My Experience With... Fantastic Mr. Fox

I told you would see this meme in another post.

At long last, I've been meaning to do this one for a WHILE.

Okay, You know how you sometimes see a trailer for a movie and think one of two things:

• "I dunno, this could be stupid."
• "I dunno, this could be raunchy."

Well, I kinda thought both sentences for both of this movie, but it did pique some of my interest. However, I didn't manage to watch it for some reason or another. Then, I completely forgot about it altogether.

Then one day, in my college dorm room, I watched Cartoon Network's MAD. *sigh* I was at a low point in my entertainment life. I was not fully aware of what the internet was capable of, and for some God-forsaken reason I allowed myself to be subjected to stupid humor, even though I watched the comedic brilliance that is Homestar Runner for a good portion of college.

No. No, I'm not doing it.

I'm not going to post a link

or a video of the parody video.

I indeed found it that stupid.

Whatever the reason, I do have to owe that really dumb show some credit. They did this little parody called Fantastic Megan Fox. I had no idea who she was at the time, and the parody made little sense. But I did remember the movie Fantastic Mr. Fox, and thought that I should see it at some point.

I forgot about that movie again.

I guess I was either in late college or post college when I finally saw it. It astounded me. It was a really good movie! The characters were great and memorable, despite a rather large cast, its humor was pleasant, its dramatic moments were heartfelt, and its story actually drove, without relying on toilet humor. (I should mention that I cannot stand toilet "humor," considering it's waaaay overused and quite disgusting. There are exceptions, but still.) It's not above some of its usual movie cliches and formulae, including the "protagonist lies" plot device, but the reason it seems to work here is that the consequences are quite dire. Sure, the heroes survive, but life does not continue at status quo.

Several years later, I saw it in a Food Lion (they have some discounted movies there) paired up with Robots.

Yeah, okay, maybe I'll write about that in a

few weeks. I still have other posts in queue.

Anyway, I wasn't (at the time) too crazy about Robots from what I remembered, but there was no way I was going to give up this opportunity to purchase Fantastic Mr. Fox for $5. So I bought it, took it home and watched it. It was a great as I remembered it to be. I even got to read the Roald Dahl book. The movie was surprisingly close the source material.

Sorta.

Kinda.

It had the main characters in there (minus some kits), some extra side characters, and they pretty much duplicated the book's 3rd act. However, it added to the book. If you read Roald Dahl's classic, it reads like... a classic Roald Dahl story. It has plenty of adventure, lighthearted moments, heavy moments, and even some parts that will leave you scratching your head. The movie took that story and kicked it up to an 11. There was GREAT voice acting in it, and as aforementioned, it added a great deal of depth and realism to the story. They basically did with it what the people did with Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I'm talking about the Willy Wonka version of the movie, not Charlie.

The movie starts off with a shot the main limerick in the story:

Boggis and Bunce and Bean

One Fat, One Short, One Lean

These Horrible Crooks

So Different In Looks

Were Nonetheless Equally Mean

Then a shot of the book, then it cuts to Mr. Fox waiting for his wife Felicity, who went to the doctor. She says that it's a bug. They're both fowl thieves, and they go out for some squab to the tune of Heroes and Villains.

Oh, another thing I've gotta mention: the soundtrack. (How did I forget the soundtrack?) It's really good. They play a lot of either old songs or original arrangements, so it gives the film a more classic, timeless feel, along with the the filming and lighting.

They manage to get the squab, but Mr. Fox has them end up in a fox trap. At this point, Felicity mentions that she is not sick, but pregnant.

One plot hole later and a couple of years later, the family is living.... modestly.... in a hole in the ground. Mr. Fox gives up his thievery and becomes a column writer (basically a blogger for this crazy ancient invention called a "newspaper"), Mrs. Fox becomes a domestic housewife/SAHM, and the two have a young fox named Ash, who is every bit of an awkward tween boy -- he's short, unathletic, barely pubescent, and is trying to fit in with the world and please his dad. The family will soon add another fox. No, she's not pregnant again, but Mr. and Mrs. Fox have a nephew named Kristofferson, whose uncle has double pneumonia, and will need to stay with them, much to Ash's chagrin.

Mr. Fox goes out to find a new home, despite the fact that Mrs. Fox is comfortable where they live already, as it is a fox's place to live underground. Mr. Fox (whose first name we'll never know), pulls a Disney princess and wants more out of life, as he's approaching the age that his own dad died. Mr. Fox finds a tree house -- where we meet a weasel realtor and an opossum superintendent named Kylie -- and at first almost turns it down to find a pine, but then he sees the farms of Boggis, Bunce, and Bean. This rekindles his old wild nature, and he sets off to see his Badger lawyer to buy the house.

Badger pretty much thinks Mr. Fox is a nut. Boggis, Bunce and Bean are farmers, each with his own specialty and characteristics.

• Walter Boggis, the fat one, is a chicken farmer, who eats way more chicken than even Colonel Sanders could possibly handle. 12 whole chickens each day. Insert black stereotype joke here. There are too many.
• Nathan Bunce, the unbelievably short one, is a goose farmer, who only eats doughnuts stuffed with goose liver jam. Ew.
• Franklin Bean, the skinny one, is a sharp-shooting, maniacal man who farms turkeys and apples, and he only drinks his own hard apple cider. How his liver is functioning, I don't know.

Against Badger's warnings, Mr. Fox proceeds with the house purchase.

Now, I mentioned before that I abhor toilet "humor." Another thing I'm not a fan of is profanity, especially in a children's/family movie. Call me a prude, but it is what it is. However, this movie handles profanity quite nicely. Take a look:

That's right. They literally substitute every curse word possible with the word "cuss." That is brilliant. That is cussing brilliant. It's the best cussing thing I've ever cussing experienced in a cussing family film, cuss it! It keeps a nice air of innocence that's enough for a kids' film, plus older kids and adults will know exactly what they're trying to say, and everyone can laugh.

I would still watch the movie first though, if I were you, and you were the parent of a 4- or 5-year-old tot. This is still rated PG, and even though I personally didn't really see anything overly offensive, there are scenes that might be intense for the really little ones. Now, if you've got kids that are 18, 14, and 2, the youngest has probably seen Deadpool by now, and you're probably A-OK with that.

That was a joke.

Don't show an R-rated

film to a two-year old.

They buy the house, and there's a young fox on the horizon.

Yes. That is in fact, Kristofferson. Does that look remotely male to you? Also, what the cuss is with those "unaccompanied minor" tags? Why not just have it say what it really means:

You're never gonna unsee that, so don't try.

Anyway, Kristofferson is actually really athletic, tall, and loved by everyone... except Ash, who becomes jealous of him, as his likability keep's Mr. Fox's attention away from his son.

There's a kind of B-plot that goes along with the young kits, but you can kinda guess where it goes, so I won't expound here.

Mr. Fox thinks of a plan behind his wife's back, pulling in Kylie, the opossum I mentioned earlier, along with him. Kylie is willing to help, despite the fact that he's a tad cowardly.

I'm sorry, but this makes me laugh almost every time.

They successfully raid Boggis's farm, and bring the loot home, making it look like a butcher's shop purchase. Mrs. Fox becomes just a touch suspicious.

After some B-plot, the duo go after Bunce's farm, again successfully. Mrs. Fox gets even more suspicious.

On the third night, they go after Bean's farm, this time taking Kristofferson with them. Ash wants to go, too, but Mr. Fox, father of the year, sends him home because he's "too little and uncoordinated." They go to Bean's cellar and make off with some cider after an encounter with a security rat.

I just wrote that sentence.

These events seem to rightfully tick off the farmers, and they meet to plan to kill Mr. Fox. Mr. Fox, feeling as confident as ever, decides to try to sneak out one more time with Kylie, and gets caught by his wife. He badly lies his way out (with no help from the opossum), but she lets them go, anyway. This time, all three farmers are hiding behind some bushes. A breeze gives carries their scent to Mr. Fox, but it's too late. Mr. Fox and Kylie make it back inside, but...

We caught the tail, but we missed the fox.

That's only a sliver of the consequences going these animals' way. Their home eventually gets dug up, the tunnels are ruined, and many animals are homeless and in ruin.

Also, this happens.

I don't often question these things. I just dance along.

The only positive side to all this is that because of the farmers' relentless efforts to dig up their nemesis, all of their farms are left unattended. The animals eventually steal all that the farmers have. This makes Mr. Bean very unhappy, and he thinks of a plan. Meanwhile, the animals are having a fantastic (rim shot) time in their new tunnels, partying, eating, and making merry. I'll bring the little kits back in, because they actually serve some purpose to the story. Ash, determined to make his father proud of him, decides that he's going to steal his dad's tail, and enlists a reluctant Kristofferson to help him. The two get caught, and Ash escapes back to the tunnels, while Kristofferson gets caught by Mrs. Bean and gets locked in a crate.

Back in the tunnels, Mr. Bean's plan springs into action. He floods everybody out into the sewers with his apple cider.

*sskknnxxchch!* That never gets old.

Ash catches up and reports Kristofferson's capture. To add insult to injury, the only way out of the sewers, a single city manhole, has been blocked by a car parked right on top of it. Yeah... that's one of very few points of this movie that don't make sense. Barring the anthropomorphism, of course. Mr. Fox eventually decides he'll surrender and give up his own life to save the others.

The rest of the animals try to find an alternative way to survive, but run into the security rat, who delivers them a ransom note. The farmers mistook Kristofferson as the Foxes' son. Ash clears it up, leading to Rat's attempt at kidnapping him. Ash's screams reach Mr. Fox's ears just in time, and he makes it back to find Rat attempting to kill Felicity, who tried to rescue Ash. A final showdown results in Rat's death, and Mr. Fox plans a new mission to rescue Kristofferson, retrieve his tail, and take some revenge on the farmers. This time, however, he uses all of the animals' talents, rather than try to rely on his own sly whit.

I really hate to give away good points of the movie, so I say DON'T WATCH IF YOU DON'T WANT THE MOVIE SPOILED. If you don't particularly care, please watch. You won't be disappointed.

Even Ash gets in on the fun, helping rescue Kristofferson, and saving Mr. Fox and Kylie, which finally has Ash earn his Dad's favor.

Then this scene happens:

Alright. I'm gonna question

this one. What the cuss??? This

had absolutely nothing to do 

with the plot of the book or 

the movie. It's barely even

 explained in the movie!

Anyway, we leave off with loose ends tied. The farmers sit at the manhole, waiting for the fox to emerge, Kristofferson's dad has been reported to have gotten a health upgrade, and the animals find a way to survive in the sewer system.

I'm not gonna give away the scene that goes along with the closing song, but here's the track, anyway.

So there you have it. Fantastic Mr. Fox. If you've never read the book, you should. If you've never seen the movie, you should. They're both from the same classic underrated story. It's even more fun if you watch with others. My mom and I both love this movie, and I think I can safely say it's our 2nd favorite, behind Once Upon a Forest.

I'm gonna have to write about that, aren't I?

What's your favorite underrated... thing? Movie, book, toy, song... it can be anything.

Shameless plugging time!

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