Whimsical and intelligent, "Fantastic Mr. Fox" continues the maturation of Wes Anderson as an artist, while simultaneously being persistent in illustrating his conscious failure to assimilate to any conventional filmmaking or storyline structure. Anderson's films are wonderfully peculiar because they are observant of the hidden nature of characters that highlight the differences in their personalities. It is truly a significant feat to create one sympathetic and unpredictable portrait of lives after another, but Anderson does it with an effortlessness that is almost startling.
Mr. Fox (George Clooney) was an accomplished thief before the pregnancy of his wife (Meryl Streep), mainly focusing on the acquisition of chickens for delicious feasts. After contemplating the responsibilities surrounding his impending fatherhood and surviving a close call, Mr. Fox promises that his disregard for the law will seize immediately.
Many fox years later, Mr. Fox is discontent with his broken-down house and unfulfilling job as a journalist and constantly looking for more excitement in his life, along with an insistent need to alleviate his constant food cravings. Against his lawyer's (Bill Murray) advice, Mr. Fox moves into a beautiful tree that is located between the farms of Bogus, Bunce, and Bean; the most dangerous place in the valley for a fox. After this insightful lesson about the fundamentals of real estate, Mr. Fox moves into the tree with his family, searching for a way that his mischievous juices can begin rapidly flowing again.
Eventually, Mr. Fox overcomes mediocre security at the three farms, completely humiliating Bogus, Bunce, and Bean and crippling them economically through the growing denigration of their resources. This starts a battle between the farmers and any animal in their vicinity that will not end until Mr. Fox is dead.
Over the course of the film, Mr. Fox learns about the importance of friends, family, community, and acceptance but is still fairly arrogant at the conclusion. This is a fascinating aspect about all of Anderson's films, which include "Rushmore" and "The Royal Tenenbaums". Throughout the journeys of the characters in his films, they consistently learn and become better people, while still possessing massive room for improvement. In a sense, these stories are glimpses into long, complicated lives with people who will perpetually strive for perfection with the intellect to realize that this is unattainable.
The screenplay was written by Noah Baumbach and Anderson, two people with an obvious love for the English language and creative ability to express obscure themes in seemingly simple settings. The vocabulary of their characters is extensive because they want the audience to possess a certain amount of intelligence in order to understand all of the subtleties within the film. Although most movie characters do not think in multi-syllable words, Mr. Fox often speaks in them with ease, forcing the audience to keep up with the frenetic use of the broad vocabulary required for a successful columnist.
"Fantastic Mr. Fox" has an attractive look and explores themes, such as the possibility of premarital pregnancy, that most children's entertainment refuses to acknowledge. Although the subject matter of Anderson's films are completely different, the zany tone with serious moments interrupted by applicable rock music is a trademark. Because of this, it is impossible to predict what Anderson will tackle next. He is a consummate filmmaker who consistently makes you want more without knowing exactly what you are going to get.
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