EDGE San Francisco

"THE FANTASTIC MR. FOX" = "Buy" this "animatedly" wry SLY-ness! =

MY rating: 8.5 of 10 stars (based on an advance screening; an 87-minute film opening 11-25-09).

It’s a "dog-eat-dog" world-- except this realm revolves around their canine cousins, the FOXES. Mr. Fox (voiced by GEORGE CLOONEY) is a charming and doting spouse to his wife Felicity (MERYL STREEP), wanting them to "move on up" (out of a fox hole-in-the-ground) into a TREE house, feeling that’d be more "elegant" & better for them. He’s a writer for a newspaper, & tries to be generally encouraging to their young-but-nonathletic & often-unsociable son Ash (JASON SCHWARTZMAN), who his wife calls "a bit different"...

... George goes to his "lawyer" friend Mr. Badger (BILL MURRAY) to arrange for the tree house, which his Opossum friend Kylie (WALLY WOLODARSKY) helps him move into. Once there, the family takes in his wife’s nephew Kristofferson (ERIC ANDERSON), who’s so "down-to-earth", sociable, & "focused" (studying yoga, etc.), it makes the son a bit "jealous" when his father seems to see a "kindred spirit" in him"...

... George had promised Meryl he’d keep to the "straight-&-narrow" path (if such a thing is "possible" for a journalist!)-- but he keeps being "tempted" to return to his "OLD" chicken-plucker-ish ways when he sees big factories across the way owned by BOGGIS (ROBIN HURLSTONE), Bunce (HUGO GUINNESS) and Bean (MICHAEL GAMBON)-- 3 men who run a chicken farm, duck-producer farm & apple-cider bottlery. He engages the help of uneager Wally, & that starts a WAR with the 3 "farmer" owners"...

... Along the way, you meet various of George’s animal friends such as his son’s school Coach (OWEN WILSON), a weasel (WES ANDERSON), an Otter (KAREN DUFFY), plus some adversaries such as a Rat (WILLEM DAFOE in a memorable performance) & Petey (JARVIS COCKER)...

... Will the farmers get the best of George? Will his pup son start to make him proud? Will there be some type of resolution where all the main characters can live in "peace"?... Tune in, Folks!...

... The animation here is sometimes a trifle weak (a bit "stiff") in some "action" sequences, altho the "facial" movements are very "natural" & well-done. But, it’s the finely-done, often-"unexpected" DIALOGUE and "ideas" that "make" the film: I feel its sly wryness will probably give you a bunch of laughs & a lot of overall enjoyment (& even kids seemed to quite enjoy it on a different "level")...