Fantastic Mr. Fox
I think Wes Anderson is a genius. He is funny, has a very distinctive style, and a very good way with characterization. Even the short film “Hotel Chevalier” seems to be oozing Wes-Anderson-ness.
In that respect, it came as quite a surprise how much I disliked “Fantastic Mr. Fox”. It’s not like the film was bad, by far not, but more like I expected more from a director whose films are acclaimed and who I know. It’s rare enough that a famous director suddenly decides to make an animated film, and when I saw this wonderfully subtly funny and well-crafted acceptance speech, I was incredibly hyped up for the film.
Little did I know how the film is going to turn out. I can’t even figure out what I precisely disliked about the film: The (relatively) unlikeable characters, the bland story or the fact that there didn’t seem to be much of a background to the story. The film failed to touch me emotionally, and didn’t have a style that I liked… All I can say is that I found the film to be solid, and rather suspenseful. Of course it’s also quite wonderful that a stop-motion film is still being made. So, perhaps somebody can enlighten me about what is actually great about the film?