Hey everyone. Capone in Chicago here.

FANTASTIC MR. FOX might be the single most charming film I’ve seen all year, and I choose that word carefully and specifically. Charm is one of the most difficult things to get across in the film. You can like or love a movie and its characters well enough, but charm is a different monster. It’s about winning over an audience to the point where we’d actually like to hang out more with these characters in the universe the director has created. There’s a comfort element to the experience that you don’t get with many films, even ones you adore. But FANTASTIC MR. FOX, based on the novel by Roald Dahl, is loaded to the gills with charm, sweetness, and humor without abandoning the irreverent wit and distinct visual style that director and co-writer (along with his LIFE AQUATIC co-screenwriter Noah Baumbach) Wes Anderson injects into all his film.

The charm comes a bit easier with great actors like George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Bill Murray, Willem Dafoe, and Jason Schwartzman lending their unique voices and personality to an the array of animal characters (mostly foxes) in this stop-motion wonderment. But the splendor of FANTASTIC MR. FOX goes far beyond carefully chosen voice actors. There's a warm, homemade quality to the entire production, and the stop-motion animation is just sloppy enough (to the point where you can see the fur move under the invisible fingers of the animators) that it feels like something made of love as well as sophistication. This isn't trying to be a slick, polished work (like the lovely CORALINE); it's rough around the edges both in terms of the look and sound (the actors were often recorded as a group out of doors on makeshift sets that resembled those used for the animation).

Perhaps the most bizarre quality to the film is that the animals brought to life here don't look like exaggerated version of the creatures they are supposed to be. The foxes look like stuffed foxes, the rat looks like a rat, the badger look freakishly like a real badger, etc. And occasionally (like when they eat) act like animals too, when they aren't wearing clothes and going to their jobs as newspaper men or laweyrs or whatever their lot in life might be. Mr. Fox (Clooney) gets a job as a columnist, paid to speak his mind. His wife (Streep) is supportive but suspects that he might be back to his old ways of stealing from the local farmers. Their son Ash (Schwartman, in what might be my favorite performance in the film) is the tempestuous, envious kid who actually acts and talks like a real teen. When the couple's near-perfect nephew Kristofferson (Eric Anderson, the director's brother) comes to stay with the family, Ash feels particularly threatened, and his reactions are priceless.

The plot involves a group of scavenger animals, including Mr. Fox, breaking into farms owned by three of the nastiest and most protected farmers around, for the sole purpose of helping the entire underground dwelling community, who are slowly going hungry. It's kind of like CHICKEN RUN in reverse. One of the many remarkable treats about FANTASTIC MR. FOX is how beautiful the set designs are. There's a depth and scope to them that is detailed and perfect. There are little implements scattered throughout the sets that make them look completely authentic, while maintaining an utterly surreal edge. And Anderson's signature themes and visual hooks are all still in place. Once again, he's examining a troubled family, there are a great number of camera set ups where the characters are either looking directly at the camera or are in profile while they talk to another character. Above all else, however, Anderson's use of music is flawless. Opening with The Beach Boys' "Heroes and Villains" is a stroke of magic, and including the love song from the Disney version of ROBIN HOOD (in which the titular character is a fox, remember) was a lovely touch.

Not to sound like a broken record, but I keep coming back to how much charm FANTASTIC MR. FOX radiates. It's not trying to set off fireworks or dazzle you with digital creations. This is a film that invites its young and old audiences to find things to love about its homemade aesthetic. Adults will love the level of humor and cleverly created family drama, while youngsters will swoon at it for entirely different reasons. Both will marvel at the rich, lush and inviting scenery while getting pulled in by these marvelously layered characters. Now show me the closest bar where a guy can grab a beer with his foxy new friends.

-- Capone
therealcapone@aintitcoolmail.com
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