Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)

Fantastic Mr. Fox

• Coming in as the 7th perfect movie in Raspberry history, this is definitely one of the best movies of all time, and I would easily put it in my top 10 greatest films ever made (and I’m not joking). This is one of the very, very few movies that I don’t have a single complaint about. There isn’t a single thing I would change, add, or take away. It’s the most perfect 87 minutes in cinema history. It has an all-star cast, and each animal is perfectly portrayed by their actor/actress. George Clooney (who we all know is the best Batman) absolutely rules as Mr. Fox, as well as Merryl Streep as Mrs. Fox. Bill Murray, Michael Gambon, and Willem Dafoe are also extremely great additions to the lineup. Overall, this is most definitely the best stop-motion picture ever released, and the amount of time and effort that went into it made this movie the masterpiece that it is. There are so, SO many details put into each and every frame, and even if you look away for 5 seconds, you’ll miss an amazing shot. That’s what helps make the movie so great. There was also incredible detail added to the animals as, and there’s one particular detail I truly love: for the animal figures, the designers actually used real animal hair. The cool part about it is that from the handling of the models, the hair would ripple. Because of that, the animals look almost real and authentic throughout the movie, as you can see their hair actually move. I could rant about the designs of the animals and setting for hours, but I’ll move on. The soundtrack gets an absolute huge shoutout, and it’s easily one of the best movie soundtracks of all time. The movie opens with “The Ballad of Davy Crockett”, and along with a memorable shot, it sets the movie's tone beautifully. Throughout the movie, it has an extremely entertaining score, and it goes back and forth from energetic to suspenseful to action-y. There is also an addition of several Beach Boys songs, which, if you know me, I’m ecstatic about. The placement of “Heroes and Villains” is perfect, along with “I Get Around”, and “Ol’ Man River” at the end. The country/bluegrass/western sound and feel of the rest of the music is freaking amazing. The cinematography is excellent as well. You wouldn’t really expect a stop-motion movie to have focus on the shots as much, but there are so many beautiful still shots in this movie, some that give you chills, and a few that I literally had to pause the movie just to look at it. The story is also great, and it pulls you in from the beginning and keeps you sucked in until the very last second. The last thing I’ll mention is the fact that this movie is about talking animals who wear clothes. Most movies that are about animals I don’t really care for, except for Zootopia, Ratatouille, and a tiny number of others. The fact that I’m able to enjoy a playful movie about a family of animals who have jobs, read newspapers, sell real estate, and have full conversations, shows a great deal that it’s a good movie. Anyways, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this movie, and it’s definitely one that one needs to watch at least once before they die. Plus, it’s a really, really good autumn movie. This film is officially Berry Approved, so go see it now!