Review of Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009) by James S — 02 Feb 2016

Perhaps not the most well known of Roald Dahl's books, Fantastic Mr.Fox lacks some of his dark imagination but this version is well made enough to raise a few smiles and packs a generous helping of witticisms into it's script to ensure that neither kids or adults will get bored.

The premise involves the eponymous Mr. Fox having something akin to a feral life crisis as he tries to recapture his old life as a chicken rustler by stealing from three rather nasty farmers and bringing a whole heap of trouble for him and his animal friends, much to the dismay of his family.

The characterisations in the film are good. George Clooney voices a likeable Mr Fox but as with most Roald Dahl tales, it's the evil doers who are the most fun. The three farmers are the most memorable and interesting characters in the movie, as well as their henchmen, Willam Dafoe, in fine voice as an effeminate ninja rat.

The films script is amusing and guaranteed to raise a smile, even if the joke of inserting the word 'cuss' every time a character swears does grow old after the first half of the film.

The animation style will not be to everyones tastes. It does take some getting used to. There are times when you feel like you've almost got to squint at it to see what is happening which gets a little distracting. It's a bold move to use this stop motion animation style rather than a straight forward cgi/Pixar style but it's a bit much for a whole hour and a half.

Fantastic Mr.Fox is an amicable enough movie. It's not likely to be supplanting Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory atop anyone's favourite Roald Dahl films but it's a nice, empty half term afternoon killer.