The Fantastic Mr. Fox - 2009
by Wes Anderson
The smart remarks are just the cherry on top of this
delightful movie Wes Anderson and his crew put together.
The well chosen shots and the fast but smooth editing,
justifies all the non realistic scenes
by turning them into a quite familiar version
of our own reality.
It transcends the barrier Disney, perhaps, had
created for a perfect complicity between me as an
spectator and an animal depicted in the screen.
Because here, the animal is primarily myself.
The Context:
It begins with the biggest transition one might be part of,
early when we are still getting introduced to our hero;
the pregnancy of Mrs. Fox, turns the dead alley of a cage into
a bright new road to follow, one with the same title as the
movie.
Well, this is Mr. Fox, the kind of guy who when trouble hits, he´s
some how never permanently down. And this is sort of what
we´re reminded of by this film, nothing is too bad,
when you fight for your family, having your friends
on your side. and Off course this isn´t all,
the film is a well of once moral-cliches
that our current media ends up leving most often behind:
Highlighting:
The unbeatable philosophy of the "Together we
can do All things!" So popular in early 90´s kids shows,
added by the "Little Guy´s self blossoming into a
greater person! although nothing really has changed in the end".
And it fit´s more: some little overlooked critics on
our society;
Like the Mom who deliberately chooses responsibility
over passion in that great water fall sequence...
Or like the fact that the popular cousin is awesome,
Simply because he´s awesome, and not because he
pretends well, or due to a pretty face... (Like we unfortunatly see a lot)
He´s a collection of all the praiseworthy qualities one
should have, naming:
Self Control. Ethical Mentality. Amazing Athletics. Good Smarts.
I mean the kid is cool, even amid a great family trial,
a family that was present, actively engaged
in his 'development'. all the values here pointed out,
were a legacy of his now sick father.
It´s fair to say that the paradox between him and his
cousin is there so we now who´s Mr.Fox ,
He´s the opposite of his nephew
Because:
Mr. Fox is us, viewed in a way we´ve tried not to look
upon ourselves.
Mr. Fox is the 'modern man'.
He represents our need for a GYM account.
He is our fishing trips... Our football matches...
Our need for speeding on city roads, for
'cussing' at our politics...
Our impolite 'burps' when alone...
Or even our loud singing on the shower.
Mr Fox is all that, but he like us, can´t be that '24/7'
there are too many formalities, bureaucracies.
And thus he lived,
wearing a mask. until he
got tired of it, ignored his lawyer,
bought a huge house so that
in spite of his need for recognition
he´d be free by
making justice himself, like in the
old 'jungle' times, as we somehow imagine it on
history classes or in western movies...
Truth is, his decision generated a movie about him,
with smoking guns mixed with stealing attempts,
and climaxed by death.
The film It´s off course and 'adult' movie,
the main point is not for the kids
but for their
dad´s.
But don´t expect to see a
sermon out of it, because the film doesn´t
condemn nor points out
what´s good or bad.
With all his 'fantasticness' Mr. Fox is still
a thief. The guys he had stolen from are those with
connections enough to stop the world and begining
a war against our hero... The lipstick in his son´s
mouth, concludes the kid´s pursuit and
The Fantastic one isn´t the awesome cousin
but the thief Fox.
What´s celebrated in deed isn´t morals, or the lack of it.
But The 'cult' to the wild! The sacred
ground is the contact between
the modern man wild on his modern way
and the wild wolf, praising each other.
in a warrior like fashion and both go
their ways...
Wes Anderson did this all by (as briefly stated in our first paragraph)
using the only thing in the project he had 100% of
control over: The Camera.
The whole stop-motion thing, and the 'overlooked
step' of making it all make some sense,
came not singularly by his genius,
but from his crew´s talent;
In such attempts, directing is as crucial
as saving princess Zelda.
The set up has allowed him to be the hero,
and I´m personally glad he had pursuited such
an unique way of doing just that;
'Deciding' on a continuation of his previous discorses.
Sarcastic, naturalistic, and human.
that´s the effect Anderson caused, in his adapting of this,
the simple tale of a fox.
by Augusto Pereira.
