From the beloved author of all our favorite stories like Matilda, BFG, and Charlie and
The Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl strikes again with this one–of–a–kind story, “Fantastic Mr.
Fox”. In 2009 it was made into a movie, directed by Wes Anderson and co–written by Noah
Baumbach. It’s an incredible stop–motion animation about a Fox who made a mistake and now
must fight to protect his family, friends, and home. Starring George Clooney as Mr. Fox, without
him this movie would not be what it is today, his voice perfectly fits the character and all Mr.
Fox stands for. To most it will seem like some silly, comedic fox, but after reading this you’ll see
that it is much more than what people see.
“We’re all different. Especially him. But there’s something kind of fantastic about that,
isn’t there?” When saying this Mrs. Fox played by Meryl Streep, points to her husband,
indicating that even though he’s different than anyone else, he’s still himself and that’s perfect to
her. Mrs. Fox has some wisdom to her words, why is the box for inclusion so small? In high
school there are things you must check off to be considered “cool”. Things like having a cool car,
or being able to stay out late, having the latest fashion trends, or even having the prettiest face.
Theres no reason to base others off what they have or who they hang out with, no matter what
they still have feelings. The ‘Golden Rule’ is a recurring theme within this movie, “Treat others
how you want to be treated’. You cannot expect someone to be nice and hang out with you, if
there is no effort put in on your side. People will be excluded and lonely in many different
situations, all one has to do to help them feel less lonely is to be nice and make a new friend,
what’s the harm in that?
“Why a fox? Why not a horse, or a beetle, or a bald eagle? I’m saying this more as, like,
existentialism, you know? Who am I? And how can a fox be happy, without, forgive the
expression, a chicken in its teeth?” Mr. Fox says. With everything that he’s done he still feels not
good enough. It’s completely common for people to feel this way, to feel that they aren’t worth it
without something significant. For a lot of people this object is something physical, like hair, or
their eyes, just something that makes them, them. A lot of times this can be a positive thing,
something personal like an experience they went through. Mr. Fox feels this, he made a mistake
of going back to his fox ways and risked everything that he loved. She goes on to tell him that
he’s so much more she says, “You are also a husband and a father.” Mrs. Fox goes through great
lengths for him to see that he’s not just some wild animal. But as the movie progresses, he can
realize that he can forgive himself for it, and at the end he notices that this experienced changed
him in a way that anything else could not.
“In the end, we all die. Unless you change”. Change is a common trend within this
movie, character need to accept that somethings will never be the same, that friends come but
The Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl strikes again with this one–of–a–kind story, “Fantastic Mr.
Fox”. In 2009 it was made into a movie, directed by Wes Anderson and co–written by Noah
Baumbach. It’s an incredible stop–motion animation about a Fox who made a mistake and now
must fight to protect his family, friends, and home. Starring George Clooney as Mr. Fox, without
him this movie would not be what it is today, his voice perfectly fits the character and all Mr.
Fox stands for. To most it will seem like some silly, comedic fox, but after reading this you’ll see
that it is much more than what people see.
“We’re all different. Especially him. But there’s something kind of fantastic about that,
isn’t there?” When saying this Mrs. Fox played by Meryl Streep, points to her husband,
indicating that even though he’s different than anyone else, he’s still himself and that’s perfect to
her. Mrs. Fox has some wisdom to her words, why is the box for inclusion so small? In high
school there are things you must check off to be considered “cool”. Things like having a cool car,
or being able to stay out late, having the latest fashion trends, or even having the prettiest face.
Theres no reason to base others off what they have or who they hang out with, no matter what
they still have feelings. The ‘Golden Rule’ is a recurring theme within this movie, “Treat others
how you want to be treated’. You cannot expect someone to be nice and hang out with you, if
there is no effort put in on your side. People will be excluded and lonely in many different
situations, all one has to do to help them feel less lonely is to be nice and make a new friend,
what’s the harm in that?
“Why a fox? Why not a horse, or a beetle, or a bald eagle? I’m saying this more as, like,
existentialism, you know? Who am I? And how can a fox be happy, without, forgive the
expression, a chicken in its teeth?” Mr. Fox says. With everything that he’s done he still feels not
good enough. It’s completely common for people to feel this way, to feel that they aren’t worth it
without something significant. For a lot of people this object is something physical, like hair, or
their eyes, just something that makes them, them. A lot of times this can be a positive thing,
something personal like an experience they went through. Mr. Fox feels this, he made a mistake
of going back to his fox ways and risked everything that he loved. She goes on to tell him that
he’s so much more she says, “You are also a husband and a father.” Mrs. Fox goes through great
lengths for him to see that he’s not just some wild animal. But as the movie progresses, he can
realize that he can forgive himself for it, and at the end he notices that this experienced changed
him in a way that anything else could not.
“In the end, we all die. Unless you change”. Change is a common trend within this
movie, character need to accept that somethings will never be the same, that friends come but
that doesn’t make them less your friend. Mrs. Fox says this to her husband, she is reminding him
that yes, he will die, just like his father. But if he tries, he wouldn’t have to be just a “Fox”. In the
movie two characters, Agnes and Kristofferson, begin to complement each other saying, “I like
your ears.” Agnes says, “Thank you! I like your
spots.”, “Really? I used to cover them up, but
you know…” Through this we can truly see that
when change takes place your truly able to
embrace and love who you are no matter the
flaws. Just like Agnes, accepting what bothers
you, moving on becomes so much easier. This
change in her life made her more confident, and
happy. Mr. Fox is trying to change his family
situation throughout the movie and get his family
to have a better home with a view. So, when
talking with his wife he says, “I don’t want to live in a hole anymore. It makes me feel poor.”
Said Mr. Fox. “We are poor. But we’re happy.” Replies Mrs. Fox. Again Mr. Fox says, “Honey, I
am seven non–fox years old. My father died at seven and a half. I don’t want to live in a hole
anymore, and I’m going to do something about it.” Taking the initiative Mr. Fox can learn more
about himself, friends, and family. When not happy with his life he leaps on the opportunity for
change, even though he makes mistakes and its very trial and error, Mr. Fox was able to reach his
goal. If there’s a will there’s a way, no matter the obstacles, change is only a few feet away.
Highschool can tear people down throughput the years, over and over making people feel
that what others think is the most important. Mr. Fox brings this idea to life by saying, “I think I
have this thing where I need everybody to think I’m the greatest. The quote, unquote. ‘Fantastic
Mr. Fox.’ And if they aren’t completely knocked out and dazzled and kind of intimidated by me,
then I don’t feel good about myself.” The social standard in the world is if money and your status
not high enough people will push and belittle you every chance they get. Not knowing anything
about you, they’ll begin to assume, and rumors will spread like a wildfire, no matter how hard
you try to fix the situation, people will not listen. Basing your confidence off others is not a
healthy way to live, and Mr. Fox refuses to be less than what people see him as. Risking his
whole life, and the life of his family, it finally knocks into his head that no one cares. No one
cares if he’s dazzling, or intimidating, or even fantastic. To them he will always be a fox, so why
push it into their head when they refuse to see?
For 1 hour and 45 minutes, the Fantastic Mr. Fox movie can bring life and fun to
characters once written by Roald Dahl. Following these hilarious characters like Mrs. Fox, Mr.
Fox, their kids, and friends, we can see how much love and determination truly exists between
them. On the outside the movie appears to be some silly stop motion children’s show, but by
digging deeper we can see that it means a lot more. Theres messages about change, and about
loving yourself, but there’s also messages about how no matter what. Being able to see these
that yes, he will die, just like his father. But if he tries, he wouldn’t have to be just a “Fox”. In the
movie two characters, Agnes and Kristofferson, begin to complement each other saying, “I like
your ears.” Agnes says, “Thank you! I like your
spots.”, “Really? I used to cover them up, but
you know…” Through this we can truly see that
when change takes place your truly able to
embrace and love who you are no matter the
flaws. Just like Agnes, accepting what bothers
you, moving on becomes so much easier. This
change in her life made her more confident, and
happy. Mr. Fox is trying to change his family
situation throughout the movie and get his family
to have a better home with a view. So, when
talking with his wife he says, “I don’t want to live in a hole anymore. It makes me feel poor.”
Said Mr. Fox. “We are poor. But we’re happy.” Replies Mrs. Fox. Again Mr. Fox says, “Honey, I
am seven non–fox years old. My father died at seven and a half. I don’t want to live in a hole
anymore, and I’m going to do something about it.” Taking the initiative Mr. Fox can learn more
about himself, friends, and family. When not happy with his life he leaps on the opportunity for
change, even though he makes mistakes and its very trial and error, Mr. Fox was able to reach his
goal. If there’s a will there’s a way, no matter the obstacles, change is only a few feet away.
Highschool can tear people down throughput the years, over and over making people feel
that what others think is the most important. Mr. Fox brings this idea to life by saying, “I think I
have this thing where I need everybody to think I’m the greatest. The quote, unquote. ‘Fantastic
Mr. Fox.’ And if they aren’t completely knocked out and dazzled and kind of intimidated by me,
then I don’t feel good about myself.” The social standard in the world is if money and your status
not high enough people will push and belittle you every chance they get. Not knowing anything
about you, they’ll begin to assume, and rumors will spread like a wildfire, no matter how hard
you try to fix the situation, people will not listen. Basing your confidence off others is not a
healthy way to live, and Mr. Fox refuses to be less than what people see him as. Risking his
whole life, and the life of his family, it finally knocks into his head that no one cares. No one
cares if he’s dazzling, or intimidating, or even fantastic. To them he will always be a fox, so why
push it into their head when they refuse to see?
For 1 hour and 45 minutes, the Fantastic Mr. Fox movie can bring life and fun to
characters once written by Roald Dahl. Following these hilarious characters like Mrs. Fox, Mr.
Fox, their kids, and friends, we can see how much love and determination truly exists between
them. On the outside the movie appears to be some silly stop motion children’s show, but by
digging deeper we can see that it means a lot more. Theres messages about change, and about
loving yourself, but there’s also messages about how no matter what. Being able to see these
lessons one can find a way to connect to the movie on a deeper level. The most important lesson
though, is to always know that someone will always find you fantastic.
though, is to always know that someone will always find you fantastic.
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