Taking the Fun Out of It

I really loved 'The Fantastic Mr. Fox'.

Coming on the heels of 'Where The Wild Things Are', 'Fox' marks yet
another quirky, visionary director taking on well known material by a
famous author and making what would at least appear to be a kids film.
I liked both, but as 'Fox' lingers I feel much more satisfied than I
did with 'Wild Things' and I'm trying to put a finger on why. Both
were innovative and visually stunning. Like 'Wild Things' I didn't
get the feeling that Wes Anderson was primarily driven by the wants of
a young audience. Both films are true to the distinctive signatures
of their director. In fact, 'Fox' was as much of a Wes Anderson film
as 'Darjeeling Limited' was (full disclosure, I thought 'Darjeeling'
was a disappointment).

So what does that leave?

Story. Maybe I've read one too many screenwriting books. Maybe I'm
channeling frustration with the slow progress on my screenplay. But
the thing that jumps out about 'Fox' is that it had a much stronger
narrative. Stepping away from it, I can more easily sum up the plot.
I had a better feel for what happened and where things were going
next. That isn't to say that there wasn't strong subtext in 'Fox',
that subtext was just between the lines of a stronger more active
narrative. Part of that goes back to the director - Jonze's approach
has never seemed to be primarily focused on plot or structure and he
tends to work on movies that are more of a mind cuss. I think that a
film that carries the expectation of being a kids film also carries
the expectation of being plot driven. Adults have that expectation.
And if that's how adults feel, I can imagine that the feeling is even
stronger for kids (if only subconsciously).

I'm still skeptical that aside from the pretty pictures either movie
would really hold the attention of a child. Although my wife liked
'Fox' much more. That's gotta tell you something.

Nothing like analyzing the shit out of a kids flick at midnight in the
middle of the week. I'm a winner!

Posted via email from bricomedy's posterous

posted by ricomedy  # 9:22 PM