Wes Anderson's defiant and simplistic adaptation of this classic Roald Dahl tale about a wily fox and his chicken-stealing exploits is as clever, neurotic and strangely moving as any Royal Tenenbaums or Darjeeling Limited fan would expect. Amidst a filmic landscape crowded with super high-quality, three-dimensional children's CGI movies, Anderson's first feature length animation presents us with an adorably old school stop-motion similar to that of Michel Gondry's The Science of Sleep. The wiry, bristling fox fur makes no latest-technology promises, but instead provides a simple charm and character that no computer-generated Pixar flick could offer.Mr. Fox (George Clooney) and his family display all the endearingly dysfunctional qualities I've come to love in Anderson's films, and this is key to the expansions on the book that have been made. Mr. Fox, an overbearing father figure, struggles to connect with his self-loathing son, Ash (Jason Schwarzman), who wants so desperately to be athletic but seems to fall at every hurdle. The situation is made worse by the arrival of Kristofferson (Eric Anderson), a distant cousin who proves to be a natural sportsman, martial artist and ladies' man, stealing precious, parental attention away from Ash. Mr. Fox recruits Kristofferson, along with several other animals of the community - all of whom are either given more attention than in the book, or until the film had not even existed - to help him outsmart the gruesome local farmers, Boggis, Bunce and Bean. All this is sighed over by Mr. Fox's disapproving wife (Meryl Streep), who - after a near-death experience during her last chicken theft - is at her wit's end.
Those offended by the Americanisation of British classics may want to tread carefully, since the good guys in this film are exclusively American and the evil farmers all have distinctive British accents. I didn't read this as a demonisation of the English though; the world above ground where the humans live is clearly an Olde Englishe setting, but the animals all go to an American high school and play a game very similar to baseball. I think this is to distinguish some kind of binary between the humans and the animals, staying true to the English backdrop of the book, but establishing a kind of otherworldliness in the animal community. This is taken further as Anderson effortlessly tosses the animals between serious, human emotion and base, animal behaviour as Mr. Fox, a newspaper columnist with an array of autumnal-toned suits devours his breakfast in under ten seconds, leaving shards of toast scattered across the table. This struggle between human and animal within Mr. Fox represents a greater struggle between human and animal in the world of the film. It also serves as an excellent platform for Anderson to show off his capacity for both sophisticated depth of character development and sharp, knowing wit.
To an adult filmgoer Anderson's adaptation strikes a beautiful balance between inventive, nostalgic visuals; smart, indie humour; and heartwarming, family narrative. However, while its kooky charm does translate well into the realm of children's films, the intentionally static qualities of the dialogue and low-tech animation may prove wasted on children accustomed to today's action-packed, attention-holding supermovies. I hope this isn't the case but it is a risk Anderson has taken; not that it will matter though, this is a movie destined to find a wide adult fan base whether it reaches the kids or not.
