The Belmont Picturehouse | Daily | Click here for screening times

Review by Dallas King

I will attempt to get through this review without using the “F” word, as that would be very lazy and far too easy, suffice to say that F… MR FOX is one of the most purely enjoyable film experiences of the year.

Wes Anderson has taken Roald Dahl’s source material (a reformed thief, tired of the quiet life, coming out of retirement for one last job) and adapted it into a story that could almost be classified as The Royal Tenenbaums 2:  Charismatic patriarch, check.   Family dysfunction, check.   All the lead characters are animals, check…no, wait a minute, although  if you actually close your eyes while in the cinema it could pass as a regular Anderson film.

The cast are all on top form, with the likes of Clooney, Streep and Gambon gelling well with the Anderson regulars Schwartzman and Murray.  The decision to use stop-motion animation is perfect, and just like Wallace & Gromit,  it adds to the overall quirkiness, charm and British-ness of the story.  I honestly don’t think it would have worked as well with Pixar-style CG.

As with all the best animated films, there is something for everyone to enjoy. Children will be captivated by the action set pieces of Fox’s raids on the farms or the daring rescue mission while adults will warm to the characters and surprisingly touching storyline.

It is also absurd and laugh out loud funny at times (“you wrote a bad song Petey” being a highlight) and there are more cuss words in this film that any other PG-rated film in history but the trick here is that all the swear words have been replaced with the word “cuss” e.g. when Bean declares the latest attempt to capture Fox has been a “complete clustercuss”.

Get down to The Belmont for 87 minutes of pure cinematic entertainment which I guarantee you’ll think is fantastic… oh cuss it!

(Also, look out for Picturehouses’ very own Little Theatre Cinema in Bath making a cameo appearance during the final rescue mission!)

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2igjYFojUo]