Blu-ray Movie Reviews

The mean old farmers - fat Boggis, squat Bunce and skinny Bean have joined forces and have Mr. Fox and his family surrounded. What they don't know is that they are not just dealing with any old fox - it's "Fantastic Mr. Fox" and he has a fantastic master plan to save the day.

Wes Anderson did a magnificent job bringing this odd tale to the big screen. This, like Where the Wild Things Are, delivered a different type of children’s story, that doesn’t seem to be geared much toward children. The themes here are far more adult, but I think kids would still enjoy the rich visuals and occasional comedy that doesn’t fly over their heads. I can assure you that you haven’t seen anything like this, which is always something I’m excited to see out of Hollywood. Fans of Anderson’s previous films will find the dialogue and humor familiar but some may find it a bit awkward at times. I enjoyed it even more this second time around, and still find the animation to be dazzling.

This is a stop motion production for the most part and the Blu-ray serves up the rich visual palette nicely. It isn’t quite as finely delineated as “Coraline” or “The Corpse Bride”, but it is detailed nonetheless. The color palette is rich in golden hues and even the darker scenes hold up nicely with good shadow detail and black levels. The soundtrack is a lot of fun and I LOVED the musical selections riddled throughout the film. The sound design is inventive and the spatial design convincing. There isn’t much not to like here.

Fox serves up some great extras here that give you a look into the production of the film. You get a bird’s eye view into the making of the stop motion animation, and the talent behind the voices. You also get some fun features on the rather bizarre aspects of the film. Fox also serves up a DVD copy of the film and a digital copy for your portable device.

By far the most bizarre of 2009’s animated fare; “The Fantastic Mr. Fox” is a fun ride that serves up Anderson’s normal knack for inventive dialogue and characters. While it may look like a family film, I don’t know how much the kids will really get it. Still, I can’t help but give it my highest recommendation!