Fantastic Mr. Fox

I enjoy Rushmore. I adore The Royal Tenenbaums. Other than that, Wes Anderson's films are pretty average. The music is always fun. The camera work entertaining. And, I love the way Anderson packs every shot with so much stuff. Wes Anderson has a specific style and he follows it through in every film.

Part of what made Fantastic Mr. Fox so enjoyable was the way Anderson stuck with his usual style of film making. I may have been watching a cartoon, but Anderson made the cartoon exist on a larger level because of the way he incorporates the typical Anderson style. The music is background and foreground. At times, it pokes fun of itself in a way only Anderson can do without undermining the work.

The dialogue is much closer to Anderson than to Roald Dahl's novel. I should find complaint in this. But, I don't. I love Dahl's novel. Just seeing so much of his world entangled with Anderson's made the film worthwhile. By the films end I wanted Anderson to make a film of The BFG and a remake of The Witches.

The film is perfect for children and adults. Anderson captures Dahl's silliness and the adult implications of feeling restless. The feeling of love, family, loss.

A