I had made the comment a few times before watching The Fantastic Mr. Fox that Wes Anderson likely made this film to silence his critics’ complaints that all his films were exactly the same. Little did I know that the fantastic Mr. Anderson had actually been working on this film since before The Royal Tenenbaums. Upon watching the film, I was also quite surprised to discover just how similar this film is to his others – and that is a great thing! Anderson’s animated adaptation (co-written with Noah Baumbach) of the Roald Dahl children’s story is a whimsical and downright enjoyable experience. All of his films have an emphasis on family and again that dynamic takes center stage. The voice work by the likes of Clooney, Schwartzman, Streep, Murray, and Dafoe is top notch. A ton of credit should also go to the animators and production designers for creating such a uniquely Dahl-esque vision. But the real star is the story telling. This is pretty much the perfect union of a light kids tale with the wit and quirk of Wes Anderson – which turns out to be a really fantastic marriage. It is a great holiday movie and I highly recommend checking it out. If you enjoy it, then also check out Anderson’s interview on KCRW’s The Treatment.