“Because I am a Wild Animal.” Fantastic Mr Fox on Identity

I want to begin by saying that I love this film. Most of the films I analyse I do so because they have touched me in some way but Fantastic Mr Fox especially so. I grew up on the book by Roald Dahl the film is based on, so in many ways this film is a journey back into childhood. It isn’t a daring film, or an epic film or even a film about people, however Fantastic Mr Fox has a certain humanity to it that so many of the ‘blow shit up, make me laugh’ films that dominate modern cinema seem to lack. it’s about animals who dress in corduroy suits, invest in real-estate in trees, yet it is also about animals who kill chickens and gorge wildly on their meals (the scenes where the animals consume food always make me laugh). At its core, Fantastic Mr Fox is about the difficulties of being both wild and free and also being a responsible valued family member, it isn’t just a film that says “be yourself” but rather it asks the question “what does it mean to be yourself?” Yet it does so in such an honest, innocent way that it is both childlike and witty, charming and intelligent.

Wes Anderson is a master of stop-motion

You can’t talk about Fantastic Mr Fox without acknowledging its stop motion; Fantastic Mr Fox is looks amazing. The stop motion gives the film a jerky feel to it, Wes does not try to disguise the handmade feel of the, instead he relishes in it. Matt Zoiller summed this up pretty well in his online catalogue of Anderson’s films; “You are aware you are seeing something that is made by people and the movie’s okay with that, it’s not trying to fool you.” Anderson does what most directors, in the time of billion dollar budgets and crazy CGI, are afraid to do and basically says; fuck being normal, here is a film that doesn’t try to be real because it doesn’t want to be. Fantastic Mr Fox is a film that is happy to be just a movie instead not a finely sculpted reflection of our reality. Instead of focussing on making the film look real Anderson focused on making it look appealing, all of his shots look like they have been painted. like many of Anderson’s other films he has a huge focus on pastel colour palettes, uncrowded shots and near perfect symmetry, all of which make it a pleasure to watch.

Anderson likes making films about narcissistic men having identity crises

Like many of Anderson’s other films, Fantastic Mr Fox is about a male character (Mr Fox) whose need to preserve his image in a certain light has meant that his identity has become detached from his reality. Mr Fox is that dad who never quite came to terms with giving up the freedom of his youth to responsibly raise children and get a working class job. It is theme explored countless times in cinema however it is one that Anderson presents in a meaningful yet funny way where we come to appreciate, not critique, the familiar honesty of the narrative drive. Mr Fox feels like somewhere in the process of growing old he lost sense of who he is and the film is really about Mr Fox trying to reclaim and evaluate his sense of identity; “Why a fox? Why not a horse, or a beetle, or a bald eagle? I’m saying this more as, like, existentialism, you know? Who am I? And how can a fox ever be happy without, you’ll forgive the expression, a chicken in its teeth?”

“A wild animal”

Mr Fox’s choice to go back to his old ways stealing chickens, despite the promise he made to his wife never to steal chickens again, is representative of the fact Fox feels that he is most truly himself when he gives in to his wild ‘natural’ state of being. Mr Fox’s chicken stealing escapades soon lead farmers Boggis, Bunce and Bean to uproot Mr Fox’s house and force his family, and every other animal in the civilized animal community, underground. In one of the films more touching moments an upset Mrs Fox demands an explanation of Mr Fox’s motives behind lying to her and bringing ruin on their family, his startlingly honest answer pretty much sums up the films theme; “Because I am a wild animal.”

The ‘Fantastic Mr Fox’ fallacy

Mr Fox is presented as a charming narcissist in the sense that although he is lovable he is driven primarily by his own needs and desires. Fox’s belief that he is only himself when he is in his egomaniac state is also driven by his desire to perpetuate a perception of himself that leaves others in awe. In my second favorite scene in the film Mr Fox confronts his selfish tendencies that drive his need to construct an identity that others respect. Mr Fox and Mr Fox stand in front of a beautiful stop motion waterfall as they say there last goodbyes before Mr Fox leaves to hand himself over for execution in order to appease the farmers. Here he explains himself; “I think I have this thing where everybody has to think I’m the greatest, the quote unquote ‘Fantastic Mr. Fox’, and if they aren’t completely knocked out and dazzled and slightly intimidated by me, I don’t feel good about myself.” Firstly can we just touch upon the poignant truth to this statement, so much of what we do (myself especially included) is driven by the need for validation. We construct versions of ourselves to attract likes and laughter and applause because we feel we need that to feel good about ourselves, like Mr Fox we need validation to feel like we mean something. However when you really think about it, this form of fulfillment is pretty flawed. There will always be someone more charismatic, more wealthy and more interesting then you and so identity kinda crumbles a bit in the face of our desire to become truly significant yet the improbability of us ever becoming so. Wes Anderson confronts this in a children’s movie, in a fucking stop motion children’s movie man, this guy is a genius.

Apple cider and Rat’s redemption

I think Mr Fox realizes the futility of his ‘wild’ identity in three scenes. The first of these is the waterfall scene, the second is the scene with Rat and the third, and most important, is the wolf scene. After his fight with Rat, Rat reveals the location of Kristofferson to Mr Fox and the other animals. Ash then states that Rat has “redeemed himself.” In a rather depressing moment Mr Fox, as he watches Rat gently float down the sewer, replies; “Redemption? Sure. But in the end, he’s just another dead rat in a garbage pail behind a Chinese restaurant.” Foxy reflects on the relative insignificance of an identity based on other’s perception of you. Just as the animal’s opinion of Rat as a ‘redeemed rat’ means nothing to Rat (he’s dead), Foxy realizes that his own need to be viewed as the ‘Fantastic Mr Fox’ is inherently flawed.

Canis Lupis and the meaning of the Wolf scene

The Wolf Scene is the most important scene in Fantastic Mr Fox. Trust me I am not just being a pretentious voyeur even Wes himself confirms this; “There were some people who didn’t like the wolf scene. In particular one very important person. And he said, I don’t understand what this scene is doing in the movie. And I would always say to him, I’m not cutting it. That scene is why I’m making the movie.” The Wolf Scene is pretty much the moment where Fox figures out who he is. As Foxy, Ash, Kristofferson and Kylie drive away from Bean’s farm having defeated the farmers they encounter the Wolf. Throughout the film Foxy references the fact he has “a phobia of wolves.” We are never told why he is scared of them and it seems really obscure, that is until the Wolf scene. Anyway Foxy sees the Wolf on a hill above the road so he pulls over and tries to communicate with it. Fox, and the other character in the motorbike and in the sidecar, are clearly overcome with awe by the wolf. Mr Fox tries talking to the Wolf in English and Latin and French but the Wolf does not respond. The Wolf wears no clothes and does not speak for unlike the other animals in the film he is a truly wild animal. He is the pure embodiment of the uncontrolled freedom that Fox yearned for but realizes he can never posses, Critic Shana Mlawski sums this up when she writes; “The Wolf is described as the wildest, most frightening, and yet most beautiful creature in the world. Mr. Fox fears the Wolf and yet wants to be exactly like him. We can thus say that Mr. Fox fears pure, wild masculinity yet also yearns to own it himself.” In the Wolf scene Fox confronts his desire to be seen as a wild feared animal, he realizes that he cannot ever embody the unperturbed freedom of the Wolf and he comes to understand that perhaps his identity isn’t about being truly free but about getting by, raising kids and still being just a little bit fantastic. The Wolf is pretty much Mr Fox’s Tyler Durden, that ‘Nietzchean uberman’ who sounds really awesome in theory but just cannot function in the real world. Mr Fox does communicate with the Wolf in a fist pump of distant brotherhood before telling the Wolf; “Good luck out there.” Mr Fox realises the wild is best left to the Wolf while he kind of has to embrace his own mediocrity and insignificance. Yes this revelation is hardly the most positive thing ever shown in cinema but it is a revelation based on a poignant reality. Mr Fox’s journey to true self recognition and acceptance is done in such a charming and nuanced way that in more cases then not we feel Mr Fox may indeed share more with us (despite being a stop motion animal puppet) then most of the vapid characters Hollywood pumps out. So much of life is about just making do with being average and while this isn’t usually the stuff of movies it is the core component of my favourite animated film; Fantastic Mr Fox.

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