Wes Anderson has a reputation of taking his film work to a higher level of creativity and “Fantastic Mr. Fox” is not an exception. “Fantastic Mr. Fox” is adapted from a book written by Roald Dahl (“Matilda,” “BFG” and “James and the Giant Peach”). Anderson added unique touches to the basic story line and created some new characters and background information to add more humanistic emphasis. Anderson used stop-motion animation to give it a classic whimsical feel.

The opening of the film provides a glimpse into the blooming relationship between Mr. Fox (voiced by George Clooney) and soon to be Mrs. Fox, Felicity (voicd by Meryl Streep). They were apprehended stealing food and it sets the tone of the film.

The movie skips ahead and shows an older Mr. Fox, who has become a columnist for the neighborhood paper. Mr. and Mrs. Fox along with their son Ash (voiced by Jason Schwartzman) move into a bigger home strategically located near three farmers named Boggis, Bunce and Bean.

One of Anderson’s new characters is brought in at this time. Mr. Fox’s nephew Kristofferson comes to stay and an ongoing feud between the two boys adds to the entertainment.

When the pinch of money starts weighing on the family Mr. Fox employs an opossum named Kylie and they embark on a three-part heist to steal from the farmers. The farmers are irate and stage an attack on Mr. Fox.

The three men position themselves outside of Mr. Fox’s home and wait for him. They fail to kill Mr. Fox and they plan to wait on him to get hungry enough to come back out.

Mr. Fox has them waiting longer than they fancy and they decide to dig him out. The Fox family meets up with Badger and the majority of the animals that live in the area.

Mr. Fox realizes they are all in danger of starvation and uses his keen sense of direction and wit to save the whole neighborhood.

This is where Dahl’s original story line ends and Anderson’s begins.

The added cinematic story has an excellent congruency with the first half of the film. Anderson tossed in a new obstacle for Mr. Fox to overcome and the kids get themselves caught up in the crossfire. In the conclusion, the Fox family and neighborhood find themselves with access to more resources than the farmers ever had.Throughout the whole story there is a sense of human-like mannerisms amongst the animals.

The second half of the movie conjures deeper humanistic emotion and helps the viewer relate to the theme. That theme says to know who you are, love yourself for it and use your skills to overcome anything.

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