Fantastic Mr. Fox is an animated movie by Wes Anderson based on the novel by the esteemed Roald Dahl. The movie centers around Mr. Fox, a fox with a craving for crime, voiced by George Clooney. When the film opens, he and his wife, Felicity, voiced by Meryl Streep, are in the middle of a chicken heist. Unfortunately, they are caught in a trap, where Felicity reveals that she is pregnant. Because of her pregnancy, Mr. Fox vows to stop thieving if they escape the trap alive.
They do escape, by digging, as viewers later learn. The movie jumps ahead twelve “fox years. ? Mr. and Mrs. Fox are living happily with their son, Ash, in their underground abode. Mr. Fox has left behind his days of thieving in favor of a career as a newspaper columnist, though he secretly yearns to practice his beloved craft again. Restless without being able to thieve, Mr. Fox decides he wants to move, specifically to a large tree in the neighborhood. The family moves, against the warnings of Mr. Fox’s friend, Badger, who believes it could be dangerous due to the tree’s human neighbors, the farmers Bogis, Bunce, and Bean, who produce chicken, duck and goose, and turkey and apples respectively.
Hearing about these farmers only makes Mr. Fox want to return to his thieving days even more, and he enlists his friend Kylie, a goofy little o’possum, to assist him with his “Master Plan. The first heist is extremely successful; the pair rob Boggis, the chicken farmer, of many a chicken without a hitch. While this is happening, the Mr. and Mrs. Fox’s nephew, Kristofferson, arrives to stay with his aunt and uncle due to his father’s illness. Kristofferson is instantly liked by all who meet him, much to the displeasure of Ash, the Fox’s son, who is a rather abstruse fox.
Even Mr. Fox seems to prefer his nephew over his son, due to his great athleticism, which Ash insists he has but truly lacks. Mr. Fox even goes on to invite Kristofferson to join him and Kylie on the next heist. The three of them break into Bean’s farm, where they have a brief face-off with the Rat, but ultimately steal some turkey and apple cider. After this particular heist, Mrs. Fox suspects that there is something going on behind her back, and the farmers discover the Fox’s home.
The farmers fail in their initial attempts to kill Mr. Fox, but they do manage to shoot off his tail, a painful and humiliating experience for him. The farmers then begin to dig into the Fox household, forcing the family to escape by digging farther down. The rest of the animals are affected by all of the digging, and express their anger at Mr. Fox for endangering them. Mr. Fox tries to make up for destroying their homes by coming up with a plan of retaliation against the farmers.
The animals dig into all of the farms, cleaning them out, while the farmers are busy digging for the foxes. Ash and Kristofferson go on a mission to find Mr. Fox’s tail, which they find is being used as a neck tie by Bean. They are discovered by Mrs. Bean, who captures Kristofferson. Ash returns just before the farmers flood the tunnels with apple cider, stranding all of the animals in a sewer. Mr. Fox decides to surrender himself to the farmers in exchange for Kristofferson’s safe return, but before he can, the Rat attacks the animals.
Mr. Fox defeats him, forcing the Rat to tell him of Kristofferson’s location. The animals launch an attack on the farmers while Mr. Fox, Kylie, and Ash break into Bean’s farm again. Ash ultimately saves the day, rescuing Kristofferson and getting his father’s tail back. The battle won, the animals return to the sewers to start a new life. Fantastic Mr. Fox is a highly enjoyable film full of sweet moments and silliness. It’s heartwarming, beautifully made, and has the unmistakable quirky essence of an Anderson film.
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Fantastic Mr. Fox, a film by Wes Anderson
