Narrated by a bespectacled monkey, animator Władysław Starewicz’s only feature-length animation concerns the story of Renard, a mischievous fox who wreaks havoc in the kingdom of animals. After repeatedly receiving complaints about Renard stealing the food of others and bullying those more vulnerable than himself, King Lion puts him on trial to give him the opportunity to defend his actions. Naturally, the jury is unwilling to hear him out, and Renard is thrown down a well. Unaware that his wife is being pursued by an amorous lute-playing cat, the King legislates that no animal should have the right to eat another, and that love shall reign supreme. After managing to escape the well, Renard returns to his nefarious ways, and the King resorts to more violent measures to stop him.
Without discrediting Wes Anderson too much, the aesthetic of his interpretation of Fantastic Mr. Fox is very clearly inspired by The Tale of the Fox, and it is actually the latter which comes out on top visually. Even the humour is darker here, with such bizarre sights as a topless burlesque-dancing mouse and Renard seducing a hen so that he can eat her. Starewicz’s animation and set design are, as ever, difficult to fault, particularly in the bell-tower battle sequence at the end. One issue with the film is that Renard is such an unrelentingly evil character who is forgiven purely for his ingenuity, but if one views it as a cartoon rather than a social allegory, it becomes inconsequential.
An unnamed little girl wanders through the woods aimlessly, until she comes across a dead lily pulled from its roots. Taking the lily home with her, she shows it to her entomologist grandfather, who begins to tell her a fantastical story about it. The lily had been growing for a time in a beautiful spot by a stream, becoming the envy of many a flowering plant. The lily, so says grandfather, was so beautiful that she inspired grasshoppers and frogs to convene beneath her and play music. But of course, such majesty has the ability to attract negative attention too, as a group of territorial beetles plan to kill her as part of the expansion of their empire. Despite the lily’s protestations, she is callously cut down and used as a bridge for the beetles to wage war on their neighbours. Of course, the rest of the woods refuses to let this happen, and the beetles are ambushed by frogs, grasshoppers, and even a furious pine cone.
Władysław Starewicz, the animator responsible for this touching short, was one of the first artists to make use of stop-motion animation, frequently using dead insects and animals as his puppets. Here, he mixes it with live action to tell a saddening tale of death and belligerence, in clear reference to the First World War which had been ongoing for a year when this film was made. Though aimed at children, the message of Starewicz’s film should resonate with everyone through its heartrending purity.
Based on Roald Dahl’s much-loved children’s book, Fantastic Mr. Fox is Wes Anderson’s first foray into animation and boasts an impressive cast. The titular Mr. Fox is a suave, discerning individual who is determined to provide his family with the best life possible. Having bought up a home in a tree near three sizable farms, Fox decides to take advantage by stealing foodstuffs from each farm. Before long, the disgruntled farmers conspire to kill the crafty intruder, tracking his home to the tree and attacking it with diggers. Fox begins to lose sight of his survival instincts, instead set on restoring his pride, but when his wife’s vulnerable nephew Kristofferson is put in danger, he determines to choreograph an ingenious plan to put everything right.
Anderson has taken a fair few liberties with the source material, creating a sardonic family drama in the guise of a children’s animated film. Essentially, we’re in Tenenbaums territory, so Dahl purists beware. In fact, it is hard to gauge what Dahl would have made of this version, given his distaste for Mel Stuart’s equally witty interpretation of Willy Wonka. Stop-motion animation was an inspired decision, given how textural the original story was. Attention is paid to the movement of every hair, every blade of grass, and yet Anderson still avoids compromising his visual trademarks. Occasionally, with all the salacious sarcasm and cute anthropomorphism, the film gets a touch too smooth for its own good, but it’s a minor flaw in an otherwise irresistible masterwork.
Themes of mortality and religion permeate experimental animator Harry Smith’s masterwork Heaven And Earth Magic. One would be hard pressed to draw a linear plot from viewing the film alone, but Smith himself has (thankfully) explained the film itself many times before. Having lost a watermelon of particular value to her, a woman endures a terrible toothache and visits her dentist for help. Under his anaesthetic, she begins to experience some bizarre hallucinations, taking her to Montreal and Israel, both presented as slices of heaven on Earth. As she emerges from her delusions, she returns to Earth a deconstructed being. The entire bewildering affair takes place in simple monochrome.
Smith was an infamously peculiar character, whose fascination for the occult and supernatural informed a lot of his work. In addition to his experiments in film and animation, Smith was also a revered musicologist who was best known for bringing blues musicians such as Mississippi John Hurt and Blind Lemon Jefferson to public attention. Heaven And Earth Magic neatly represents these diverse interests and is thus a very personal work. His manipulation of the icons brings to mind the hypnotic playfulness of later animators such as Jan Švankmajer and Piotr Kamler, and one can be forgiven for forgetting just how old this work is. Those looking for an easy ride will struggle – the film is frequently unintelligible, and the soundtrack is equally exasperating. If you have any interest in avant-garde animation, watch this film immediately. If not, keep a safe distance.
After being rejected for the role of manager at a brand new restaurant, the Krusty Krab 2, SpongeBob SquarePants turns his depression into action when King Neptune’s crown is stolen by pint-size villain Sheldon J. Plankton. Given just six days to return the crown, SpongeBob and his goofy sidekick Patrick Star head out on their quest, and almost immediately face a series of dangerous obstacles. Firstly, the pair is forced to prove their manliness at a seedy bar, then they are lured into a trap by the promise of ice cream. Meanwhile, Sheldon uses the distraction to try to steal the recipe for the coveted Krabby Patty, the burger which singlehandedly brought the Krusty Krab restaurants to fame. When SpongeBob and Patrick finally find the crown, it takes a miracle (and a lift from David Hasselhoff) for them to get home and return the crown to its rightful owner.
Enjoyment of this feature-length episode is quite heavily dependent of one’s experience with the TV programme – here’s looking at you, stoners – but suffice it to say there’s enough here to entertain most people. The humour manages a great balance between puerile and adult, and there are hilarious nods to cultural icons from several generations. In contrast to most other children’s animations these days, there are no cheap attempts to create memorable quotes or incompatible characters. But the best aspect of the film is the brilliant voice work – with guest turns from Scarlett Johansson and Alec Baldwin, how could you go wrong?
Breakfast is an important meal. It sets you up for the day and gives you the required nutrients, no more, no less - it's a square meal. And this, in a way, is what this film review blog is meant to do. No matter what sort of film it is, every review gets exactly 250 words - just enough to get your RDA of plot, background info and critique.
I try my best to watch and review films from all over the place, in the same way I might have French toast one morning, and Coco Pops the next. Anyway, I'll leave you to get stuck in. Feel free to give me feedback, ask me where to find films, tell me off for unfair comments... I'm all ears. Bon appétit!
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