‘Fantastic Mr. Fox’: Fall, Masculinity and Family

A landscape dominated by rich oranges, yellows and browns has made its annual return, and my fixation on Wes Anderon’s Fantastic Mr. Fox has come with it once again. In the past four years, I have likely watched the stop-motion masterpiece over a dozen times, having never grown tired of the gorgeous frames or the dry humor delivered flawlessly by the star-studded cast of voice actors (the ensemble includes George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Bill Murray, Jason Schwartzman, Owen Wilson and Willem Dafoe). In honor of the 15th anniversary of the film’s release, I rewatched Fantastic Mr. Fox again, focusing on its brilliant portrayal of existentialism, masculinity and family. The film opens with a wide shot of the title character, Mr. Fox, waiting on a small hill. Warm oranges dominate his character as well as the surrounding countryside.  He listens to “The Ballad of Davy Crockett” on the portable radio strapped to his hip.

Our Father Who Art in Doubt

People don’t like to watch movies with me. It’s not because I have bad taste in movies or because I smell really bad. It’s because I ask too many questions. I can’t help it. I just want to know what’s going on, to find the truth, get answers. Therefore, it is a miracle that I liked Doubt, a movie based on the Pulitzer-winning play of the same name, in which no answers are ever provided — not at the beginning, not in the middle, and not even at the end.
What’s the point of a movie that doesn’t give answers? In the end, at least, I like to know who’s good, who’s bad, and who’s just ugly. But Doubt isn’t about finding answers. In fact, it’s about just the opposite. Yup, you guessed it — it’s about having doubt.