reibureibu’s review published on Letterboxd:
I saw this when it first came out and just assumed it was another fun kids movie. I was fourteen and went with my dad. I didn't see any trailers, I didn't have a reason to pick this, and I didn't even know who Wes Anderson was. It was just that watching a movie was something I did with my dad time to time.
I left the theater totally amazed, it was so much better than I expected it to be. And not just because it was not a kids movie, but rather one that was so well-written, so well-executed, so well... well good that I think that literally anyone could love it.
And my dad too was really impressed. He likes animation and 20th-century aesthetics and generally anything that's wholesome, and so it can sometimes be difficult to pick out a movie in-theaters that I know he'll like. So when we do find one that we love, it's sort of this weird "stamp of approval" between us: essentially movies that are bright, funny, and pure that have a tinge of old-fashioned sensibilities.
"We're all different. Especially him. But there's something kind of fantastic about that, isn't there?"
Fantastic Mr. Fox feels like the epitome of that criteria, and certainly one of the best movies I've had the pleasure of seeing. I can watch this endlessly (sometimes I really want to) and it doesn't hurt that it runs quickly at just under 90 minutes. It's a perfectly plotted, perfectly paced, and perfectly pleasant film – and yet simultaneously also so much more.
