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The cinematic incarnation of Mr Fox is voiced by Hollywood star George Clooney |
Fox’s tale comes with twist
FANTASTIC MR FOX
Directed by Wes Anderson
Certificate PG
ROALD Dahl is the master storyteller: his books have given such joy to children and adults over the years, and have offered screen writers the chance to put a sure-fire hit on the screen with minimum effort.
Wes Anderson has taken the story of Fantastic Mr Fox, the thief who outwits the horrible farmers Boggis, Bunce and Bean, and brought it to life.
Wily Mr Fox (voiced by George Clooney) and his wife Mrs Fox (Meryl Streep) have to outwit the murderous farmers whose reputation precedes them: as Dahl tells us in one of his set-piece rhymes, the story is about “Boggis, Bunce and Bean, – one short, one fat, one lean, these terrible crooks, so different in looks, but all are equally mean” and how they become so enraged by Mr Fox helping himself to a chicken or two, a jig of cider and a plump goose that they won’t rest until they’ve strung him up.
Anderson has opted not to use the latest in CGI technology, and instead has reverted to stop-motion animation, a technique first pioneered in the 1880s, and perhaps most memorably known for controlling armies of skeletons and other classical myths in the Sinbad films.
The result is a gorgeous-looking film that is quirky, full of life, and simply good fun, although not without its faults.
Sadly, the tale has been mucked about with, and not always for the good of the story. The ending comes half way through the film – Mr Fox is no longer a thief extraordinaire like Raffles. Instead he is a journalist writing a fox-related column, and moaning that none of his friends ever read it.
A side story relating to Mr Fox’s poor relationship with his solitary cub – instead of the four happy youngsters in the book – is also introduced to give the plot some extra oomph, and a karate-trained, yoga-practising cousin comes in to lend a hand. The reason for this cited by Anderson is he simply couldn’t make Dahl’s children story stretch to a feature – which I think shows a lack of imagination.
The only flabby bits of the plot are those not written by Dahl. It’s a shame, as there are some telling asides that Dahl conjured up in a sentence or two, but that could have potentially been expanded so the film ends where Dahl wanted his story to do so. For example, more on the disgusting, depraved personal habits of the three farmers and perhaps some of their past fox hunting history could have been done, to paint a more comprehensive picture of this truly evil trio.
To further pad it out, there are some other weird asides, not least having Jarvis Cocker appear as a banjo picking singer, providing a suitably quirky soundtrack. You’d have to be as miserable as Boggis, Bunce and Bean to allow this to get in the way of some genuinely fun cinema though.
I left the theatre with a smile, but also feeling that this film was in some ways ripped off from a recent production at Islington’s Little Angel Theatre. They did Fantastic Mr Fox, with mind-blowing puppets by the talented Peter O’Rourke, a couple of years back.
It has since been taken on tour (the RSC at Stratford Upon Avon is running it).
There is even a streetscape with a theatre called, wait for it, The Little Theatre. Is this a quiet nod to the puppet show that prompted this version? I’d like to think so. |
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