Film: Fanstastic Mr. Fox

[captainballs]

Something about this movie makes me feel it in my bones that it is going to be great. I really like the human-like quality of the fursuits. Fantastic indeed. I will doubtlessly be at the theater in November with three thumbs up.

 

[AmorRoark]

Trailer

Ok, as most of you probably know, I'm a huge Wes Anderson fan. I'm afraid to say this doesn't look too great to me. I don't like the stop motion & I'm not loving the voice synchs. I hope I'm wrong.

 

[Wyld 4 X]

I saw the trailer for this at the beginning of 9. It looks okay but I'll wait for it.

 

[JohnnyRedlight]

any word on what Andersons next film will be?

I heard/read that Darjeeling was supposed to be his last in the "wes anderson style"

 

[CHiLD-0F-THE-BEAT]

I know I'll have to see this, mostly because of my childhood love-affair with the novel. Not sure if it will be a cinema viewing or not, that remains to be see. Bring on the release date!

 

[AmorRoark]

January 07, 2010 for Australia

Whole list:

Argentina January, 07, 2010
Australia January, 07, 2010
Belgium February, 10, 2010
Bulgaria November, 06, 2009
Brazil December, 04, 2009
Germany January, 28, 2010
Denmark November, 13, 2009
Finland November, 13, 2009
France December, 23, 2009
United Kingdom October, 14, 2009
Italy November, 26, 2009
Malaysia November, 12, 2009
Netherlands February, 18, 2010
Norway November, 27, 2009
Romania November, 20, 2009
Russian Federation October, 22, 2009
Singapore November, 19, 2009
Sweden December, 25, 2009
Ukraine October, 22, 2009
United States November, 13, 2009


Google is your friend.

Actually, I'm glad I looked it up. It's interesting that Malaysia is a day ahead of the U.S.

 

[Thou]

I just saw this and was pleasantly surprised.

Very clever, step in a different direction for him. Not too different, just a different breed of stride. Story-line's mint, voice-overs were on point and the characters were well-developed.

Also enjoyed how he made it enjoyable for kids by inserting the word "cuss" where swear words were. Bill Murray plays an excellent badger in this regard.

+3

Unlike the Darjeeling Limited which was utterly disappointing for me.

 

[HoneyRoastedPeanut]

Not a Wes Anderson fan by any means, but I loved this movie. IMO animation gives his comedy the emotion and "oomph" it needs to rise beyond its niche.

 

[festivalfun]

I personally wasn't the biggest fan of this movie, I absolutely adore Wes Anderson but this didn't do it for me. I can appreciate the animation for what it's worth and I do love the story (having played Mr. Fox in a school play once) but for some reason I just found this film very tedious. It would be much better as a short film IMO.

 

[DarthMom]

the only movie i liked from wes was the life aquatic, and that was probably just due to the charming addition of mr. murray, who i love in anything and everything. when i saw the previews for this, it didn't look appealing at all. i watched it one evening with my 7 year old and we both loved it. he wanted to watch it again immediately, it is a very charming family flic. if wes strays to childrens movies again, i am game.

 

[TheDeceased]

While it is easily Anderson's weakest effort, it is still a great film.

I was impressed by how Anderson-like it was. He still managed somehow to maintain his quirky style within the context of a Roald Dahl adaptation. Like Henry Selick did with 'Coraline' and 'A Nightmare Before Xmas', Anderson creates a unique visual experience unlike any other. Fantastic Mr. Fox is his most ambitious and dangerous project. It is an eccentric film by an eccentric film-maker for mainstream audiences. I really didn't think he would pull it off as beautifully as he did.

Having said all that, I hope he doesn't do any more adaptations. I'm sure he could probably adapt anything into a decent film, but I prefer 100% pure Wes Anderson. I want another Rushmore, Royal Tenenbaums, Life Aquatic or Darjeeling Limited.

And, here it is:

Moonrise Kingdom

With some of the regular cast members: Bill Murray, Jason Shwartzman and Owen Wilson

Written by Wes Anderson and (Darjeeling co-writer) Roman Coppola.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1748122/

I suspect this will be Anderson's fifth masterpiece.

 

[HoneyRoastedPeanut]

From what I've been hearing from friends and such, this is easily his least popular film amongst his cult fanbase, and easily his most popular amongst the rest of us. I hope he continues branching out with his future movies like he did with this one, rather than fall back into his old comfort zone.

I'm sorry, but calling four out of six movies (all of which are pretty similar in scope and style) of a director's entire filmography "masterpieces" is a bit exaggerated and exposes both the bias of his followers and the niche of his directing style. Truthfully, The Fantastic Mr. Fox is the only one of his films I'd put that label on.

 

[TheDeceased]

^Doesn't that just indicate bias in another direction?

There are very few directors that are working on Anderson's level IMO. Todd Solondz and Darren Aronofsky come to mind as examples of brilliant young directors who have mostly created "masterpieces" of modern cinema throughout their career (only made around 6 films each, also).

I am not biased. If Anderson made a film that I didn't like, I wouldn't applaud it simply because he produced it. It just so happens that everything he has produced so far connects with me. Although there are stylistic and thematic similarities between his work, it cannot be rightly dismissed as rehashing. It is finely crafted stuff. Maybe it looks easier than it is.

 

[hydroazuanacaine]

i am huge wes anderson fan. Fantastic Mr. Fox is not even close to in the running for my favorite movie of his (Bottle Rocket). but i was still really glad to see him do it. because his movies and characters are starting to feel way too similar.

edit:
though in a lot of ways Fantastic Mr. Fox is more of the same.

 

[Mysterie]

agreed, while fantastic mr. fox was enjoyable (besides the click sound thing george clooney kept doing), i think his best work was darjeeling limited or rushmore, im probably a wes fanboy though ;d

 

[HoneyRoastedPeanut]

@TheDeceased: To me there is a big difference between connecting with/ liking a movie, and calling it a masterpiece. There are plenty of movies out there that I absolutely love but would never label as such, which I reserve for the best that cinema has ever produce. You're saying 4/6 of his films are up there with the classics of classics? That is fanboyism at its finest right there.

And please explain how I'm just "biased in another direction".

 

[TheDeceased]

You said that I was biased in calling 4/6 of his works masterpieces and then you stated that you would only call 1/6 of them masterpieces. Your opinion is no more correct than mine, that is neither is a bias.

Some people regard many of the works by Vincent Van Gogh and Salvidor Dali to be masterpieces. Personally, I don't like most of their work - or, at least, I wouldn't rank the majority of it as highly as the average Wes Anderson film. I think being a fanboy is beyond appreciation. I do not re-watch his films, nor do I tend to re-watch much of anything. I have seen each of them once or twice, and to me they (Royal Tenenbaums, Life Aquatic, Darjeeling & Rushmore) were perfect. There are many films that I love that I wouldn't call masterpieces. I reserve that word for what I consider not only to be highly successful films but also pieces of art. I wouldn't change a single frame on any of them - if that doesn't warrant the term masterpiece, then what does?

The reason I brought up Van Gogh/ fine art/ etc is because people tend to accept paintings being described as works of art, or even masterpieces, but not film - due to the perceived ambiguity between art and entertainment. In other words, if I had said that a number of paintings were masterpieces, I probably wouldn't be called a fanboy. I don't buy merchandise or DVDs or re-watch shit. I just like what I like. And, I really like Wes.

(Oh, and I thought "I Heart Huckabees" was a masterpiece too. )

 

[Mysterie]

You said that I was biased in calling 4/6 of his works masterpieces and then you stated that you would only call 1/6 of them masterpieces. Your opinion is no more correct than mine, that is neither is a bias.

Some people regard many of the works by Vincent Van Gogh and Salvidor Dali to be masterpieces. Personally, I don't like most of their work - or, at least, I wouldn't rank the majority of it as highly as the average Wes Anderson film. I think being a fanboy is beyond appreciation. I do not re-watch his films, nor do I tend to re-watch much of anything. I have seen each of them once or twice, and to me they (Royal Tenenbaums, Life Aquatic, Darjeeling & Rushmore) were perfect. There are many films that I love that I wouldn't call masterpieces. I reserve that word for what I consider not only to be highly successful films but also pieces of art. I wouldn't change a single frame on any of them - if that doesn't warrant the term masterpiece, then what does?

The reason I brought up Van Gogh/ fine art/ etc is because people tend to accept paintings being described as works of art, or even masterpieces, but not film - due to the perceived ambiguity between art and entertainment. In other words, if I had said that a number of paintings were masterpieces, I probably wouldn't be called a fanboy. I don't buy merchandise or DVDs or re-watch shit. I just like what I like. And, I really like Wes.

(Oh, and I thought "I Heart Huckabees" was a masterpiece too. )

QFT!! im suprised we agree on something

 

[Thou]

I agree with everything TheDeceased said. Seems there's a bit of nit-picking on the definition of quality. Quality is so subjective that going after someones personal interests, provided they went to a fair amount of thought and consideration in determining them, is a bit unfair.

I just didn't like the Darjeeling Limited. I'd refer to his other films as masterpieces, because they fit the criteria. Unique, finely crafted, visually stunning, and with a well thought-out and easy to relate to storyline. Plus his soundtracks are absolutely superb.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[HoneyRoastedPeanut]

I will say, I Heart Huckabees was indeed amazing. Same with Flirting With Disaster. Both of which have, as far as I can tell, nothing to do with Wes Anderson?

I guess I'm in the minority here in my definition of the word "masterpiece". I suppose I reserve the term for the singling-out of an artist's best work, their "master piece". Michelangelo's David, for instance, but not Michelangelo's work in general. It's the one act of genius that stands above the rest as holistically representative of their contribution to the art world. I was an aspiring artist my whole childhood, and that is what it always meant to me.

I mean, is there any one of the aforementioned films you would single out as your favorite? Or are they all equally perfect? In my experience, when someone claims that most of the products of any artist's body of work are all "perfect", that is exposing some serious bias, more so than the inherent bias in any given opinion. There's a certain stubbornness involved, if you see what I mean.

I never meant to attack TD's interest or have him justify why he should like Wes Anderson. Perhaps, to put it in terms of quality, my issue was with the tendency of many fans (not just TD, or fans of WA) to immediately elevate their estimation of a favorite artist's work to the highest possible plateau. There's such a wide spectrum of qualitative description out there that throwing around terms like "masterpiece" and "perfect", seems to me like jumping the gun in the effort to convey one's enthusiasm.

I do sympathize with his enthusiasm, though. Nothing wrong with being a devoted fanboy, just own it!