Clever-as-a-fox filmmaking

"The Fantastic Mr. Fox" is far from the conventional family-friendly fare that passes for animated entertainment these days at the cinema. It's grounded in old school sensibilities in many ways, including its tedious stop motion animation style, storytelling craft (staying true to Roald Dahl's original tale), and eclectic art direction that harkens to a bygone time despite its seemingly contemporary setting. Despite its relatively short run time (87 minutes), this picture left us with a lot to talk about. Here are our group discussion highlights:

WHAT DID YOU FIND INTERESTING, DIFFERENT AND UNEXPECTED ABOUT THIS FILM, ESPECIALLY AS A FULLY ANIMATED MOVIE?

• This looks and feels meticulously hand-crafted and old-school; it does not employ CGI, motion capture or state-of-the-art digital technology, nor traditional cel “cartoon” animation. This is stop-motion animation, which is done sparingly nowadays because it takes a very long time. This says a lot about the filmmakers’ commitment and tendencies.
• Unlike most animated films shot at 24 frames per second, this was shot at 12 frames per second, giving the characters’ movements a jerky, idiosyncratic appearance that creates a unique charm and kinetic reality.
• It’s highly detailed; every character and object that fills the frame looks intricately crafted, textured, organic, “lived-in” and realistic for the fantasy world they inhabit. From the way the fox fur moves to the intricate décor in Mr. Fox’s home, attention to detail was crucial here. As in many Anderson films, which “are living tributes to the analogue age” according to New Yorker reviewer Richard Brody, this movie features archaic technology devices like the typewriter, model train set, transistor radio,  and Dictaphone.
• Additionally, the voice actors were not recorded in some traditional, sterile closed studio environment, but were actually recorded out in the field, on actual farms and outdoors, with the actors moving their bodies to mimic the movements of the characters on the script pages.
• Often, characters are kept eerily still; this is contrary to today’s typical trend in animation where even characters in the background or periphery are meant to move slightly, blink or continue to look and act real.
• It’s quite adult for being a family movie that was marketed to children. Characters and animals are killed (like the rat and the chickens), blood is spilled, the humans smoke, adults swear (using “cuss” as a substitute for other profanities), grownup words like “crème brulee” are used that kids won’t understand, and themes skew toward the adult mindset.
• It has both English and American vibes to it; it’s set in the English countryside, yet voiced primarily by American actors and featuring mostly American music.
• Fox and his wife have marital problems that are more sophisticated and adult than you’d expect for a family film like this.

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE KEY THEMES EXPLORED IN “THE FANTASTIC MR. FOX”?

• The mid-life crisis. Fox has had to change his old wild ways to provide for his family, calm his wife, and be a respectable member of his community; yet, he’s feeling the itch and nostalgia to pull off another caper, to be freewheeling and daring.
• The risk of obsolescence and being antiquated. Fox is living in a world where the chicken stealers are an endangered breed, and he chooses a profession that could also face extinction: writing for a newspaper.
• Arguably, Fox is not trying to live in the past—he’s trying to avoid the future. “Fox’s decision to relive a past season of his life by going back to stealing chickens is more about ignoring the next season than it is about embracing the past one,” wrote blogger Kia Rahnama.
• The conflict between being civilized and cultured and being true to your nature. Fox is an urbane, articulate and philosophical figure who wears human-like clothes and waxes poetically, but at heart he’s still a wild animal who devours his meals with messy abandon and feels most alive with a chicken in his mouth. Consider, too, that Fox chooses to steal because it’s his forte that he loves, not because he’s starving or desperate.
• Feelings of pre-adolescent inadequacy. Fox’s son feels pressure to live up to the perfection of Kristofferson, earn his dad’s respect, and stand out as an athlete.
• The thrill of taking risks and flying in the face of danger with style, guts, wit and panache.
• The dichotomous and contradictory conundrum of remaining wild and free and choosing to be tamed. 
• “The man without a country”; being forced to continually move and live on the run.

WHAT’S THE SIGNIFICANCE OF WOLF-SIGHTING SCENE NEAR THE END OF THE PICTURE?

• The film shows the characters passing through many seasons. Yet, he’s getting older and heading into the winter of his existence.
• Fox sees the wolf off in the distance, inhabiting a cold, wintry environment that stands in stark contrast to the autumn in the foreground. In this way, the wolf “becomes the ideal image of surviving winter, the next season of Fox’s life,” Rahnama suggested.
• Encountering the wolf has changed Fox. The next column he writes states “I am not the Fox I used to be. Not by choice.” He’s accepted that he’s getting older and that he can’t change that fact. In the last shot, we see Fox and his loved ones dancing together, indicating that he’s happy and content with his life.

WHAT OTHER MOVIES COME TO MIND AFTER WATCHING THIS ONE?

• Other animated movies that appeal more to adults than kids, like Yellow Submarine, The Triplets of Belleville, Fantastic Planet, and Princess Mononoke
• Scenes from classic films, including Citizen Kane (both Kane and Bean ravage and upend a room out of anger), High Noon, The Great Escape, Fanny and Alexander, West Side Story, Apocalypse Now, Easy Rider, and Ocean’s Eleven