My Top 20 animated movies: Part 3, #6-10

My Top 20 animated movies (continued)

You've seen the bottom 10 in my list of favorite animated movies. I love them all and it's difficult to place one above another, but the Top 10 do have something extra in my opinion.

Let's continue with the next five:

10. Monsters, Inc. (2001)

Directed by Pete Docter, David Silverman and Lee Unkrich

Starring the voices of Billy Crystal, John Goodman, Steve Buscemi and Mary Gibbs

Monsters, Inc. produces power for the city of Monstropolis by scaring kids and storing the energy produced in their screams. The two principals are Sulley (Goodman) and Mike (Crystal). Sulley is a giant furry beast with purple and blue fur and regularly tops the company standings as chief scarer. Mike is small, green and has one huge eye, and is Sulley’s assistant. They have doors with direct access to children’s bedrooms in the real world and get to work each night. Things are complicated by Randall Boggs (Buscemi), who is trying to cheat his way to the top of the standings. Direct physical contact with a human child is thought to be dangerous and possibly lethal, so a team stands by to sanitize any infected monsters. When Sulley inadvertently brings a little girl called Boo (Gibbs) to Monstropolis, he finds out the truth about human contact. With the help of Mike, Sulley tries to hide the little girl until they can get her home. The reason I love Monsters, Inc. so much is its heart. It’s a cute world and Boo is adorable. There’s a lot of clever humor throughout the movie and it lives up to Pixar’s high standards.

There’s nothing in the film that would scare children, so it’s a perfect family film. The Blu-ray presentation is strong in all areas. I could watch this film every few weeks and never get tired of it.

9. Wallace & Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005)

Directed by Steve Box and Nick Park

Starring the voices of Peter Sallis, Helena Bonham Carter and Ralph Fiennes

Here’s another claymation movie. It was good enough to win the Oscar for Best Animated Film, and it deserved the award. There were three short films in the series before this feature; all are funny and worth owning, but none match the quality of Were-Rabbit. For those new to the characters, Wallace (Sallis) is an inventor living in Northern England and Gromit is his faithful dog. The two run a service to protect people’s vegetables from the jaws of unwanted rabbits. They have a warning system similar to the one used in Thunderbirds and Wallace’s inventions are used to capture and store the rabbits. Gromit doesn’t speak, but says so much with his body language. He’s the source of most of the humor. There are jokes in almost every frame; both visual and verbal. The pair is hired by Lady Tottington (Bonham-Carter), who fears that her grounds are being overrun by rabbits. The expressions on the faces of the model rabbits are hilarious.

There’s no Blu-ray release as yet, but the first three shorts and a later fourth installment can be found on Wallace & Gromit: The Complete Collection Blu-ray. It isn’t actually complete because it’s missing this film, but it’s a must-own. Wallace & Gromit is funny, innocent and suitable for the whole family.

8. Bolt (2008)

Directed by Byron Howard and Chris Williams

Starring the voices of John Travolta, Miley Cyrus, Mark Walton and Susie Essman

Are you fan of Pixar titles? If I didn’t know better, I’d swear that Pixar created Bolt. It looks and feels similar and has so much heart. Bolt (Travolta) is a dog who stars in a TV show in which he has superpowers. That would make a good movie in its own right, but it gets even better. Bolt escapes from the film studio by accident and is separated from Penny (Cyrus), his owner. He listens to the advice of a group of pigeons and enlists the help of a cat named Mittens (Essman), who claims she knows how he can get home. They eventually run into a hamster, Rhino (Walton), who thinks that Bolt has real powers. They make their way across America in search of the film studio and Penny. Bolt keeps me laughing. It mixes slapstick humor with clever comments and astute observations. Watch how Mittens teaches Bolt to act like a real dog and you’ll see what I mean.

The movie is a good choice for the whole family and the Blu-ray presentation is flawless. The picture quality is perfect throughout and check out the sound during the sequences in which Bolt starts in the TV show.

7. Up (2009)

Directed by Pete Docter and Bob Peterson

Starring the voices of Edward Asner, Christopher Plummer, Jordan Nagai and Bob Peterson

Up is Pixar’s most adult-oriented release thus far, but it still contains enough fun and action to hold the attention of any child. There’s a silent montage near the start of the movie which tells the story of Ellie, who is the wife of balloon salesman Carl Fredricksen (Asner). The sequence takes us through their initial meeting as children and ends with Ellie’s death as an old woman. You’ll almost certainly cry or at least have to hold back tears. Carl and Ellie always planned to visit South America, but never got around to it. Carl decides to make the trip on his own by attaching balloons to his house so that it will fly. He finds Russell (Nagai) – a boy scout trapped on his porch – and the two make the trip together. They are joined by a weird bird and Dug (Peterson), who is a dog with the ability to talk using a device on his collar. The movie is very colorful and is full of action once the group is assembled. There are some other truly touching moments and I would urge anyone to see this film.

It’s suitable for people of all ages and has something for everybody. The humor is funny because it’s an accurate observation on the way people behave. Dug is the funniest character, but they all have their moments.

6. Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989)

Directed by Hayao Miyazaki

Starring the voices of Kirsten Dunst and Phil Hartman

Talking of heart, it’s time for some more Miyazaki. Kiki (Dunst) is a 13-year-old witch, and in her culture that means she has to spend a year on her own providing a service in another city. She’s just learning her craft and can barely fly her broom, but sets of with her cat, Jiji (Hartman). She finds a small town and helps the owner of a bakery by returning a baby’s pacifier to a customer who left it behind. The owner offers her a place to stay and suggests that she start a delivery service. It’s a delightful coming-of-age story in which Kiki learns to become independent and finds out about friendship and romance. She has great respect for her elders and quickly wins their approval. Jiji has almost all of the best lines and his sarcastic comments are genuinely funny. There are no villains, just situations and problems to overcome.

Kiki’s Delivery Service is charming and funny. It should entertain the whole family. There’s no Blu-ray release yet, but expect Disney to get around to it in a year or two. There are at least two DVD versions and the dubs are different. Be sure to research which one you want to own if you have previously seen the movie and have a preference.

For #16-20 on the list, click here. 

For #11-15 on the list, click here.

For #1-5 on the list, click here.

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Fantastic Mr. Fox: Wes Anderson's signature style shines through

Fantastic Mr. Fox (animation, adventure, comedy)

Directed by Wes Anderson

Starring the voices of George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Bill Murray and Michael Gambon

20th Century Fox | 2009 | 87 min | Rated PG | Released Mar 23, 2010

Video:

Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC

Video resolution: 1080p

Aspect ratio: 1.85:1

Audio:

English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1

French, Portuguese, Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1

Subtitles:

English, French, Mandarin (Simplified and Traditional), Portuguese, Spanish

Discs:

50GB Blu-ray Disc

DVD copy (with digital copy)

The Film 4.5/5

Wes Anderson’s films are traditionally quirky and full of complex themes, and his adaptation of Roald Dahl’s Fantastic Mr. Fox is no different. Don’t be fooled by the fact that it’s animated (stop motion); this material is not targeted at children.

When we join the story, Mrs. Fox (Streep) is telling Mr. Fox (Clooney) that she’s pregnant. The two proceed to rob a chicken farm and narrowly escape capture. Mrs. Fox makes him promise to look for other work now that they are about to become parents. Mr. Fox agrees and finds a job writing a newspaper column. 

Mr. Fox settles down in his new life, but always regrets giving up his old ways. He’s also tired of living in a hole in the ground and wants a better home for his family. He goes to see Badger (Murray), who advises him about properties for sale in the area. Fox wants a house near three local farms, but Badger suggests that the neighborhood is too dangerous. The local children even have a rhyme about the farmers:

Boggis, Bunce and Bean

One fat, one short, one lean

These horrible crooks

So different in looks

Were nonetheless equally mean

Fox is aware of the danger, but yearns for his former chicken-stealing days. As Anderson regularly reminds us, these are wild animals. Fox can’t deny his nature and buys the new house so that he can be close to the three farms.

His decision goes directly against his promise to his wife and that was his first mistake.

There’s a lot of humor in the film, but it’s generally quite subtle. The family sits down to eat dinner and they eat like wild animals. The food is gone in seconds. Their son, Ash, is moody and craves attention from his father. He spits on the floor when he’s angry or disappointed and he clearly has problems. When his cousin Kristofferson comes to stay, the situation worsens. Fox seems to favor Kristofferson over his own son and compliments him constantly.

Forget that we’re dealing with animals for a moment and think about the story. If that happened in a regular movie, we would be dealing with a typical family drama. Husband and wife break promises and have trust issues, while their son is being raised by parents who don’t understand him. This is not the kind of story that small children would understand, although some of the scenes are funny and contain action that would appeal to a child.

Fox enlists the help of Kylie Opossum and the two steal chickens from Boggis. The action is typical animated fare and the way the two sneak around is funny. They lace blueberries with a sedative to get past the dogs and the way the dogs react is also funny. They successfully steal from Bunce and plan to stop once they steal cider from Bean. For the final robbery, Ash wants to come along. Fox won’t let him, but allows Kristofferson to take part. He seems to have very little idea that such a decision could hurt his son’s feelings.

The robberies are fun to watch, especially when the animals wear bandit hats. It reminds me of the robbery in Bottle Rocket when the participants decide to wear similar hats even though their victims have already seen their faces.

Ash yearns to be an athlete and wants to emulate his father’s success at Whack-Bat (a game which parodies cricket). Kristofferson is a balanced individual who regularly meditates and knows karate. Ash is extremely jealous of his cousin and his ability to win his father’s approval.

The three robberies annoy the farmers, so Bean (Gambon) decides to organize the trio and plans to kill Fox. This is where the film starts to take on a more serious tone. Mrs. Fox discovers that her husband has been lying to her and scratches his face in a fit of temper. This scene annoyed one of my friends who expected the film to be lighthearted and suitable for the whole family. Mrs. Fox acts like the wild animal she is. There’s another scene in which one of the animals is maimed. Although it’s presented in a humorous way, it could disturb people.

The remainder of the film deals with the three farmers finding ways to threaten the existence of Fox and his friends. They escape by tunneling deeper, but face the threat of starvation if they don’t find a solution. Some of the other animals resent Fox for putting them in such a dangerous situation.

There’s considerable peril which could worry small children, and a lot of humor which would probably fly over their heads. It was only given a PG-rating, but be aware that not every child will like this harsh world. The animals are true to their nature.

The reason I like the film so much is the style of humor. Like Bottle Rocket and The Darjeeling Limited, the characters speak with a sense of irony or sarcasm and most of the humor is tongue-in-cheek. It feels similar to Tarantino or the Coen brothers at times. There’s no swearing, but every character uses the word "cuss" in situations in which they would normally swear. I found that particularly funny. One animal questions why a ransom note was made using words cut out of a magazine when everyone already knew the identities of the kidnappers. That’s also funny to me. The missions all have elaborate titles and remind me of the way Tarantino uses chapters in his stories.

Fantastic Mr. Fox is an exercise in style. Mr. Fox himself is very stylish, dressing smartly and using his trademark whistle when he thinks he’s being clever or cool. Clooney was a great choice for the part and the other actors all do a good job too.

The story is essentially about a dysfunctional family and shows how Ash attempts to come to terms with his existence. Will Mr. Fox eventually become a better father? Will Ash grow up and take responsibility for his own actions? Do Mr. and Mrs. Fox strengthen their marriage, or will the trust issues tear them apart? There’s a lot going on beneath the surface.

Video Quality 5/5

The look of Fantastic Mr. Fox is virtually flawless. The frames were shot digitally with a high quality camera and the detail is superb throughout. You can see every hair on the puppets and the stitches in their clothing. Some scenes look deliberately flat when shot from a distance and the color palette is full of brown and yellow tints, but that’s all intentional too. I didn’t spot any errors in a single shot and the presentation looks as good as anything I’ve seen.

Audio Quality 4/5

The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track has its moments, despite the quiet nature of the film. Most of the story is driven by dialogue, but there are occasional bursts of sound in scenes involving music or explosions. The rear speakers aren’t used prominently, but there’s no cause for complaint overall.

Special Features 3/5

The features were all shot in high definition.

Making Mr. Fox Fantastic (45 minutes) – A six-part feature which can also be viewed all at once. Topics include the look of the film, how it was adapted from the book and how the puppets were made. There’s an in-depth look at the filming process and a look at the actors behind the voices. The final segment shows Bill Murray talking to some of the animators.

A Beginner’s Guide to Whack-Bat (1 minute)

Fantastic Mr. Fox: The World of Roald Dahl (3 minutes) – Touching on the main points shown in the opening feature.

Trailer (2 minutes)

Fantastic Mr. Fox has a lot of intelligent humor and subtle charm and it’s clearly aimed at adult audiences. I wouldn’t rule out showing the film to children, but be aware that wild animals sometimes show their true nature and their world can be brutal. I’m a fan of Wes Anderson’s work and this met all my expectations in terms of style and humor. It’s one of the most complex and unusual animated titles I have seen and recommended for fans of subtle humor. The world is an interesting place to visit and the film is a lot of fun if you go in with the right expectations.

Overall score 4.5/5

Click here to see where Fantastic Mr. Fox ranks among my Top 20 animated films.


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