24th
Fantastic Mr Fox | Film Review
Roald Dahl’s classic children’s story is one of the last to have resisted the allure of cinema adaptation. With an all-star British and American cast, it’s expected to deliver, and whilst it might not tow the party line, ‘Fantastic’ is certainly the operative word.
First and fore mostly, Fantastic Mr Fox shouldn’t be treated as a children’s film. It’s not in any way comparable to sister adaptations like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, or James and the Giant Peach. For years children have been treated to brightly coloured cacophonies of Hollywood razz-matazz, with a few cheap gags thrown in to gratify the reluctant parental audience. It’s a formula that has kept Disney-Pixar going for years.
Fantastic Mr Fox flips this entirely. Here you have a film where near enough 100% of the dialogue and humour is written for an adult audience, and almost totally without compromise. Ok you hear ‘what the cuss’ instead of its expletive variable, but that’s more or less it. That’s not to say that children won’t enjoy it, there are plenty of visual gags to provide them with laugh-out-loud moments. Here though is a family film in its true sense; one which mums, dads, aunties, uncles and grandparents can sit through without feeling like they’ve had to pander to the needs of runny-nosed kids.
George Clooney plays Mr Fox flanked by a collection of names including Meryl Streep, Michael Gambon and Bill Murray. Together they embrace a kind of American styled comedy of irony, that’s sparked cult, if not outright mainstream, followings of American Office and Curb Your Enthusiasm. It’s also not dissimilar to Clooney’s Ocean trilogy, meaning stuffed animals suddenly become suave and sophisticated, and, dare I say it…cool?
In fact the entire look and film of the flick has been toned-down and mellowed-out, the characters and landscape bathed in warm terracotta and sepia tones. Some may find this approach boring, but for most it offers an experience free from artificial colours, flavours and preservatives.
Forget that it’s animated, and adapted from a children’s book. This is a ‘cussing’ good watch, and the kids might like it too.
