Fantastic Mr. Fox

PG	Rottentomatoes.com Rating:92%	2009
(Thematic elements, l"fake" cursing, some violence)	Picky Flicks Quote: "This is a den of oddball characters in a script as cleverly written as the stop-motion animation is eye-catching." -Linda Cook, Quad City Times	RUNTIME: 87 mins.
Visit:www.screenit.com for complete details		Movie Mood: Bemused

I went into Fantastic Mr. Fox with such high expectations that it was almost inevitable that I would emerge from it at least a little deflated. And that’s just what happened. Despite its impressive 92% approval rating on rottentomatoes.com, I had a hard time connecting with or caring very much about its characters. So why am I recommending it? Well, despite its shortcomings, it’s still teeming with creativity and will be sure to please those who like their quirky stop-motion animation served with a heaping side of quirky fatalism, not to mention a little quirky existential angst and mild optimism (and who doesn’t?).

George Clooney is perfect as Mr. Fox, our wily, overconfident protagonist—a particularly dashing example of his species, to be sure. His derring-do primarily consists of raiding and plundering henhouses, although he’s not averse to an occasional pheasant or squab (“What is a squab?” wonders the longsuffering Mrs. Fox, warmly voiced by Meryl Streep). But when he and Mrs. Fox find themselves in a bit of a tight spot (they’ve been caught in a trap, and the farmers are coming with their rifles and pitchforks), and she announces that she is pregnant, he promises to swear off of stealing and killing…if they make it out alive, that is.

Fast-forward ten fox years (the movie frequently makes a humorous distinction between these and human years using little title cards; quirky, I tell you), and we find Mr. and Mrs. Fox living a quiet life with their grumpy, slightly odd son, Ash, who is determined to make his distracted father realize that he is every bit the athlete dear old dad was in his heyday (he isn’t). The fact that his son isn’t normal or particularly talented isn’t lost on Mr. Fox, who’s still having a bit of trouble transitioning from the glamorous life of murderer and thief to the comparably mundane profession of newspaperman.

One day, Mr. Fox spots a tree that he must have. And despite his lawyer’s (yes, they exist in the animal kingdom too) assurances that he will be better off in his hole-in-the-ground (literally) current home and that he will be paying too much and exposing himself to all kinds of dangers—or maybe because of all these admonitions—Mr. Fox buys the tree and sets up house. It doesn’t deter him one bit that the area’s three most successful (and ruthless) farmers—Boggis, Bean, and Bunce—live within easy line of sight of the tree. In fact, as the movie’s plot progresses, it’s hard not to suspect that finding out the tree house’s proximity to the farmers only sweetened the deal. It’s a suspicion that is confirmed by Mr. Fox’s determination to do “one last big job”: raiding one of the poultry farm’s ample hen houses. At least, that’s how Mr. Fox describes the gig to the hapless, addle-brained Kylie, an opossum who goes along simply because he’s incapable of articulating the word, “No.”

The first job (you didn’t really think there’d only be one, did you?) goes well—so well that Mr. Fox even has the foresight to add little price tags to all of the hens’ legs to keep his wife from wondering about the sudden abundance of poultry in their pantry. Mr. Fox then sets his sights on the next farm, intent on completing his burglary hat trick. At first, it seems he has succeeded. But what the brash Mr. Fox has not counted on is the price that he (and all of his friends) will have to pay for his humiliation of the alliterative farmers.

Soon, Boggis, Bean, and Bunce are obsessed with Mr. Fox’s destruction, and they don’t much care how many other woodland creatures go down with him. As the farmers dig, blast, burn, and bash their way through the tree and then surrounding area in which Mr. Fox lives, the desperate animal and all his friends are forced underground by digging for their lives (the same way in which Mr. and Mrs. Fox made the getaway that enabled them to still be alive ten fox years later).

There are a great many close calls and even one (somewhat expendable) appendage lopped off. Throw in a lesson about placing others’ well-beings above one’s own thirst for adventure, and you might think you’ve got your average children’s feature film all wrapped up. You’d be wrong. The “lesson” is only half-heartedly delivered. This is, after all, a product of the quirky (have I used that word enough yet?) mind of Wes Anderson, the director who helmed such offbeat offerings as Rushmore and The Royal Tenenbaums. If you know anything about either of those films, you’ll know that Anderson isn’t one for championing altruistic motives. He’s usually more interested in flushing out man’s (or animals’) insecurities and shortcomings and casting them in a humorous, half-sad light. Fantastic Mr. Fox is no different, although it’s lively animation, bright colors, and spot-on voice characterizations will still appeal to children who haven’t a clue about the reasons we don’t treat each other well (although they might be plenty adept at the actual mistreatment).

Fantastic Mr. Fox is, above all, an unusual film—clever to be sure and even quite funny in spurts, but mostly odd and interesting. If that’s your cup of tea, then drink up. I doubt it will be around too much longer in the theaters, and there’s something to be said for seeing anything animated on the big screen.

Until next Wednesday, stay picky! Your mind will thank you later.