Daniel makes stuff, and, in his spare time, writes about things like movies, kid culture, and geek stuff.
"Fantastic Mr. Fox" Reviewed.

Dana Stevens, for Slate:

This movie will seduce you on tactile terms alone. The animal characters’ real, shiny fur, gently moving in the wind! The infinitely detailed sets and props: acorn-patterned wallpaper, cutlery made from deer hooves, bespoke corduroy jackets with tiny stalks of wheat in place of pocket squares! You don’t want to watch this movie, you want to climb inside it and play.

Exactly.

Nov 14, 2009 :: Tagged under: , , :: #

Fur Flies on 'Mr. Fox'

Ouch. The Los Angeles Times’ close-up report of the making of Wes Anderson’s “Fantastic Mr. Fox” portrays the director in terms that are, shall we say, not the least bit flattering.

That said, I’m pretty doggoned excited for this movie – and I imagine it will have a larger draw for audiences of children than “Where the Wild Things Are,” even if the latter is a more honest, resonating portrayal of childhood. (Hey, you can’t beat Roald Dahl for entertainment.)

Oct 11, 2009 :: Tagged under: , , :: #

The Next Great Director/Children’s Book Pairing

Amy Kraft amusingly considers what the next perfect Great Film Director/Children’s Book pairing will be – after Spike Jonze and “Where the Wild the Wild Things Are”, and Wes Anderson and “Fantastic Mr. Fox” (both of which I am so deeply in love with).

I’m awfully fond of this imaginary pairing:

Michel Gondry’s Harold and the Purple Crayon – can you imagine the imagery that Gondry would give to this already imaginative classic?

I’d also like to see some love for Leo Lionni’s books. Or maybe a Peter Jackson take on Eric Carle’s “The Very Hungry Caterpillar,” where the famished larvae roams New York City and starts eating tall buildings.

Aug 01, 2009 :: Tagged under: , , , :: #

The Trailer for "Fantastic Mr. Fox"

Fresh out today. It’s contagiously funny, perfectly Dahl-ish, and has just the right amount of that Wes Anderson whimsy. (The trailer’s also not the least bit reminiscent of that other George Clooney flick, Ocean’s 11.)

There’s been some criticism that the film looks “too flat,” but I’m all the more happy for it; it reminds me of those cheesy dioramas I used to make in Junior High out of shoeboxes – and somehow, that feeling just makes perfect sense for this film.

I also loved this anecdote: according to a recent article in The Times, acclaimed writer and director Wes Anderson would apparently often show at production meetings wearing the exact same corduroy suit as the title character (though I’m imagining the model Mr. Fox had a much smaller version). Before the production began, he also wrote the film’s script in the same little hut that Dahl wrote the original book in – and he was frequently spotted by neighbors going on walks in the nearby woods outside of Dahl’s home in Great Missenden.

I have to say, for a director – now that’s just altogether classy.

Jul 30, 2009 :: Tagged under: , , :: #

Wes Anderson's "Fantastic Mr. Fox"

There are two things that I will always, undoubtedly, without condition love-beyond-fathomable-reason: and they are Roald Dahl and Wes Anderson.

Dahl – the uniquely wonderful British author known for “James and the Giant Peach” and other literary classics – brought an unrelenting humor and dark whimsy to my childhood. Literally, I felt my brain being tickled whenever I read his books; there were little men, Gremlin-like, who sprouted from the book pages, hopping from chapter to chapter to then enter my left ear and wander deeper inside my head, where they poked and prodded my cerebrum relentlessly.

Anderson – the auteur film director with his idiosyncratic stories and offbeat visual sensibilities – has these past few years taken up an uncannily close place to Dahl in my brain. Like Dahl, he is unsentimental in his storytelling and fiercely funny in recognizing the absurdities of life. His imagination just naturally seeps into my everyday thoughts and experiences, and his darned visual style pervades my life (and clothing choices). He’s too irresistible not to love.

Naturally then, the thought of Roald Dahl and Wes Anderson put together makes my head explode. But that’s exactly the case with the upcoming Wes Anderson film, “Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride” bringing the movie to life, it shall be very good. I declare that as absolute truth, even before seeing it.

But all of this is to say that the very first photograph of the movie has now hit the web you’ll have to round it out a bit in your head with past knowledge of Wes Anderson’s trademark style, but it is exciting. Here it is:

Complementing it, and perhaps slightly more fitting with the image I have in my head of the movie, is the only other glimpse we’ve gotten, of the film’s logo:

If that doesn’t tickle your brain, then you’re not wired right.

Jul 10, 2009 :: Tagged under: , , , , :: #