Review of the adaptation of  Roald Dahl’s children’s book Fantastic Mr. Fox which opened the 53rd London Film Festival on 14th October 2009.

Director: Wes Anderson
Starring: George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Bill Murray, Jason Schwartzman, Willem Dafoe, Owen Wilson
Running time: 87 mins

Fantastic Mr. Fox marks the mainstream breakthrough for director Wes Anderson, more famed for low-key cult hits such as Rushmore and The Royal Tenenbaums. In this adaptation of Roald Dahl’s beloved children’s book of the same name,  Anderson brings his usual eccentric, quirky style to the source material, delivering a film that succeeds on almost every level.

George Clooney voices the clever and charming newspaper columnist Mr Fox, who dreams of him and his family moving up in the world, quite literally, from an underground foxhole to a home inside a tree. Here he enlists help from real estate solicitor Mr Badger (voiced by Bill Murray) and subsequently settles into a lovely new home with wife Felicity (Meryl Streep), son Ash (Jason Schwartzman of Rushmore) and prodigy nephew Kristofferson (Eric Chase Anderson). However, after relocating the family to new residence, Mr Fox nostalgically remembers his thieving days as a professional poacher and pines for the life of danger and excitement he once led. Consequently, our hero hatches a plan for “one last big job”, aided in part by Kylie the possum to steal from the “nastiest, meanest farmers in the valley”, Boggis, Bunce and Bean. However, one heist leads to another and pretty soon Mr Fox, his family and neighbours land themselves in one big heap of trouble.

From the get-go, Wes Anderson’s Fantastic Mr. Fox is a fast-paced, charming and entertaining feast for the eyes and the heart. Visually stunning, the stop-motion animation used to create the world of the film and its inhabitants is flawless, perfectly capturing every nuance of the story (and the small changes in plot that Anderson has neatly added). In particular, the scene in which Mr Fox fights with the evil Rat (Willem Dafoe) is amazing (with the characters’ silhouettes illuminated by intermittent flashes of lightning), as is a shared moment between Mr and Mrs Fox in front of a waterfall. It is a testament to the charm of the film that where the animation could seem contrived and somewhat dodgy, there are instead endearing eccentricities – smoke being created from what appears to be a billowing mass of grey cotton wool.

Packed full of great comedy hi-jinks, character moments (where Owen Wilson’s Coach Skip explains the rules of cricket/rounders/baseball hybrid sport ‘whack bat’ is just priceless) and genuinely witty one liners, Fantastic Mr. Fox has all the ingredients of a truly excellent and entertaining film. The only minor drawbacks for this critic are the intertitles which appear throughout the film, far too fast for young children to be able to read in time and which more importantly, announce moments of drama which would be better left to the surprise of the audience. Sadly the use of these titles sells some moments of conflict and suspense rather short, and key set-pieces lose both their impact and poignancy.

However, this is a small price to pay in an otherwise perfect film. The voice talent is exceptional, the animation and visual style is great, the dialogue is superb. Those put off by the film apparently being ‘for kids’, for shame. Fantastic Mr. Fox is film that is (unashamed use of the pun) truly fantastic, and fantastic for all.

Rating: MMMM+

Review of Coraline first published in a May 2009 issue of Spark*, the newspaper of Reading University Students’ Union.

Director: Henry Selick
Starring (voices): Dakota Fanning, Teri Hatcher, Ian McShane
Running time: 100 mins

Given its excellent source material (based on Neil Gaiman’s widely acclaimed children’s book) and with The Nightmare Before Christmas director Henry Selick at the helm, it is easy to approach Coraline with high expectations, and gladly these are not at all misplaced. From its highly original and meticulously detailed opening title sequence to its well-paced closing scenes, Coraline is a thoroughly engaging and entertaining piece of gothic-tinged cinema for children. Having said this however, it must be said that in places, the film verges on being just slightly too creepy and sinister (arguably not surprising to those familiar with Gaiman’s work which often draws on elements of horror) to be appropriate for very young children, as there are jumps, shocks and certain details in some scenes which would not be out of place in the work of John Carpenter or early Sam Raimi. Also the general tone of the film is altogether more disturbing and unsettling for it to be recommended for a very young audience – in comparison with The Nightmare Before Christmas, Coraline is arguably much more disturbing. But the scare factor is just one of its many strengths.

The film boasts an excellent premise (to say more than very little of this would give away too much): a little girl discovers a doorway to another world and has to deal with the consequences when the two worlds she inhabits begin to collide. The film’s narrative and characterisation are very good, with Dakota Fanning being generally less irritating than usual as the voice of the eponymous heroine. Teri Hatcher does sterling work in the double role of Coraline’s Mother and ‘Other Mother’, as does Ian McShane as Mr Bobinsky. With Gaiman as co-screenwriter, it is no surprise that the script and storytelling is deftly handled and well paced. But it is truly in its visual style that Coraline excels. As previously mentioned, the opening sequence of stitching and textile work is fabulously detailed, as is the world in which the characters move – the light from Mrs Jones’ laptop on her face, the raindrops running down the windows and the eerie mist surrounding the house are just a few of the excellent visual subtleties at work in the film.

However, where director Henry Selick truly must be praised is in the stunning set-pieces which are nothing short of breathtaking (even more so as they have been achieved in stop-motion animation), inviting only a response of “wow” (this being only increased in 3D format, which for the purple tunnel connecting Coraline’s two worlds is well worth it). The garden scene in particular is nothing short of visually arresting, while the film’s climax involving a spider-web style netted sky and spiralling world is a sublime treat. With its highly original plot, visually stunning art direction, charming music and nice little touches here and there (Mrs Jones’ “I love mulch” mug, the piano that seemingly plays Coraline’s father), Coraline is a wonderfully entertaining, highly engaging animated noir that will leave you with a new-found creepy mistrust of dolls and buttons alike.

Rating: MMMM