Opinions of a Wolf

Summary:
Mr. Fox promised his mate when she got pregnant to stop raiding the local farms and settle down to a safe journalism job, but when they move to a tree close to three farms, he finds night raids irresistible.  Soon the woodland critters and the farmers are in an all-out battle of wits.

Review:
OMG I LOVED THIS MOVIE!!!

First, it is done in delicious stop-motion animation.  The whole film is truly a piece of art.  My particular favorite is when they do cut-aways of the animals’ homes and tunnels below-ground.  It looks so incredibly real.  It reminds me of my well-loved books growing up that would cut-away animal homes like beaver houses and show you their house inside, complete with beds and stoves.  Swoon.

Second, there’s the storyline.  I’ve always loved the crafty animals out-witting the farmers from basically the first day I could read.  This may have been an indication of my future vegetarianism.

Third, there’s the characters.  The three farmers each have their own personalities.  The animals have more well-rounded characterization than I’ve seen for people in most tv shows.  For instances, Mr. Fox’s nephew, Kristofferson, is a naturally calm soul who knows karate and meditates every day contrasted with Mr. Fox’s son, Ash, who just wants to be a bandit and is pretty much perpetually angry.

Fourth, there’s the soundtrack.  There’s a wonderful folk tune about halfway through the movie that is very reminiscent of the soundtrack for O Brother, Where Art Thou? another one of my all-time favorite movies.

Finally, there’s the fact that Dahl dealt with adult language in a kids’ film by replacing any swear word with the word “cuss.”  This results in the adult animals saying wonderful things like “What the cuss?!”  Brilliant.

I probably should also mention the fact that Mr. Fox is voiced by George Clooney who is always swoon-worthy.

I honestly can’t think of anyone who would dislike this movie.  I suppose if you hate animals and have no soul you might not like it.  All others need to go watch it immediately.

5 out of 5 stars

Source: Zune on Xbox

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