Common Sense Media Review
By Barbara Shulgasser-Parker
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Cheeky farm animals save a baby (and Christmas).
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 5+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
The Big Bad Fox and Other Tales
What's the Story?
Farm animals perform a three-part play in THE BIG BAD FOX AND OTHER TALES. A rather inept Fox (Giles New) gets no respect from the hens when he incompetently tries to raid the coop at the farm. He's reduced to eating turnips the kindly Pig (Justin Edwards) offers as the hens chuck him out. The local Wolf (Matthew Goode) suggests Fox steal some eggs, raise them into chickens, and then the two can feast together when they birds have fattened up. But when the chicks hatch and imprint on Fox, calling him Mummy, Fox grows increasingly protective of his brood. Another vignette forces sage Pig and dimwitted Rabbit and Duck to take over for a lazy stork to deliver a baby to its parents, and the last follows Duck, Rabbit, and Pig as they try to impersonate Santa, elves, and a reindeer to save Christmas and deliver presents to kids.
Is It Any Good?
This is a delightful animated romp, adapted from co-director Benjamin Renner's comic books, with characters designed to appeal to young kids. The actors in The Big Bad Fox and Other Tales speak in normal adult voices, giving the impression that the crazy goings-on are ordinary and normal, which adds to the humor. The hens organize, firing the farm's lazy guard dog, then devising anti-fox initiatives and taking up self defense classes, a lot like the take-charge farm animals in Doreen Cronin's wonderful children's book Click, Clack, Moo, Cows that Type. The three stories were originally created as half-hour television specials.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about what family means. The chicks think a fox is their mother. How do the chicks in The Big Bad Fox and Other Tales persuade Fox that they're a family?
How do we know that cartoon violence is meant to be funny? Is it that the characters never really seem to be permanently hurt?
Why do you think Pig worries so much about Rabbit and Duck?
Movie Details
- In theaters : January 1, 2018
- On DVD or streaming : January 1, 2019
- Cast : Matthew Goode , Giles New , Phil Jupitus , Celia Imrie , Justin Edwards
- Directors : Patrick Imbert , Benjamin Renner
- Inclusion Information : Female Movie Actor(s)
- Studio : Studio Canal
- Genre : Family and Kids
- Run time : 83 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- Last updated : January 10, 2020
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