Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

Powerful

The film was still a fun one that will make you laugh and have you leaving the theater feeling like you just stole something valuable and got away with it.

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

Fantastic Mr. Fox is short, sweet, and fun. The animation and direction are well done and exude a general happy tone. The characters are developed through actions and the movie moves at a quick pace. It delves a bit into deeper themes of fundamental nature. The world and practicality of how some animals did specific things were unclear, but didn't significantly detract. Overall, it's a fun, easy movie to watch that doesn't do anything special, though the animation is nice.

Out of the many books by children's authors that are adapted to film, the books by Roald Dahl mostly tend to be excellent. Save for Tim Burton's disastrous retelling of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory", I have really enjoyed the movies made based on Dahl's books. Now we have another movie that I can happily say is yet another great adaptation. "Fantastic Mr. Fox" is the debut animated movie from famed director Wes Anderson and he was able to craft a movie that can successfully do some elements differently from the book while also adding touches to make the movie memorable. I'll explain why this really works out well.Mr. Fox (George Clooney) and his wife Felicity (Meryl Streep) have given up the life of raiding farms after their only son, Ash (Jason Schwartzman). Mr. Fox is now a newspaper columnist and has now moved the family from a burrow to a tree nearby three farms run by three dangerous farmers named Boggis (Robin Hurlstone), Bunce (Hugo Guinness) and Bean (Michael Gambon). Wanting to conduct one last raid, Mr. Fox, his assistant possum Kylie (Wallace Wolodarsky) and his nephew Kristofferson (Eric Anderson) steals items from all three farms much to the farmers and Felicity's anger. Wanting to kill the fox, the farmers come along and try to dig the foxes out of their tree only to discover that the foxes keep digging away from the danger. After having led to the destructions of their home and the homes of other critters, Mr. Fox decides to declare war on the farmers in order to fight for their survival.The thing that I really enjoyed about this movie was the script. The script in this movie written by Anderson and director Noah Baumbach was smartly written as well as very funny. Though the movie can be viewed by kids, I think adults well enjoy the movie more mainly due to how adult the film is. The characters talk like people in other movies minus the swear words which Anderson and Schwartzman simply replace with the word "cuss". As an example, the character would say something like "The cuss you would," or "That was the craziest cussing thing I've ever done." You might think it would get old fast, but it actually doesn't. I also like how the story can be both faithful and different to the book at the same time. Elements to the story are added, particularly the relationship between Mr. Fox and Felicity and I personally think it's needed to advance the story along and give the characters some depth. As for the animation, it's brilliantly crafted. It's done entirely in stop motion animation without any digital help which I found very impressive. It also included some of Anderson's style into the film as well like the camera angles being mostly centered. I also really enjoyed the characters in the movie. Where in the book they are likable though don't have a lot of personality, here they are given tons of personality and charisma to boast. Even a subplot involving a feud between Ash and Kristofferson which I thought would be the weakest part of the movie was actually really well realized and written. As far as flaws goes, the character designs of the humans did bother me at times due to how odd they were, though they were not too bad to be distracting."Fantastic Mr. Fox" is a very smart movie with a well written story, some impressive animation and characters with lots of personality and charm to boast. Considering that this is the first animated film from Wes Anderson, I'm really impressed by how much detailed elements went into this film. I'm very eager to see if he continues to make stop-motion movies because I feel he can reach the heights of the people at Aardman and Henry Selick. We'll just have to wait and see.

Animation (2/2): The animation is fantastic, at the same time it can be awkward (in a good way) and extremely full of details. At this point the movie lives up to the style of stop motion animation masterfully.Soundtrack (2/2): The track is great, each song fits perfectly into their respective scene.Acting/Direction (1.5 / 2): All the voice actors are OK, there isn't much to point out here, they neither hurt nor make the movie extraordinary. Wes Anderson's direction is interesting, with a peculiar filming style, with one or another scene coming out of the status quo. A good direction, of a good director.History (0,5 / 2): From the beginning the film try to present us with a very basic story, this is certainly not a problem, even with other animations already showing us that it is possible to do something aimed at children but adults can also watch and perceive small hidden elements behind the story. See Toy Story 3, Inside Out and etc. But even the simple "Fantastic Mr. Fox" seems to fail to do, some points take you out of the story (ex: If from the beginning he was good at digging, why was not his first plan already?). Perhaps a small positive point here is the sense of adventure, which is present and can entertain children.Comedy (0/2): Here is probably where the movie lost me. After all, what's the point of seeing a comedy that isn't funny? And I don't say that because no scene made me cry with laughter, I say this because I didn't find any scenes if you want funny, the movie fails miserably in this matter, definitely this is not a funny movie.6/10

I am finishing up reviewing every Wes Anderson film and this is one of the easiest 10/10 ratings I ever had to give.Fantastic Mr. Fox is a perfect example of Wes Anderson's fun loving, darkly comedic style. This film is a beauty to look at, each character and setting is beautifully lit and presented in a perfect frame. It really goes along with the source material that Roald Dahl created years ago.The comedy which is something that Wes Anderson excels at it at top notch, I laugh at every single joke, whether it be supported by the quick whip pans or smash zooms or just great delivery of dialogue, I am on the floor laughing. The acting is also a great element in this film, George Clooney and Meryl Streep shine as the Fox mother and father, you feel they are real, even though it is an animation.Speaking of Animation, this films stop motion is revolutionary. It is perfect, it also is the perfect kind of medium for Wes Anderson's tightly constructed atheistic. The movements are funny and alive, and the way they create these worlds feel large but, also comfy and homey.All these things are great but, what stands out is Wes Anderson's ability to bring heart and a message into the film. It talks about growing up, making your family proud, and trying to find your own way. The film will touch everyone from age 1 to 100.An amazing masterpiece 10/10 and 5/5.