The Fantastic Mr Fox

Ocean's 11 meets The Muppets

The Fantastic Mr Fox is very aptly named. It is indeed, fantastic. Directed by the King of Quirk, Wes Anderson, Fox is based on a children's novel by Roald Dahl and like any of Wes Anderson's films, it is jam packed with talent.
Geroge Clooney lends his voice to the overly ambitious, always planning Mr Fox, Meryl Streep is his wife. Jason Schwartzman plays angst ridden, athlete wanna-be Ash, their son. Bill Murray, Willem Dafoe, Michael Gambon, Owen Wilson, the list goes on.
Mr Fox gives up a life of crime of stealing squab (kinda like pigeons). Living in a hole with his wife and son Ash, Fox turns good and starts writing a regular column in the Gazette newspaper. After moving into a new tree with his family and good friend/plumber/opossum Kylie, Mr Fox gets the itch and plans one last crime...
High on the hill are three farmers, Boggis, Bunce and Bean who sell chickens, ducks and cider respectively. In a plot that involves an abundance of bandit masks, sedative-laced blueberries and a whole lot of digging, Mr Fox inevitably gets himself in deep trouble, and that's where the fun starts.
Stop-motion animation has come a long way since the plasticine days of Jason and the Argonauts and Clash of the Titans. The Fantastic Mr Fox is sophisticated, elegant and very clever. Anderson has captured the actors personal nuances and movements in the characters, it was like George Clooney had an animal suit on and the way Ash got up in the morning and brushed his teeth was just like watching Schwartzman himself.
It's one of those 'not just for kids' kids flicks. It's fun, there's laughs a plenty, the only gripe I have was that it wasn't long enough, I was enjoying it so much.
Things I learnt... beagles love blueberries and the word 'cuss' is a good substitution for cuss words, try saying 'cluster-cuss' instead. Definitely my favourite flick of the year so far.
9 thumbs up.