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Look Out, Pixar: Mr. Fox Is Fantastic

Is it a film for kids? Who cares! gush critics

By Harry Kimball,  Newser Staff

Posted Nov 13, 2009 12:27 PM CST

(Newser) – Wes Anderson is winning raves for his stop-motion take on Roald Dahl's classic Fantastic Mr. Fox, with voices by a raft of stars including Meryl Streep and George Clooney:

  • It's so good, David Edelstein forgot himself. When the flick ended, he writes in New York, he wished "the whole battery of gifted artists could come out and take a bow." The film "feels handmade, present, as if they’re all backstage and the curtain is going up before your eyes."

  • Bravo! writes Stephanie Zacharek for Salon. It tops "anything Dreamworks and—yes, I'll say it—Pixar (with the notable exception of Brad Bird's projects) has come up with."
  • Sheri Linden was skeptical at first. "Star voice casts can be more distracting than helpful," she writes in the Hollywood Reporter, but she came around. "Clooney and Streep bring shadings to their characters that deepen the story.”
  • A rare eh comes from Chris Tookey of the Daily Mail, who says the flick "has been weirdly overpraised." Kids may be disturbed by the "jerky movement" of what look like "stuffed, dead animal heads on human bodies."

In this publicity image released by Fox Searchlight films, the characters Mr. Fox, voiced by George Clooney, left, and Mrs. Fox, voiced by Meryl Streep are shown in a scene from Fantastic Mr. Fox.
In this publicity image released by Fox Searchlight films, the characters Mr. Fox, voiced by George Clooney, left, and Mrs. Fox, voiced by Meryl Streep are shown in a scene from "Fantastic Mr. Fox."   (AP Photo/Fox Searchlight)
The characters used in the making of the stop motion animation film 'Fantastic Mr. Fox' are seen at the premiere in New York Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2009.
The characters used in the making of the stop motion animation film 'Fantastic Mr. Fox' are seen at the premiere in New York Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2009.   (AP Photo/Carlo Allegri)
In this film publicity image released by Fox Searchlight films, the character Mr. Fox is shown in a scene from, Fantastic Mr. Fox.
In this film publicity image released by Fox Searchlight films, the character Mr. Fox is shown in a scene from, "Fantastic Mr. Fox."   (AP Photo/Fox Searchlight)
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The trailer for "Fantastic Mr. Fox."   (YouTube)

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COMMENTS
Showing 1 of 1 comment
carpenocturne
Nov 13, 2009 8:00 AM CST
You can always count on good old Wes to nail whatever project he undertakes.

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