Wes Anderson's Acceptance Speech

Enchanting Mr. Anderson

Chris Appelhans' preliminary artworks for Fantastic Mr. Fox

Last August, in two of Animalarium's earliest posts, I expressed my excitement about the upcoming Where the Wild Things Are and Fantastic Mr. Fox. After seeing Spike Jonze's movie, I'll admit having mixed feelings about his adaptation of one of my most beloved children's books. Now, I am very happy to say that last night my exceedingly high expectations were more than matched by Anderson's production of Roald Dahl's classic children's story (and not just because I have a passion for foxes). I was absolutely delighted by just about everything in his movie, and so seems Mrs. Dahl. Watch her interview in this short promotional clip, where one can also have a glimpse of the amazing and painstaking work of the stop motion animation team. I had no idea that Wes Anderson had moved into Dahl's house to write the script, then photographed and reproduced every piece of furniture in it! Details like this make me appreciate my favorite director's aesthetically obsessive nature even more...

Wes Anderson's Fantastic Mr. Fox

Here is the trailer for the new Wes Anderson animated movie based on the Roald Dahl book. Anderson's trademark style, which I personally love, seems to translate very well into stop motion (notice the charming retro feeling and centered frontal shots). Plus, the characters have great voices by George Clooney, Anjelica Huston, Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzman and Bill Murray. I can't wait to see it, but will have to wait till its release in November...