderson's universe swear,a lot, using a technique usually reserved for adult science fiction shows (which use Frak, Frell, Goram and Smeg to convey a swear word). Here the word is 'cuss'. Yep, you have to see it to believe it. So go see...