DVDs Nuts (& Bolts): Fantastic Mr. Fox

Director Wes Anderson's stop-motion animated adaptation of Roald Dahl's kids story is out on home video now and it's a must-have!

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Complex Original

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Director Wes Anderson annoys a lot of people. An auteur known for the painstaking detail and poppy color of his sets, soundtracks full of obscure folk and rock songs, and dry, hip, exceedingly white humor of films like Rushmore and The Royal Tenenbaums, how could he not? However, with Fantastic Mr. Fox, Anderson's stop-motion animated adaptation of Roald Dahl's classic children's book, everything grating about his live action films makes it great...

The story of Mr. Fox (voiced by George Clooney), a poultry thief who tames his wild, criminal ways for his family only to stir shit up when he begins pulling heists again, benefits from anal retentiveness, from the miniature sets you'd need to study for hours to fully appreciate to slight movements of fur on faces and the juxtaposition of adult content (the wearing a severed tail as a necktie) with the playful, G-rated omission of swear words ("If you're gonna cuss with somebody, you're not gonna cuss with me, you little cuss!"). Speaking of which, witty remarks made by furry woodland creatures elicit less groans and eye rolls than they do rolling off the tongues of frequent collaborators Jason Schwartzman (who plays Mr. Fox's son, Ash), Bill Murray (Clive Badger), and Owen Wilson (Coach Skip). It's such a perfect marriage that we kinda wish Anderson would "stop motion" on any future live action projects and continue along the path of Fantastic Mr. Fox, if only so we could reserve our contempt for people who truly deserve it, like Michael Bay.

Special features on Blu-ray and DVD:
• From Script to Screen
• Still Life (Puppet Animation)
• A Beginner's Guide to Whack-Bat

Special features exclusive to Blu-ray:
• The Look of Fantastic Mr. Fox
• The Puppet Makers
• The Cast
• Bill and His Badger
• Fantastic Mr. Fox: The World Of Roald Dahl

Click here to buy the Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy Combo Pack now at Amazon.com for $24.99.

Click here to buy the single-disc DVD now at Amazon.com for $17.99.

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