Fantastic Mr. Fox

Fantastic Mr. Fox is a 2009 American stop-motion animated comedy film directed by Wes Anderson, who co-wrote the screenplay with Noah Baumbach. The project is based on the 1970 children's novel of the same name by Roald Dahl. The cast includes George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, Willem Dafoe, and Owen Wilson. The plot follows the titular character Mr. Fox, as his spree of thefts results in his family, and later his community, being hunted down by three farmers known as Boggis, Bunce, and Bean. Development on the project began in 2004 as a collaboration between Anderson and Henry Selick (who worked with Anderson on the 2004 film The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou) under Revolution Studios. In 2007, Revolution and Selick left for other projects, work on the film was moved to 20th Century Fox, where production began in 2007 that took place in London, on Stage C at 3 Mills Studios. In addition to an original score by Alexandre Desplat, the soundtrack includes several songs from other artists. Fantastic Mr. Fox premiered as the opening film of the 53rd edition of the London Film Festival on October 14, 2009, and was released in the United States on November 13, to critical acclaim, with praise for Anderson's direction, humor, and stop-motion animation. However, it underperformed at the box office, grossing just $46.5 million against a $40 million budget. The film received Academy Award nominations for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Score. Plot While raiding Berk's Squab Farm, Mr. Fox triggers a fox trap caging himself along with his wife Felicity. She reveals her pregnancy to her husband and pleads with him to find a safer job if they escape, and he agrees.