Hola all. Massawyrm here.
Wes Anderson has made his most accessible film to date. After a long, slow slide into self indulgence, he has snapped back into the realm of mainstream filmmaking by lending his brilliance to Roald Dahl’s FANTASTIC MR. FOX. Now, I like Anderson’s work quite a bit, but the last three films have been a continuing dive into what felt like he was more interested in making film’s for himself than for audiences. And while there’s nothing wrong with that per se, the audiences for his films were getting smaller and smaller; a sad fact, especially since I find Anderson thematically to be one of the greatest directors working today.
His films all have one common thread: Anderson is absolutely, head over heels in love with the idea of awkwardness and oddity. He populates his films with intelligent social misfits then proceeds to put them into direct contact with the “normal” world. In doing so, these characters are often forced to re-evaluate their place in the world and the way they interact with it; but the conclusions differ wildly from more mainstream filmmaker’s work. In a regular film a dork, nerd, loser or just plain all around misfit might get his act together or conversely find the rest of the world accepting who he is. In an Anderson film, the misfit in question comes to accept who he is and grows stronger as a result; “normal” world be damned.
Most importantly, Anderson wants us to laugh WITH his characters rather than AT them. Even when they are the butt of the joke, you can feel that Anderson loves every single one of them. He makes films about dysfunctional families becoming functional in their own weird little ways. And I LOVE that about him, even when I’m not a fan of one of his particular films.
Which is why I was absolutely thrilled with FANTASTIC MR. FOX. It is everything Anderson does perfectly brought to the realm of family entertainment. The story is a very simple one, and one a lesser director could have easily fumbled and turned into a by the numbers, easily forgotten kids film. It’s about a fox who takes his midlife crisis too far and earns the ire of three very ornery farmers who decide it is time to bring the hammer down. But while it is an action packed, comedy treat, Anderson adds several layers of subtext by filling the stop-motion roles with his usual brand of lovable eccentrics. Most of the archetypes in this film should be readily apparent to even the most casual Anderson fan. Hell, he’s even gone as far as to cast the same actors who often play those roles for him in his live action films.
But best of all, there isn’t a frame of this film that doesn’t look like a Wes Anderson film. If you took his name off of this and showed it to a room full of critics, they would all walk out wondering why that director had such a hard-on for Anderson’s style. This thing is dripping with it. The film is funny, moving and more than a little beautifully absurd. It opens with a bang and from then on, there is never a moment when something isn’t happening. The film is chock full of adventure, but all the while it is developing complex relationships between its characters.
A wonderfully elegant film about family, acceptance and simply accepting your nature and finding strength in it, this is one of those great classics that will age with your child, gain meaning and holds within it wisdom for audiences of any age. Incredibly smart and razor sharp, this is easily Anderson’s best script since RUSHMORE. Devoid of any of the standard, bottom feeding kid’s movie jokes, this film aims far above the standard fare, attempting to become something timeless rather than something hip.
And then of course there is the animation style, where the film REALLY stands out. There is something delightfully nostalgic about it, but at the same time, it is framed like a feature film. Rather than the close-ups you’d normally get in stop motion, the camera pulls back and allows its figures to exist in environments and storybook vistas. Anderson has always had a sort of storybook vibe to his films, and here he is allowed to go full out and get as cheesy and indulgent as he wants to while staying well within the bounds of what you would expect from a family film.
Easily one of the best family films of the year, this will delight child and critic alike – as well as everyone in between. And while I still hold UP as the best family film of the year, this takes a close second while being the more profound of the two. Expect this to be the film most folks end up agreeing on. Anderson has come back in a big way to prove his genius to the masses who might now backtrack to seek out and educate themselves on his work. A pure delight from beginning to end, this film comes HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
Until next time friends, smoke ‘em if ya got ‘em.
Massawyrm
Got something for the Wyrm? Mail it here.
