Fantastic Mr. Fox

Wes Anderson: Fantastic Mr. Fox (US 2009).

Kekseliäs kettu / Den fantastiska räven.
    US © 2009 Twentieth Century Fox [yes!] Film Corporation / Indian Paintbrush / Regency Enterprises. P: Scott Rudin, Jeremy Dawson, Wes Anderson, Allison Abbate.
    D: Wes Anderson. SC: Wes Anderson, Noah Baumbach – based on the children's novel (1970) by Roald Dahl – translated into Finnish by Panu Pekkanen / WSOY (1978). DP: Tristan Oliver. M: Alexandre Desplat – M dept.: big – most of the score is based on the soundtrack playlist, see beyond the jump break. AD: Francesca Berglingieri Maxwell. Art Dept.: big. SFX crew: big (puppet crew big - Mackinnon and Saunders, etc.). VFX crew: big (rotoscope artists, compositors, digital artists). AN dept.: big – AN director: Mark Gustafson – AN supervisor: Mark Waring. Cost: Catherine Allen Busch. S: David Evans, Jacob Ribicoff. ED: Andrew Weisblum.
    Voice talent: George Clooney (Mr. Fox), Meryl Streep (Mrs. Fox), Jason Schwartzman (Ash Fox), Eric Chase Anderson (Kristoffersson Silverfox), Karen Duffy (Linda Otter), Wallace Wolodarsky (Kylie), Bill Murray (Clive Badger), Owen Wilson (Coach Skip), Willem Dafoe (Rat), Michael Gambon (Franklin Bean), Adrien Brody (Field Mouse), Jarvis Cocker (Petey), Brian Cox (Daniel Peabody), Wes Anderson (Weasel), Roman Coppola (Squirrel Contractor).
    87 min.
    A KAVA print deposited by FS Film (released without subtitles at Kino Engel), with e-subtitles in Finnish by Leena Virtanen (the nursery rhyme and the names of the three farmers by Panu Pekkanen) at Cinema Orion, Helsinki (Wes Anderson), 24 Nov 2013.

Technical specs from the IMDb: Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 – Camera: Nikon D3, Nikon and Cooke Varotal Lenses – Laboratory: DeLuxe, Hollywood (CA), USA (prints) – Technicolor Creative Services, London, UK (digital intermediate) – Negative Format: Digital – Cinematographic Process: Digital Intermediate (2K) (master format) – Digital Stills (source format) – Printed Film Format: 35 mm (spherical) (Fuji Eterna-CP 3513DI), D-Cinema

IMDb synopsis: "An urbane fox cannot resist returning to his farm raiding ways and then must help his community survive the farmers' retaliation."

AA: One of the best and most original achievements of the current golden age of animation. A puppet animation which has been photographed digitally.

A rich and weird animation about an animal community fighting for its existence in the territory of three mighty farmers. The film has a more lively tempo than other Wes Anderson movies. It is so full of inventive scenes and gags that I already know I will want to see it again.

The visual look of the film is unique. The stills which I do not particularly like do not convey it very well.

The sound is very important. The performances of the voice actors are inspired, and the compilation score (The Ballad of Davy Crockett, Beach Boys, The Rolling Stones... ) is well complemented by the new score music by Alexandre Desplat, including some Morriconean action music stretches.

The film is very literate, and luckily we had a good Finnish translator.

The screening was well attended, and there were many laughs. A part of the audience seemed to know the film well. There were also children in the audience, even very little ones. This autumn we have mounted the first Wes Anderson retrospective in Finland. Finland has not been a land of an equally big Wes Anderson cult as Sweden, but judging by the enthusiastic reception of our retrospective we are on our way to become so.

Our screening of Fantastic Mr. Fox was not perfect. The mirrors of one of our projectors are being readjusted, and the subtitling light was also slightly distracting. A fantastic experience all the same.

SOUNDTRACK LIST BEYOND THE JUMP  BREAK:
The Ballad of Davy Crockett
Music by George Bruns (uncredited)
Lyrics by Thomas W. Blackburn (uncredited)
Performed by The Wellingtons
Courtesy of Walt Disney Records

Street Fighting Man
Written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards
Performed by The Rolling Stones
Courtesy of ABKCO Music & Records, Inc.

Heroes and Villains
Written by Brian Wilson and Van Dyke Parks
Performed by The Beach Boys
Courtesy of Capitol Records
Under license from EMI Film & Television Music

Petey's Song
Written by Jarvis Cocker, Wes Anderson, and Noah Baumbach
Performed by Jarvis Cocker
Courtesy of Rough Trade Records

Fooba Wooba John
Traditional
Performed by Burl Ives
Courtesy of Columbia Records
By arrangement with Sony Music Licensing

Night and Day
Written by Cole Porter
Performed by Art Tatum
Courtesy of Storyville Records
By arrangement with The Music Sales Group

Love
Written by George Bruns and Floyd Huddleston
Performed by Nancy Adams
Courtesy of Walt Disney Records

Adagio
Written by Georges Delerue
Performed by Georges Delerue
Courtesy of Sidomusic B. Liechti & Cie

Buckeye Jim
Written by Burl Ives
Performed by Burl Ives
Courtesy of Columbia Records
By arrangement with Sony Music Licensing

Le Grand Choral
Written by Georges Delerue
Performed by Georges Delerue
Courtesy of Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc.

Horn Concerto No. 4 In E Flat Major
Written by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Performed by Amadeus Concert Orchestra of Polish Radio featuring Jacek Muzyk
Horn courtesy of Naxos
By Arrangement with Source/Q

I Get Around
Written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love
Performed by The Beach Boys
Courtesy of Capitol Records
Under license from EMI Film & Television Music

Ol' Man River
Written by Oscar Hammerstein II and Jerome Kern
Performed by The Beach Boys
Courtesy of Capitol Records
Under license from EMI Film & Television Music

The Grey Goose
Written by Burl Ives
Performed by Burl Ives
Courtesy of Columbia Records
By arrangement with Sony Music Licensing

Let Her Dance
Written by Bobby Fuller
Performed by The Bobby Fuller Four (as Bobby Fuller Four)
Courtesy of Del-Fi / Rhino Entertainment Company
By arrangement with Warner Music Group Film & TV Licensing

Une petite île
Written by Georges Delerue
Performed by Georges Delerue
Courtesy of Sidomusic B. Liechti & Cie