and my award goes to...

After Wes Anderson's big win at the Golden Globes, I feel compelled to do a movie review. But not of The Grand Budapest Hotel. Don't get me wrong, I watched it a few days ago and it was very, very good; however, as I watched it, I kept remembering another Wes Anderson film that I absolutely loved, Fantastic Mr. Fox. There were several techniques Anderson used that made me think I was watching that film instead. On several occasions, he used wide shots showing people running across the scene in the distance. He also used sets that, if they weren't miniatures, definitely looked like they were. Grand Budapest was a good movie, filled with all the beautiful sets and costumes, quirky characters, and catchy music that has become Anderson's trademark, but I just didn't enjoy it as thoroughly as I did Mr. Fox.
Wes Anderson inhabits a rare class of director, those who see movies not just as a source of entertainment, but also as art. Stanley Kubrick, Ridley Scott, and Peter Weir have raised the bar for every other director. Their films not only contain well-developed characters and stories, they also create a world so vivid and beautiful that the audience is swept into their 'reality' completely. Wes Anderson has an amazing eye for detail and an uncompromising vision that, when applied to a movie that uses stop-motion animation, can only mean perfection.
Fantastic Mr. Fox is a children's story written by Roald Dahl, the first book Wes Anderson was given as a child that remains on his bookshelf to this day. His love of the story is reflected in the movie. He assembled a wonderful cast filled with old friends, Bill Murray, Jason Schwartzman, and Owen Wilson and adds some great 'new' talent with George Clooney and Meryl Streep as Mr. and Mrs. Fox. But what truly endeared this film to me was the use of a kind of animation that is fast going the way of the dinosaur, stop-motion. The animal dolls are made with real animal hair, which moved with every movement of the dolls, thus creating a rippling effect that is quite fun. As is necessary for stop-motion, every day materials are substituted for substances impossible to manipulate manually: saran wrap for water, cotton for smoke, bars of soap carved to look like flames. And this film has a choppy look to the movement that is an homage to such holiday tv specials as Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town. That may be the reason why it captured my heart, it reminded me of my youth. Just like a child, I can watch this movie over and over, marveling at all the time and effort put into creating such amazing sets. One thing is obvious, Wes Anderson poured his heart into this film. It is fun for everyone, young and old alike.