‘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.

WATCH ME IF YOU CAN | Midnight in Paris: faits amusants

2011 saw the release of Woody Allen’s film Midnight in Paris.  Viewers follow an American screenwriter Gil (Owen Wilson) as he wanders around Paris drunk one evening, gets transported to the 1920’s and grows infatuated with the famous figures he interacts with.  His affair with another time period interferes with the time he tries to spend with his fiancee (Rachel McAdams). One does fantasize about the lives that contributed to a golden age of art, music and literature.  In fact, I’ve been testing out this theory of using wine as a vehicle to time travel for a while.