Fantastic Mr. Fox

Everyone once in a while I just don’t get it. A movie comes along that is almost universally praised by critics and audiences alike, and it leaves me cold. I’m not so surprised when it’s something like Sin City. We live in an age when this sort of violent pornography is so standard that no one seems to notice anymore that it is morally bankrupt and, frankly, degenerate and disgusting. But here’s an animated picture—and I love animation—technically very well done, visually new … all in all, real nice to look at. And that’s all I did. Look at it. I never felt the least bit involved. Here’s these people with the heads of foxes and other wild animals, dressed in suits and dresses. So what? Just didn’t work for me. And don’t tell me it’s because the movie is slightly weird, showing people with the heads of animals. I like weird. I loved The Triplets of Belleville, and Ponyo. It was nominated for the Best Animated Feature Oscar. It if had beaten Up, I would have had to pelt the Academy with little furry puppets.