BEFORE: Been meaning to get to this one for a while, since I've enjoyed several Wes Anderson films (most notably "Darjeeling Limited") and I know the animation director of this film, Mark Gustafson. It got pretty great reviews as well. This will wrap up the Talking Animal Caper films for now - I've still got a bunch of animated cat + dog films on the list, so I'll have to double back later. Linking from "Kangaroo Jack" is a snap tonight, since Christopher Walken was in "Wedding Crashers" with Owen Wilson, who voices a small role here.
THE PLOT: An urbane fox cannot resist returning to his farm raiding ways and then must help his community survive the farmers' retaliation.
AFTER: It doesn't matter if a film is animated or not (we in the biz use the term "live-action" for non-animated films, forgetting that most people just call them "films") since a good story is a good story, good (voice) acting is good acting, and good comic timing is...well, it probably means someone hired a good editor.
Because this is a Wes Anderson film in most respects, animated or not. The comic timing is there, the themes of teen isolation and family strife are there - along with the chapter credits similar to those seen in "The Royal Tenenbaums". Mix that film with something like "Ocean's Eleven" (the remake, natch), with characters from "The Wind in the Willows" and action similar to "Chicken Run", and you might come up with something this great.
Of course, this is based on a children's book by Roald Dahl, so most of the inspiration probably comes from there - so good, no theft of storylines or intellectual property tonight.
This could be seen as a film for kids, I suppose - but it feels like someone aimed a bit higher. I don't approve of talking down to kids, either in movies or in real life - talk to them like adults, and they respond accordingly. Or so I'm told. Who says a kids' film can't also be a smart film? Or one with great comic timing? And who the heck decided animation was only for kids, anyway? I beg to differ...
I've had problems with other "heist" films, ones that center on thieves and try to get me to root for them and their battles against the man (or the man's banks). It's easier to root for a fox and his animal friends, even though they're thieves, because they're also wild animals - just being true to their nature. Oh sure, they can work as accountants or writers or real estate agents (it's a fantasy film, just go with it) but eventually their wild sides come out, and it's back to breaking in to a chicken coop.
This worked out rather well, considering that it's April Fool's Day, and the film is all about the animals tricking and outsmarting the farmers.
Starring the voices of George Clooney (last seen in "The Men Who Stare at Goats"), Meryl Streep (last seen in "Falling in Love"), Jason Schwarzman (last seen in "Funny People"), Bill Murray (last seen in "Where the Buffalo Roam"), Willem Dafoe (last seen in "Mississippi Burning"), Michael Gambon, with cameos from Adrien Brody and Brian Cox.
RATING: 8 out of 10 juice boxes
No comments:
Post a Comment