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Dancing_P [ 8.0 ]
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At this point you can officially rule out the idea of Wes Anderson ever making a gross-out comedy or suspense thriller or homage to the giallo horror film or whatever the fuck else but the kind of uber-hip, neurotic comedy he makes now. It would be a bad thing if I wasn't such a complete sucker for Anderson's brand of whimsical quirk and corduroy fetishism. True, purist fans of the Roald Dahl original will argue that there was a lot less uncomfortable self-loathing and Rolling Stones songs in the original but, hey, if it works... Anderson has brought his trademark visual eye to detail to the rudimentary stop-animation style of Rankin-Bass for this semi-faithful adaptation of the beloved Dahl book.
Former chicken thief Mr. Fox (George Clooney) gave up his life of crime to provide a safer life for his wife (Mery Streep) and angsty son Ash (Jason Schwartzman). When Mr. Fox buys a home right next to the sprawling agricultural complex of three mean farmers, he rounds up a team and gets back into the chicken-stealing game. The first three attempts work, which angers the farmers so much that they devote all of their efforts to eradicating Mr. Fox from the map.
Of course Anderson builds on siege and heist clichés but it's more than just an affectionate genre parody. Anderson's usual concerns (father/son relationships, jealousy... tweed... 60's British rock and roll...) appear in full force, backed by charmingly rustic animation and a crackerjack voice cast. Animated movies have long stopped being aimed exclusively at kids, but this is a particularly strong example - there's less swearing than in Anderson's live-action films but it's otherwise just as strong and universal a film. Perhaps my only real concern with the film is that it's less memorable than some of Anderson's other, films that usually grab me by the balls from minute one. If all that means is an excuse to watch it again, sign me up.
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DokBrowne [ 9.5 ]
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My GOD, what a wonderful little film! Can't remember the last time I was this enchanted by a movie. The only nearly bad thing I can think to say about it is that the moments of sincerity, redemption, and heartfelt resolution towards the end felt a little too rushed and air-quotey, which is to be expected from a perpetually arch filmmaker like Wes Anderson, whose best invocations of potentially maudlin emotions like that are always beautifully subtle rather than plainly expressed, so it's not as strongly felt here.
That having been said, if this is Anderson in (almost) pure comedy mode, I wish he'd spend more time here. The aching dramatic heft of his other work is part of what makes him such a special talent, but here even with the arguable disadvantage of animation (which is supposed to limit the nuance of acting but achieves the opposite in this movie) he draws out a bottomless feast of hilarity using his trademark tactics, primarily a deadpan tone set by flawless comic timing, narrative devices (on-screen chapter headings, theme songs, and such), insanely naturalistic voice-over performances, and even more wondrously obsessive attention to detail than he usually devotes to his art direction.
Roald Dahl adaptation or not, this is clearly a world of Wes Anderson types set in wacky adventuresome mold (rather than bittersweetly existential mold) and for anyone who enjoys his style, it's a huge delight. He still offers the bittersweet, but it's not lingered on for too long. And the look of the movie! Predominantly autumnal, clever visual gags and ideas in virtually every shot, and is stop-motion the most beguiling special effect of all time, or what?
And then there's that voice-acting, which I can't praise highly enough. No offense to the countless heroes of this profession (Mel Blanc, Billy West, the cast of "The Simpsons", Disney icons of yore, et al), but they've all worked within an orthodox etiquette still considered necessary to the form. Only really Seth MacFarlane's otherwise questionable "Family Guy" (and its off-shoots) have thus far toyed at actual length with the imperfections and subtleties of human speech, so Anderson takes a great leap by recording his actors in natural settings and with such vivid realism. Not only does the verbose dialogue itself burst with and play on the shadings and textures of our conversational habits, but the deliveries by everyone too are so completely lived-in and ruffled with minutia that they actually outpace this aspect of Anderson's other live-action films. This is the unique kind of movie that could be thoroughly enjoyed even when stripped of essential layers - just hearing what they have to say (on a script level) would be fun, then just hearing how the actors say it all would be too, and just silently beholding the magical sense of atmosphere and creativity conjured by the animated designs, and then even just paying attention to the stop-motion technique.
May not be for everyone, I guess, but to me this is an artistic and entertainment triumph
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jeff_v [ 8.5 ]
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Probably Anderson's best film since Rushmore (though for me, he's never really stumbled -- 8.0 for Tenenbaums, 8.5 for Life Aquatic and 7.5 for Darjeeling), no need to run through the characteristic Wesisms that imbue the film which its particular charm that may or may not be up your alley. This will be one of the more fun ones to rewatch and attempt to catch more of the finer details --in fact, I'm sure I missed plenty of the film's dialogue because I was too busy trying to make out newsprint or can labels. As to what it's about --same as all the other Wes Anferson films.
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| Weighted Rating | : 7.7 |
| No. Ratings | : 5 | |
| No. Reviews | : 3 | |
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