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Massawyrm says Wes Anderson +Roald Dahl = a perfect family film! FANTASTIC MR. FOX...
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
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Even Anderson's worst has its moments
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This movie looks about as exciting as watching grass grow. Pass! I also grew up with the idea that shitty stop motion is painful to watch, and this definitely looks like shitty stop motion.
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Oct 22, 2009 9:47:09 AM CDT
Let's face it - Massa is the best reviewer on the site...
by juansanchez
from a writing point of view at least. His are the most accessible, most coherent on the site.
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This movie looks about as exciting as watching grass grow. Pass! I also grew up with the idea that shitty stop motion is painful to watch, and this definitely looks like shitty stop motion.
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This movie looks about as exciting as watching grass grow. Pass! I also grew up with the idea that shitty stop motion is painful to watch, and this definitely looks like shitty stop motion.
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I would probably plunk down $10+ to see it. But nothing other than Murray interests me about his picture.
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http://tinyurl.com/ygdynxz
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Tell your mom I said hi.
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have been waiting for this movie for a long time and it looks so much better than I ever imagined it would. I cannot wait to see this, but alas, I must.
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...mood dramatically after the trailer for CHRISTMAS CAROL gave me indigestion. Calmed me right down.
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When it's a skunk taunting a fox it'll probably go down a lot smoother. But how will he make it clear the animals are yuppies? And most importantly, how many intergenerational love triangles can he pile on this time?
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Really, it looks creepy. It reminds me of a story I once read about Potter's Museum of Curiosities, a collection which contains the remnants of a creepy Victorian-era fad called "tableaux", which involved using dead stuffed kittens to portray cute little family scenes. The most famous is one called "The Kitten Wedding" where 20 of the little stuffed, glass-eyed kitties proclaim their vows before a little stuffed kitten vicar. Taxidermy Disney style. The only thing more stomach-turning would be to see those fuzzy zombies actually MOVE, and now we can experience something very like that thanks to Wes Anderson! No thank yew. Blechh!!!
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I've seen a couple of clips and it looks like quite a fast paced, intelligent and charming film. I have to admit when i first saw the stop motion i didn't think much of it but now it really has grown on me and will really make this stand out
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Sound like it is everything Where the Wild Things Are wasn't but should have been.
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Cause, of course, WTWTA is a boring whine fest. Super stoked, however, for some postive Wes Anderson vibes from FMF, though I have two concerns: (1) Has he strayed too far from Dahl's book? Looks like he's really gone off the rails with new characters and contemporary plot points; (2) Is George Clooney's voice too obtrusive? In the trailer, it was definitely the fantastic Mr. Clooney . . .
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He is a badger.
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at least was in Baby Snakes by Zappa...holy sheep shit that was some amazing stuff
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...and i'll take Wes Anderson's self-indulgent movies over most of the mainstream hack director's self-indulgent shit any day. BTW The Life Aquatic is criminally underrated. I love Bill Murray in that one.
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Oct 22, 2009 1:44:42 PM CDT
How To Direct A Movie By Email by Wes Anderson
by richard_gere_raped_my_gerbil
Or so the people who worked on the movie are saying.Got an email account? You could be the next Lynch, Nolan or Spielberg!
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I've seen a special over in the uk where anderson pretty much admits that. He pretty much gave the visuals a quick once over each day and stated what he wanted changing. With stop motion being such a slow process though, i don't really see any other way of doing it.
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Oct 22, 2009 1:57:18 PM CDT
I'm a fool in love when it comes to Wes Anderson movies, so....
by harrycalder
I can't WAIT to see this. Stop-motion animation from the director of "Rushmore," "The Life Aquatic" and "The Royal Tenenbaums?" Ab. So. Lutely. (loved all the crabs and fishies in TLA).
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Out of the five movies he's done? You act like he's got some HUGE catalog of movies. I would say the last two sure, but not The Royal Tenenbaums.
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What would an Aardman Fantastic Mr. Fox movie have been like? Besides better.
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It's good. But I preferred Rushmore, Life Aquatic and Tenenbaums, This one adheres to a stock action movie forumla towards the end. Even as it tries to undercut it, it is still following that forumla, so there's less time for the Anderson goodness. But the first 2/3 are great fun. And near the very end, the bit with the wolf is my favourite moment in the whole movie. Recommended!
Oh, and Bill Murray in real life seems a little broken inside. -
Is there something wrong with me? I *want* to like his movies, but the twee, hermetically-sealed whimsy and abuse of wide-angle lenses get annoying pretty quickly.
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No, actually it's not. Apparently he wasn't doing anything at the time that the movie was being made. He wasn't directing another movie, he wasn't doing promotion - NOTHING. He simply couldn't be BOTHERED to go in and help out.This is a Wes Anderson movie that he barely had any physical involvement. If my boss decided all of the decisions and directed everything from his bedroom by email for several months because he couldn't be bothered to come in to work, i'd be PISSED.It's only a retarded criticism because you don't have the capacity to understand the criticism in the first place.
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But I'm guessing Massawyrm thought the trailer gave an accurate portrayal of the movie he saw, and the film didn't contain any heavy themes or ideas because, let's face it, children shouldn't have to think. Pesci forbid a children's movie actually tries to say something. Sheltering children under the conservative shroud of christ and America, that's what our fucked up children need
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The people who worked on this movie are unusually vocal about how upset they were about it.
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Has made some of the best films to come out of America in the past 25 years. This one doesn't interest me much, regardless of how he decided to go about his directorial duties, but I have no doubt it will be alright, and will do horrible at the box office. Poor Wes Anderson just can't catch a break
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They converge around Urban Outfitters. As for myself, I've only liked two of his films (Rushmroe and Royal Tenenbaums). After that he just kept repeating himself with his daddy issues. I'm hoping Fox is an improvement.
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Looks really cute.
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i'm a big fan of anderson's previous work and i couldn't even tell you what an Urban Outfitters is!
can't wait to see mr. fox either! -
I used to love that stuff. I wonder if it's on DVD. The Fantastic Mr. Fox is one of the few remaining must see movies of the year for moi.
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I get pissed at you, but you always write solid reviews. Good work sir.
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When Wes Anderson just went on record to say its not for kids
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I assure you that your 8mm kids movies are NOTHING like Wes Andersons film lol A leeetle dilussion of granduer there? lol ;)
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really enjoyed it. i think it might be my favourite. naysayer be dammed.
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I imagined Mr Fox to be more like Wind In The Willows, with English accents.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKXeJ6YMwQk&feature=related
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