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David Poland

By David Poland poland@moviecitynews.com

Posted Thursday, July 30th, 2009 - 29 Comments »

Need A 2 Minute Scene To Get A Real Feel Here…

29 Comments »

29 Responses to “Need A 2 Minute Scene To Get A Real Feel Here…”

  1. KamikazeCamelV2.0 says:
    July 31, 2009 at 12:46 am

    I think this looks great. The stills hadn’t sold me, but seeing it in motion has done the trick. It helps that claymation is so good and I’m surprised Anderson’s self-contained world molds quite well into the form. Loving Murray’s line reading: “Demolitions expert.”

  2. EthanG says:
    July 31, 2009 at 8:21 am

    One of the most terrifying looking movies of the year. The image of the Fox diving into the pool in swim shorts is enough to give me nightmares. But seriously, I know Anderson was going for a retro stop-motion feel here. But what he ends up with LOOKS to me more off-putting to me than Polar Express of Beowulf.
    Also two other complaints:
    *George Clooney as a voice actor is distracting here (you can picture him in the sound-booth smoking a cigar), and his voicework here sounds “off” in relation to the other actors like he was on the phone.
    *Referring to Roald Dahl as “the author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” really ticks me off. Does the studio really think people are too stupid to know who Roald Dahl is??

  3. Wrecktum says:
    July 31, 2009 at 8:50 am

    Looks cheap. A lot of close-ups and flat plain animation with little depth of field. Looks and feels nothing like the original story.

  4. don lewis (was PetalumaFilms) says:
    July 31, 2009 at 10:24 am

    LOVE the look of this film….you guys are like, tainted by top of the line stop-mo, CGI and animation. Everything Anderson does reflects on his childhood and the animation here reminds me of those old Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer stop-mo’s I loved and still love to this day. I cannot wait to see this…although no matter what, “Where the WIld Things Are” will destroy it at the B.O. I can’t believe they’re putting these out so close together. Someone should bump back a month.
    In fact “Fantastic Mr. Fox” is an ideal Christmas film due to the retro appeal. Adults will be all over this, feeling like they’re reliving their youth.

  5. christian says:
    July 31, 2009 at 11:17 am

    How incredible is that old skool stop-motion? It jars folks because it has an individual style, ala Harryhausen or Vinton. And the fur bristles!
    I don’t think WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE and this will be neck in neck — they’re two very different types of child fantasy films that serve very different purposes. If anything WTWA will be the harder sell since it’s keyed at an adult level too.
    But finally, Santa’s Coming Back To Town!

  6. jeffmcm says:
    July 31, 2009 at 11:43 am

    Looks charming and fun to me, but what do I know?

  7. yancyskancy says:
    July 31, 2009 at 12:24 pm

    Looks good to me. But sheesh, if even some of the cinephiles here aren’t on board with the retro look, I dread to think how the great unwashed will react.
    EthanG: Maybe I’m cynical (see “great unwashed” comment above), but I seriously doubt that the average person seeing that trailer has any idea who Roald Dahl is, even if they’ve enjoyed adaptations of his work. I mean, how many Shrek-lovers recognize the name William Steig? But it’s probably more an issue of cultural illiteracy than stupidity.

  8. christian says:
    July 31, 2009 at 12:46 pm

    They should’ve said, “From Road Dahl, The Screenwriter Of YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE…”

  9. yancyskancy says:
    July 31, 2009 at 12:58 pm

    Other suggestions: “From Roald Dahl, late ex-husband of Patricia Neal…”
    “From Roald Dahl, former secret agent for MI-6…”
    Or Chucky in Jersey’s choice: “…”

  10. EthanG says:
    July 31, 2009 at 2:26 pm

    Yeah apparenlty not as many kids grew up with stuff like Matilda, The BFG, James and the Giant Peach etc like me…boo (speaking of which I’m pretty sad that they’re remaking “The Witches,” a twisted kids movie on par with Labyrinth)
    I mean…I’m all for stop-motion that isn’t necesarrily top-notch like “Coraline” and “Wallace and Gromit” as opposed to fusion stuff like Polar Express and Beowulf. But it looks forced here..though that might partly be a reaction to Clooney, the most miscast voice lead in an animated movie in quite awhile…

  11. don lewis (was PetalumaFilms) says:
    July 31, 2009 at 3:48 pm

    “From Roald Dahl…No, Not RONALD, Roald Comes…”

  12. LexG says:
    July 31, 2009 at 4:01 pm

    Looks terrible.
    ANYONE who GOES TO SEE THIS should get the DEATH PENALTY via electrodes.
    PERIOD.
    Christ, are you guys all two years old?

  13. don lewis (was PetalumaFilms) says:
    July 31, 2009 at 4:04 pm

    cue Jeff with a pot, kettle, black in 3…2….1…

  14. leahnz says:
    July 31, 2009 at 4:35 pm

    wes is marching to the beat of his own drummer and i for one love him dearly for it.
    this looks intriguing, love the old fashioned stop-mo (but clooney’s voice does stick out like a sore thumb for some reason, takes a bit of getting used to…it’s almost as if his voice is out of sync with his fox by about a quarter of a second)

  15. Wrecktum says:
    July 31, 2009 at 5:20 pm

    If it weren’t for the fact that this is obviously a quirky (i.e. annoying) Wes Anderson vehicle, I’d be on board. But this is Anderson quirk, not the nastly Dahl we all know and love.

  16. jeffmcm says:
    July 31, 2009 at 6:12 pm

    Sorry to disappoint you, Don, I now work in an office without internet access.
    I just guess I wish that there was some kind of cap – if you post ten or more suicide notes per month then maybe you shouldn’t get to criticize anything anyone ever does, perhaps?

  17. IOIOIOI says:
    July 31, 2009 at 6:20 pm

    Wes is the man, this trailer looks fantastic, and I have something to do this Thanksgiving besides eating shrimp. WINNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!!!!!!!!!

  18. Chucky in Jersey says:
    July 31, 2009 at 6:36 pm

    EthanG is right on. Gimme a shotgun and an M-16 and this LOSER will be done away with when the obligatory name-checking is carried out.

  19. leahnz says:
    July 31, 2009 at 6:39 pm

    i’d be scared to dig in the crawlspace under your house in jersey, chucky

  20. jeffmcm says:
    July 31, 2009 at 6:50 pm

    Chucky once murdered a movie just to watch it die.

  21. leahnz says:
    July 31, 2009 at 7:01 pm

    you know, going by a couple of these recent posts, i think chucky has a bit of a thing for ethanG
    ethanG: be afraid. be very afraid

  22. LexG says:
    July 31, 2009 at 7:08 pm

    Chucky:
    Props on the new “LOSER” in caps shtick.
    Thumbs-up!

  23. KamikazeCamelV2.0 says:
    July 31, 2009 at 9:00 pm

    I hope Lex goes to see this movie.
    (oh that was perhaps too harsh.)

  24. IOIOIOI says:
    July 31, 2009 at 11:19 pm

    Lex’ hatred of animation always makes me giggle for some reason. It’s so asinine, but it does some the guy up. He’s no fun. Only someone without zero whimsy could hate on animation, and Mr. Suicide seems to be that guy.

  25. IOIOIOI says:
    July 31, 2009 at 11:20 pm

    God. This week is finally getting to my posting. Not enough sleep, but fuck it! I’LL DO IT LIVE!
    He lacks whimsy, he’s Mr. Suicide, and that sums him up rather well.

  26. don lewis (was PetalumaFilms) says:
    August 1, 2009 at 12:16 am

    Wreck-like all the cheerfully done death scenes in Wes’s last 2 films??? I just rewatched “Life Aquatic” and man, that Ned death scene KILLS a perfectly awesome movie.
    And Jeff….you know I’m just screwing with ya….

  27. IOIOIOI says:
    August 1, 2009 at 12:51 am

    Ned’s not dead. He’s on look-out on top of the boat. Easily one of my favourite touches of that Buckaroo Banzai ending. If Cowboy is not dead in Buckaroo Banzai. NEITHER IS NED! He’s just else where like Charlie Pace.

  28. Hallick says:
    August 1, 2009 at 12:52 am

    “Loving Murray’s line reading: “Demolitions expert.”
    I can’t stop replaying that line! Two words delivered with total perfection.

  29. Cadavra says:
    August 3, 2009 at 11:07 pm

    “Does the studio really think people are too stupid to know who Roald Dahl is??”
    My dental hygienist, who is 26, has never heard of Frank Sinatra, Bela Lugosi, Charlie Chan or a grasshopper (meaning the cocktail). Yeah, I’d say the studio is correct on this one.

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