Fantastic Mr. Fox (PG, 2009)
common sense media says
Offbeat family adventure may charm adults more than kids.
parents & educators say
- 39% say violence is an issue
- 34% say there are positive messages
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that director Wes Anderson's dry, offbeat adaptation of Roald Dahl's classic children's story Fantastic Mr. Fox is fine for most grade-schoolers but also has some themes and humor that will go over kids' head. The story features a lot of scheming and violence, as three farmers plot to kill Mr. Fox for stealing from them. There are explosions, guns, a knife-wielding rat, a rabid dog, and a secondary character's death, but none of it is graphic or too scary (just a bit startling and/or tense in spots). The farmers smoke and drink, as do the adult animals, who tend to drink with dinner. Aside from a couple of kisses between Mr. and Mrs. Fox, there's no sexuality to speak of, and the language is limited to the word "cuss" being used as a substitute for stronger words (as in "what the cuss?").
Educational value:
Kids might pick up a few of the animals' Latin names (which Mr. Fox enthusiastically uses in one scene).
Positive role models:
Although Mr. Fox steals from the three farmers -- and lies to his wife about doing it -- he ultimately mends his ways so that his family and the other animals can settle down in peace. Mrs. Fox encourages her son by saying that it's what's different about him that makes him special; she also supports her husband, even when she's disappointed in him. Kristofferson is a model child who forgives Ash for being jealous of him and getting him into trouble. Ash matures from trying to live up to his father's expecations and envying Kristofferson doing something exceptional on his own. The farmers are thoroughly nasty (particularly Bean), but they're also clearly the bad guys.
Violence & scariness:
The farmers use all sorts of methods to try to kill Mr. Fox: guns, explosives, drowning with hard cider, kidnapping, etc.; the animals eventually fight back. Mr. Fox's tail is shot off and treated as a trophy. A bad-guy character starts a knife fight and eventually dies. The animals kill a few chickens, but nothing grisly is shown. A stand-off scene with a rabid dog is a little tense/scary, as are a few other fight/chase sequences.
Sexy stuff:
Mr. and Mrs. Fox embrace and kiss, and Rat alludes to the fact that Mrs. Fox was a "tart" before she married Mr. Fox. Kristofferson and an adolescent female fox flirt and "go steady," making Ash jealous.
Language:
Strong language is replaced with frequent use of the word "cuss" -- as in "What the cuss are you doing?" and "cluster cuss."
Consumerism:
Not applicable.
Drinking, drugs, & smoking:
The adult animals drink hard cider, wine, and champagne, but not to excess. One of the farmers makes his own hard cider (and enjoys several jugs per day). Some pipe and cigarette smoking.
More on Fantastic Mr. Fox
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Review It
Based on 56 parent & educator reviews:
- 39% say violence is an issue
- 34% say there are positive messages
Most useful reviews by all members
calzone45
parent of 12 , and 14 , 16 year old
parent of 12 , and 14 , 16 year old
Fantastic Mr. Fox is one of the finest family movies I have seen in years. The animation is elegantly crafted, beautifully detailed, and just gorgeous to look at. After the movie my 11 year old stated "its like watching a beautiful moving painting". The characters, dialog, and messages are warm, intelligent, and funny. More importantly the movie does not talk down to children nor dwell on moralistic sledgehammer messages which bore both kids and adults alike. The soundtrack is delightful. The pace is exquisite. If you are intelligent, sensitive, and have a sense of humor, give the gift of viewing Fantastic Mr. Fox to your children. The experience will make you a better parent, and your kids will love you for it.
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Lesliecritter
parent of 6 and 7 year old
parent of 6 and 7 year old
Who is this for? How did I get here?
Odd movie... not sure who it is designed for. I thought it was interesting, but not terribly so. Love George Clooney... but couldnt take him seriously.
Weirdly still, the previews of "date night" had the word a$$ and discussed "whacking off". Not exactly the full kid package.
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Austin Car 446
kid, 9 years old
kid, 9 years old
A Great Movie From the Start
This is a great movie for KIDS! It was a great movie and I loved it.
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Blacksmith88
parent
parent
Not worth a tinker's "cuss".
I borrowed it. I won't be buying it. It's slow, it's totally rewritten, it's a rip-off. So it's got Clooney and Streep. Big deal. And what is it with Americans, that all the supposedly "good" guys have American accents and the villains get cod-British accents? Oh, pardon me, there's the hick hillbilly rat too - great stereotyping, eh? Not at all up to Roald Dahl's standard of writing. Don't waste your money.
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BestPicture1996
teen, 16 years old
teen, 16 years old
Easily one of the greatest animated movies
Quirky for me usually means just awkward situations involving hipsters. This movie was quirky, but the dialouge and situations were hysterical. I don't think I've ever laughed so hard at an animated movie since "Shrek." This is a cussin' great film for all to see, especially adults, and it stays true to the fantastic book of which it's based. Roald Dahl would be honored.
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starasia
parent of 10 and 12 year old
parent of 10 and 12 year old
Great Family movie
It was definitely an adult movie disguised as a children's movie, but my 8 & 11 year old loved it. I think there are many positive messages, including be yourself. The violent scenes were not scary at all.
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Poison Ivey
teen, 17 years old
teen, 17 years old
ehh....
it's okay, it's funny and all, but nothing beats the book. This movie just doesn't have the awkward charm that roald dahl intended it to have. If you feel like watching an animated movie, dont waste your money on this one.
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JenPete
adult
adult
Hated it! An adult-oriented film wrapped in child-tempting wrapper of stop-motion animation. Sure, it took a lot of work to make this film, but an Oscar? I sure expected more.
So many variations of this story have been told in live action films, and I can't think of many that earn a Kid-friendly rating. The scene of the farmers blasting away with shotguns at Fox and his sidekick as absolutely not acceptable for the younger set.
I'm super disappointed CSM has rated this acceptable for children ages 7 and up. PREVIEW MOVIES FOR YOURSELVES. Don't count on anyone else to do this for you. Not even CSM.
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CMMOMMY
parent of 3 and 5 year old
parent of 3 and 5 year old
My 4 1/2 year old son loves this movie and so do my husband and I. The craft of the stop animation is fantastic and the story is very entertaining. The movie has truly captured our imagination. This is a great movie to watch over and over with your child and discuss what the characters feel and why they make the choices that they do. It is about a family that sticks together, is imperfect, but learns from mistakes. I do not think the film says that it is ok to lie. Mr. Fox, and unfortunately his family and whole animal community, suffer the consequences of the poor choice he makes to return to stealing from farmers. It certainly shows that Mr. Fox regrets this error and attempts to resolve the situation. To me, that is a good lesson for children, that the choices you make not only affect you, but can affect others too. It celebrates differences and how we can find a unique talent in everyone to appreciate. Plus it is just a fun film to look at. The movie is exciting, but not scary. Relax, watch, and enjoy!
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shrek31003
kid, 8 years old
kid, 8 years old
jumping high
good[i guess]
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drmama
parent of 10 year old
parent of 10 year old
Not a kid's movie
Our family, ages 9 to 89, all agreed that this is not a kid's movie. The one positive is that the stop motion animation is artistic and visually interesting. Otherwise, we all agreed (even our 9-year-old) that it had no appealing characters, no positive models, unnecessarily negative language (use of the word "cuss" in every other sentence to replace swearing just raises questions from younger kids), and too much violence. We found any redeeming message so buried underneath the negativity and violence that it was lost on younger kids. We do not recommend this movie.
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BugGirl
kid, 13 years old
kid, 13 years old
Fell Asleep!
I fell asleep during the movie! Personally, I thought the movie was too cheesy.
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sarap
parent of 6 year old
parent of 6 year old
Hated it!
What?!? Did we all see the same movie? Funny? No. Smart? No. Waste of time and money? Yes! Not one real laugh out loud moment. Just because you add the word cuss to replace the real cuss word can't really change the meaning. Even my 5yr old understood the intent. If smoking, drinking, cussing and killing are you and your kids "thing" this movie is for you, for the rest of you don't waste you $!
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shemum
parent of and 5 , 6 , 12 year old
parent of and 5 , 6 , 12 year old
I saw this with my 3 kids aged 3, 5 and 11. They are all familiar with the original Roald Dahl story (which this film diverges from significantly) and they all loved it, especially the 5yo. There is some moderate violence and peril (shooting, capture, rabid dog) and a scene where one (bad) character dies (crosses go in his eyes and he floats down the sewer)following a fight with Mr Fox which was quite uncomfortable for the youngest and prompted some questions. Some interesting stuff about parenting and family relationships (living up to parent's expectations, rivalry with cousin etc) which could prompt good conversations and which are happily resolved in the end. Some language and terminology which some may find inappropriate (eg Mrs Fox is referred to as a "town tart"). But overall a good family film which was enjoyable for the adults too.
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awsomeman2
kid, 13 years old
kid, 13 years old
fantastic mr fox has a good deal of action and smoking but in the end it has a good message about family and friends i loved it
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Mariella
adult
adult
The younger ones will get bored
Great film for teens and adults. My only objections to younger children watching it are the violence and that most kids just won't get the film and will most likely be bored. There are some nice messages in the film but on an adult level.
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MamaBearNJ
parent of 7 year old
parent of 7 year old
Whether this movie scares your kids or not may depend whether they know the book. My 6-year-old son has read the book many times, so he had the confidence that he knew what was going to happen & Mr. Fox and all the other "good guys" would survive. Admittedly, it departs tremendously from the book, but the ending is untouched.
My son liked this movie as much as he liked the book. I, on the other hand, found the movie tedious, with long sections of pop-psychology babble about why Mr. Fox is motivated to steal chickens, yadda yadda yadda. In the book, there is no such soul-searching. Mr. Fox steals chickens because he is a *fox.* The movie also shoehorns in lots of pop psychology about the Foxes' marriage & the rivalry between 2 adolescent foxes. Now, I can like talky movies with lots of character' development, but this just hit me as a load of cliches and stale jokes. I was really surprised my son liked it. Maybe he liked it *because* all the poorly-done psychobabble went over his head. He said he liked it because there were good guys and bad guys and the good guy was smart. Well, I guess that's as close as it gets to a good message: smart is better than dumb. Otherwise, I found this a big waste of time.
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OldBob13
teen, 16 years old
teen, 16 years old
Pretty good, but seriously overrated stop-motion flick
Wes Anderson has become one of the most praised directors of our time. His newest movie, Fantastic Mr. Fox, is a seemingly groundbreaking stop-motion animated film for all ages. OK, so it is pretty groundbreaking. The animation truly is amazing. But first /i want to focus on the storyline. It's about a wily fox who decides to leave his peaceful life and embrace his true animalistic nature. The story, which is based on the book by Roald Dahl, is absorbing, fresh, and occasionally touching. For instance, Mr. Fox mends his ways at the end of the film, telling his family that he will always be there for them. It's nice to have a family film that actually embraces tough topics like family disfunction for once. Unfortunatly, it's hard to focus on that when the rest of the movie relies on goofy situations and characters. That's fine of course, but I kind of wish it stuck with one aspect. As mentioned, the animation is superb. It's simple, but it's also inviting and fresh. The voice acting is good too. The problem is, Fantastic Mr. Fox seems like it wants to say something, but winds up just being a chaotic family film with more for adults than for kids. Keep this in mind before you rent or buy it. Content issues are most noticable in the alcohol section. Mr. Fox and his friends down cider mixed with beer, wine, and whiskey. Two characters smoke. There is also some mild violence to report.
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