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FANTASTIC MR. FOXMovie Reviews
Animated tale, based on Roald Dahl's book of the same name, about a fox clan and friends who muster all their cunning to outsmart three feeble-minded farmers. Cast:George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, Wallace WolodarskyDirector:Wes AndersonRelease Date:November 13, 2009DVD Release:March 23, 2010From:20th Century FoxRating:PGLength:1 hr 27 min
Fantastic Mr. Fox played to outstanding reviews. • Clint O'Connor wrote in the Cleveland Plain-Dealer, "Wes Anderson's best film, and the clever writer-director has already amused us with 'Bottle Rocket,' 'Rushmore,' 'The Royal Tenenbaums' and other quirky treats." • And Moira Macdonald wrote in the Seattle Times, "...utterly charming... that rarity: a children's movie for all." More Reviews Below...
Fantastic Mr. Fox Positive Reviews (42 Reviews, reviews below)
Leah Rozen, People: VERY GOOD(cg) "This slender story is told with droll wit, clever staging and doll house charm thanks to Fox's use of old-fashioned, stop-motion animation."(See all of Leah Rozen's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 192 words, 11/12/09
Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...an endearingly tactile fairy-tale thrift-shop universe... With its virtuoso tomfoolery, 'Fantastic Mr. Fox' is like a homegrown Wallace and Gromit caper."(See all of Owen Gleiberman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 304 words, 11/13/09
Claudia Puig, USA Today: VERY GOOD(cg) "...sometimes witty, if odd... While much of it is entrancing and the tone is endearingly peppy, the humor is uneven and the tale grows repetitive."(See all of Claudia Puig's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 328 words, 11/13/09
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NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES/CHICAGO/TORONTO (12 Reviews)
A.O. Scott, New York Times: OUTSTANDING "Once you adjust to its stop-and-start rhythms and its scruffy looks, you can appreciate its wit, its beauty and the sly gravity of its emotional undercurrents."(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,106 words, 11/13/09
Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News: EXCELLENT(cg) "...remember that this is how it used to be, when certain grownups understood that kids are just as wise as we are. If not, on occasion, more so."(See all of Elizabeth Weitzman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 364 words, 11/13/09
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: OUTSTANDING(cg) "Some artists have a way of riveting your vision with the certitude of what they do.... The spareness of Bergman or the Fellini circus. Wes Anderson is like that."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 735 words, 11/25/09
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: EXCELLENT "...exhilarating and fizzy... Not since the memorable days of 'Bottle Rocket' and 'Rushmore' has it made sense to apply those words to Wes Anderson."(See all of Kenneth Turan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 726 words, 11/13/09
Lou Lumenick, New York Post: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...a gorgeous and witty piece of stop-motion animation from the classic children's book.... a retro marvel that should delight today's audience."(See all of Lou Lumenick's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 409 words, 11/13/09
Rafer Guzman, New York Newsday: OUTSTANDING(cg) "Anderson's first foray into animation doesn't seem to be made entirely with children in mind. Maybe that's why it seems so perfect for them."(See all of Rafer Guzman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 311 words, 11/13/09
David Edelstein, New York Magazine: OUTSTANDING "...endlessly enchanting... Roald Dahl's kids' books have a sort of orderly whimsy, and Anderson, a formalist to the core, is gleefully in tune with that precision."(See all of David Edelstein's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 873 words, 11/09/09
Rick Groen, Toronto Globe & Mail: VERY GOOD(cg) "The tale may be Dahl's, but there's a whole new wag to it - this is decidedly, weirdly and, at best, wonderfully a Wes Anderson movie."(See all of Rick Groen's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 849 words, 11/25/09
Scott Foundas, Village Voice/LA Weekly: OUTSTANDING "...has wonderful shifts in perspective, an intensely tactile design, and an intentional herky-jerkiness of motion that only enriches the make-believe atmosphere..."(See all of Scott Foundas's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 752 words, 11/11/09
Christopher Kelly, Orange County Register: MODERATE(cg) "Imagine 'The Darjeeling Limited' with talking fox heads on the actors' bodies... occasionally amusing, mostly listless, quintessentially Andersonian..."(See all of Christopher Kelly's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 512 words, 11/25/09
Norman Wilner, Toronto Now: EXCELLENT(cg) "...a marvellous flurry of absurdist chases, arguments and barely controlled chaos... very funny, in that arch, observant way that seems specific to Wes Anderson..."(See all of Norman Wilner's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 296 words, 11/19/09
KEY CITIES (16 Reviews)
Ann Hornaday, Washington Post: VERY GOOD(cg) "...adds yet another wry, carefully composed bibelot to the cabinet of curios that defines the Anderson oeuvre.... undeniable, infectious whimsy and warmth."(See all of Ann Hornaday's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 442 words, 11/25/09
Amy Biancolli, Houston Chronicle/San Francisco Chronicle: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...a sprightly animated tale about chicken-stealing predators that boasts Wes Anderson's trademark eccentricity but ditches (most of) his affectation."(See all of Amy Biancolli's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 491 words, 11/25/09
Nancy Churnin, Dallas Morning News: OUTSTANDING(cg) "George Clooney is all roguish charm as Mr. Fox... Meryl Streep remarkably manages to mine emotional complexity as the long-suffering Mrs. Fox..."(See all of Nancy Churnin's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 463 words, 11/25/09
Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...even if it rates as only a serviceable kid film (and savvy children will see it as more than that), it's a genuine entertainment for adults as well."(See all of Bill Goodykoontz's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 607 words, 11/25/09
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...the texture of the fur, the glow on the faces from a dusky light, the cut of the suits - they're simply mesmerizing.... Witty and wonderful..."(See all of Steven Rea's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 709 words, 11/25/09
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star-Tribune: OUTSTANDING(cg) "The whiskery mannequins, with their herky-jerky movements, have a beguiling organic quality that is a welcome relief from the cold computer graphics..."(See all of Colin Covert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 628 words, 11/25/09
Clint O'Connor, Cleveland Plain-Dealer: OUTSTANDING(cg) "Wes Anderson's best film, and the clever writer-director has already amused us with 'Bottle Rocket,' 'Rushmore,' 'The Royal Tenenbaums' and other quirky treats."(See all of Clint O'Connor's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 497 words, 11/25/09
Shawn Levy, Portland Oregonian: EXCELLENT(cg) "...a genuinely fine film, with the fabulous details and emotional dysfunctions that Anderson obsesses over stitched seamlessly into Dahl's darkly funny tale."(See all of Shawn Levy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 612 words, 11/25/09
Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...it's a magical feat, one that turns puppets into personalities and an English meadow into Wes Anderson's world."(See all of Joe Williams's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 338 words, 11/25/09
Steve Persall, St. Petersburg Times: VERY GOOD(cg) "...a cartoon for grownups, not in a raunchy Ralph Bakshi way but with thematic maturity and an animation technique that adults will consider nostalgic..."(See all of Steve Persall's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 402 words, 11/25/09
Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...a stop-motion wonder... resplendent with an autumnal palette of burnt oranges, rich browns, golds. It is delicate and vivid."(See all of Lisa Kennedy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 591 words, 11/25/09
ALTERNATIVE/INDIE PRESS (6 Reviews)
Scott Foundas, Village Voice/LA Weekly: OUTSTANDING "...has wonderful shifts in perspective, an intensely tactile design, and an intentional herky-jerkiness of motion that only enriches the make-believe atmosphere..."(See all of Scott Foundas's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 752 words, 11/11/09
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...written by Wes Anderson and Noah Baumbach with uncommon nuance... an adventure in pure imagination that plays to the smart kid in all of us."(See all of Peter Travers's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 400 words, 11/13/09
Norman Wilner, Toronto Now: EXCELLENT(cg) "...a marvellous flurry of absurdist chases, arguments and barely controlled chaos... very funny, in that arch, observant way that seems specific to Wes Anderson..."(See all of Norman Wilner's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 296 words, 11/19/09
A.O. Scott, New York Times: OUTSTANDING "Once you adjust to its stop-and-start rhythms and its scruffy looks, you can appreciate its wit, its beauty and the sly gravity of its emotional undercurrents."(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,106 words, 11/13/09
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: EXCELLENT "...exhilarating and fizzy... Not since the memorable days of 'Bottle Rocket' and 'Rushmore' has it made sense to apply those words to Wes Anderson."(See all of Kenneth Turan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 726 words, 11/13/09
MOVIE INDUSTRY (5 Reviews)
Todd McCarthy, Daily Variety: VERY GOOD "...recognizably a Wes Anderson film... achieves a feel that is at once coarse-grained and elegant, antiquated and the height of fashion."(See all of Todd McCarthy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,079 words, 10/15/09
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: EXCELLENT "...exhilarating and fizzy... Not since the memorable days of 'Bottle Rocket' and 'Rushmore' has it made sense to apply those words to Wes Anderson."(See all of Kenneth Turan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 726 words, 11/13/09
A.O. Scott, New York Times: OUTSTANDING "Once you adjust to its stop-and-start rhythms and its scruffy looks, you can appreciate its wit, its beauty and the sly gravity of its emotional undercurrents."(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,106 words, 11/13/09
13.3 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
Fantastic Mr. Fox's reviews are separated by an average 13.3 percentage points. The norm for this measure is 18.4 percentage points. Less than 18.4 indicates more consistent reviews; greater than 18.4 indicates more mixed reviews. In the chart below, each dot represents a review, with the dots at the top more positive than the dots at the bottom. From left to right, the dots represent reviews in big, bigger and biggest publications. Roll over each dot for more detail.
Fantastic Mr. Fox (42 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:Fantastic Mr. Fox's reviews cover 88.8% of potential readers (average is 67.9%). Volume:The film's reviews total 22,310 words involume (average is 20,194 words). Length:The film's reviews average 531 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
Fantastic Mr. Fox Coverage, Volume & Length (42 Reviews, reviews below)
Reviews Broke 27.5 Hours After Release (Norm is 1.2 Release)
Fantastic Mr. Fox's reviews on average broke 27.5 hours after opening. Norm for this measure is 1.2 hours before. The chart below shows reviews on opening day and the days before and after opening; the left side is earlier and the right side is later. The red bars extending above the horizontal mid-line represent more positive reviews, and the red bars extending below represent more negative reviews. The white space/red bar in the middle is Fantastic Mr. Fox's opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
Fantastic Mr. Fox (42 reviews, click on bars for reviews)
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