Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)

An urbane fox cannot resist returning to his farm raiding ways and then must help his community survive the farmers' retaliation.

Director:

Wes Anderson

Writers:

Roald Dahl (novel), Wes Anderson (screenplay),

Stars:

George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzman

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 29 wins & 20 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
George Clooney	...	Mr. Fox (voice)
Meryl Streep	...	Mrs. Fox (voice)
Jason Schwartzman	...	Ash (voice)
Bill Murray	...	Badger (voice)
Wallace Wolodarsky	...	Kylie (voice) (as Wally Wolodarsky)
Eric Chase Anderson	...	Kristofferson (voice) (as Eric Anderson)
Michael Gambon	...	Franklin Bean (voice)
Willem Dafoe	...	Rat (voice)
Owen Wilson	...	Coach Skip (voice)
Jarvis Cocker	...	Petey (voice)
Wes Anderson	...	Weasel (voice)
Karen Duffy	...	Linda Otter (voice)
Robin Hurlstone	...	Walter Boggis (voice)
Hugo Guinness	...	Nathan Bunce (voice)
Helen McCrory	...	Mrs. Bean (voice)

Storyline

It is the story of one Mr. Fox and his wild-ways of hen heckling, turkey taking and cider sipping, nocturnal, instinctive adventures. He has to put his wild days behind him and do what fathers do best: be responsible. He is too rebellious. He is too wild. He is going to try "just one more raid" on the three nastiest, meanest farmers that are Boggis, Bunce and Bean. It is a tale of crossing the line of family responsibilities and midnight adventure and the friendships and awakenings of this country life that is inhabited by Fantastic Mr. Fox and his friends.

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Plot Keywords:

fox | farmer | tale | farm | cider | 

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Taglines:

Owen Wilson is The Whistle-Blower

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Genres:

Animation | Adventure | Comedy | Family

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for action, smoking and slang humor

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [de] Official site [jp]

Country:

USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

25 November 2009 (USA)

Also Known As:

El fantástico Sr. Zorro

Filming Locations:

Three Mills Studios, Three Mill Lane, Bow, London, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$40,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$265,900 (USA) (13 November 2009)

Gross:

$20,999,103 (USA) (2 April 2010)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, Indian Paintbrush, Regency Enterprises

Technical Specs

Runtime:

87 min

Sound Mix:

DTS SDDS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to Meryl Streep, when she was in London filming Mamma Mia! in summer 2007, she stayed in an apartment block in central London, and one night she noticed a fox out of her bathroom window. Both Streep and the fox, stone still, stared at each other for twelve minutes. Mesmerized by this experience, she used it as inspiration for her performance.

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Goofs

When Mr. Fox looks out the tree's window and notices the distant Boggis, Bunce and Bean farms for the first time, they are lined up in that order left-to-right on hilltops. But when he later shows a map of the farms to Kiley, the Boggis farm is clearly situated between Bean and Bunce.

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Quotes

Beaver's Son: We don't like you and we hate your dad. Now grab some of that mud, chew it in your mouth, and swallow it.
Ash: I'm not gonna eat mud!
Beaver's Son: Cuss yeah you are.
[he picks up a large glob of mud and shoves it in Ash's face. Ash makes a gagging sound but does not react further]
Kristofferson: [takes off his shoes] Don't do that.
Beaver's Son: Why'd you take your shoes off?
Kristofferson: So I don't break your nose when I kick it.
[...]

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Crazy Credits

The initial end credits play out over the outside shot of Boggis, Bunce and Bean's supermarket.

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Connections

References Rebel Without a Cause (1955)

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Soundtracks

"Une petite île"
Written by Georges Delerue
Performed by Georges Delerue
Courtesy of Sidomusic B. Liechti & Cie

User Reviews

Sartre and Satire

Fantastic Mr. Fox is acclaimed director Wes Anderson's first animation, specifically stop-motion, and it's, well, fantastic.

George Clooney's voice as the head fox of an animal clan that shouts diversity is straight out of Danny Ocean-- cool and witty with an overlay of sentimentality that would convince you to open your hen house door to let him have his way. That's after his little speech that tries existentialism on for size, foxwise that is: "Why a fox? Why not a horse, or a beetle, or a bald eagle? I'm saying this more as, like, existentialism, you know? Who am I?"

As the animals pull a caper against farmer Bean (Michael Gambon) and his thugs, the animation pulls away from the gloom of another winner this year, Where the Wild Things Are, and confirms the fun of a well told beast fable with loads of anthropomorphism to reaffirm our love of humanity and confirm that animals, like us, will always be animals. The ease with which Anderson/Clooney convince that this stealing and mayhem are what animals do is a tribute to script and performance that seduce us into the stylistic den of thieves known as the fox lair and all its attitude and custom, sanctioned by mother nature herself.

Mr. Fox: "The cuss am I? Are you cussing with me?" Badger (Bill Murray): "No, you cussing with me?" Mr. Fox: "Don't cussing point at me!"

Such an exchange is indicative of the fun Anderson has with kids and adults by not bombarding the youngsters with profanity but winking at the adults as if to say, "You know what I mean." And the most violent moment comes not from scenes with guns but rather where the animals steal chickens and break their necks, done so gingerly and quietly that it seems what it is: Just what foxes do and what humans must do to eat the chickens. Darwin meets the cartoons: Mr. Fox: "And how can a fox ever be happy without, you'll forgive the expression, a chicken in its teeth?"

That's Wes Anderson for you: Sartre and satire with a dash of dashing fox.