Wes Anderson’s Fantastic Mr. Fox is great. Still only in limited release, Anderson’s sixth feature officially ends his frustrating creative downturn. His career came storming out of the gate, with the one-two-three punch of Bottle Rocket, Rushmore, and The Royal Tenenbaums. But then he stopped writing with Owen Wilson, and his next two features (The Life Aquatic and The Darjeeling Limited) were big disappointments. His films started to feel like a pale imitation of what he used to do so well, and that special energy has been captured again for Fantastic Mr. Fox. Adapted from Roald Dahl’s beloved book, Anderson’s film is visionary and funny.
The film delivers with both clever animation as well as a clever script, the kind of cocktail you only really find in Pixar movies. Fantastic Mr. Fox clearly comes from Wes Anderson’s brain, taking his meticulous set designs and 1960s songs, but bringing them into an imaginative world of talking animals. Like all of Anderson’s films, this is the story of a misunderstood male trying to achieve ambitious goals while both alienating and uniting a community of eccentric misfits. In this case, it’s George Clooney as Fox, who must save his community after endangering them in the eyes of some malevolent farmers. Similar to other Anderson heroes (Dignan, Max Fischer, Steve Zissou), Fox is charming but selfish. Unlike recent Anderson films, though, Fantastic Mr. Fox is not selfish with its sense of joy and entertainment. It might even be one of the best movies of the year.
Talented music video director Garth Jennings (who also made the film Son of Rambow) turns his camera on Vampire Weekend, for the band’s new video. It’s for their single “Cousins,” the first new track from the group’s upcoming sophomore LP. Catchy song, inventive video:
(Pretty tight early sketch of the Queen of Hearts, from the upcoming Alice in Wonderland.)
On Wednesday night, I made my way over to MoMA for one of the sneak previews for their massive Tim Burton exhibit (which officially opens on November 22 and closes on April 26). A tribute to the iconic and popular and divisive film director/animator, this exhibit is probably one of the best ideas that a museum has ever had (and, yes, I understand museums have been around for a long time). What, at first, you assume might just be props and costumes from Burton’s dream-like films (Beetlejuice, Sweeney Todd), turns into much more as you realize how passionately imaginative Burton has been about his process. Adorning the walls of the exhibit are countless sketches and drafts of his characters, whether it be a wholly original creation like Edward Scissorhands or his own interpretation on the Mad Hatter (for his upcoming Alice In Wonderland adaptation). There are so many reasons why this show is a great idea. Perhaps at the forefront is the fact that when Burton wasn’t creating new characters, he was reinventing cultural landmarks like comic book heroes or childrens’ book stories. So, even when he’s remaking Planet of the Apes, it’s an offbeat kind of pop art.
(A napkin sketch of the title character from Burton’s Sweeney Todd.)
(An early watercolor painting of The Joker from Batman. Slightly different than what Jack Nicholson ended up doing with the character.)
Plus, there are examples of other characters and creations that never made it into one of his films, a glimpse into brainstorming that could maybe one day be a new animated or live-action feature work. Or, maybe these sketches will just live forever as self-contain scraps of paper, like a musician’s lost tapes or an author’s unfinished chapter. Regardless of the art’s place in Tim Burton’s day job as a film director, these pieces exist as a separate body of work. The MoMA exhibit runs in chronological order, depicting childhood dreams while he grew up in Burbank through his topsy-turvy career from commercial success (Batman, The Nightmare Before Christmas) to undeserved commercial failure (Mars Attacks). The inspiration seems to come from Mexican Day of the Dead artwork, blended with B-movie special effects. And, being that this is coming from someone with such an absurd sense of humor as Burton, it’s probably important not to dissect the work too seriously. As he has claimed, very little of this collection was created with an eye towards exhibition. It’s just art he made, some of it in his spare time while stumbling onto visionary ideas. But that’s also what makes this show such a treat, and a rare event.
(A behind-the-scenes video where Tim Burton discusses the MoMA exhibit)
Super-talented commercials and music video director Keith Scofield (he of the amazing “Toe Jam” clip) has returned with his latest project: a nonsense-laden, but beautiful, video for the new Charlotte Gainsbourg single “Heaven Can Wait.” Gainsbourg is joined in the video, and on the song, by Beck. Check it out:
Thom Andersen’s epic and fantastic 2003 documentary, Los Angeles Plays Itself, is screening in New York this weekend as part of a series at the 92Y Tribeca called “Not Coming to a Theater Near You.” This beloved doc - a portrait of how Los Angeles has been portrayed in cinematic history - will probably never come to any commercial release near anyone. The reason: clip licensing, since the entire film is a montage of various film segments. Which is too bad, because it’s a great viewing experience for fans of film, Los Angeles, or American history. Take this opportunity, on Saturday night, to see the film while you can.
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