Mr. Fox is in town: Wes Anderson film at Little Theatre

By Sebastian Fryer
Western Herald

One of 2009’s most critically acclaimed animated films is coming to campus this weekend.

The Western Film Society will be screening Wes Anderson’s “The Fantastic Mr. Fox” at the Little Theatre on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

“The Fantastic Mr. Fox” is directed by Wes Anderson, who is known for the films “Rushmore,” “The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou,” “The Royal Tennenbaums,” and “The Darjeeling Limited.”

The film is Anderson’s first foray into animated features, and features voice acting from such stars as George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzman and Bill Murray.

The stop-motion animated movie is based on the children’s book by Roald Dahl, who wrote other novels such as “Matilda,” “The BFG,” and “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.”

Dahl’s work is no stranger to film adaptation; “Matilda,” “James and the Giant Peach,” and “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” have all been adapted to the big screen.

“The Fantastic Mr. Fox” follows the titular Mr. Fox (voiced by Clooney), an ex-chicken-thief who has trouble settling down with a wife and kid.

When Mr. Fox starts going back to his old ways, he faces adversity from three dastardly farmers.

The film is being presented at the Little Theatre by the Western Film Society, a Western Michigan University registered student organization that brings lesser-seen films to Kalamazoo.

“[The film] is stop-motion animated, which is an animation technique that doesn’t show up much in film anymore,” WFS President Justin Gibson said.

“It’s kind of refreshing to see this movie since most [animated] movies are now computer animated.”

Although the film was shown at Kalamazoo theaters when it was released, the WFS decided to screen “Fox” for those in the area that missed it.

“It did come to theatres, but it came and went during the holiday season,” Gibson said.

Gibson also said that he had received many requests for the WFS to screen the film at the Little Theatre.

“The Fantastic Mr. Fox” has received many critical accolades, including Academy Award nominations for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Score.

Wes Anderson was also awarded a Special Filmmaking Achievement award by the National Board of Review for his work on the film.

“[It’s] one of my favorites I’ve seen last year,” Gibson said. “I think that in terms of what comes out, so much in animation is [computer-generated]. It’s good to see another way to do it, a throwback. It’s good to look at.”

“The Fantastic Mr. Fox” will be screened at the Little Theatre on Friday, Feb. 19 and Saturday, Feb. 20 at 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.

The film will also be shown on Sunday, Feb. 21 at 2:30 p.m. and 5 p.m.

Tickets will be available for $5 for the general public and $3 for students with valid ID.

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Posted by heraldstaff on Feb 18 2010. Filed under A & E, Weekend Scene. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

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