Hiphopsideproject

Saw this film yesterday, and to say it lived up to my expectations would be an understatement. I didn’t quite know how this was going to be a Wes Anderson film, though, I originally thought it’d just be a quirky stop-motion film, a little James and the Giant Peachish, but still very much aimed at kids. Oh oh, how wrong I was!

This film couldn’t be anymore Wes Anderson, it was… perfect. The characters, the dialogue, the minor actions… so very Wes. Whilst the story didn’t hold incredibly true to Roald Dahl’s original tale, I’m sure he would have approved (apparently his Widow does), it was quirky and not sugar coated like most kids films. Swear-word replacement throughout the film was the best thing I’ve heard in a long time. “Cluster-cuss”.  Amazing.

Now, the animation. I’ve long, long, long been a stop motion fan, from back in the day when I used to watch Harryhausen films with my Dad, and then, of course, to The Nightmare Before Christmas (if you didn’t know, I have little problem with that film… a huge giant box full of expensive problems), I used to do a lot of my art/design research around various forms of animation.  Whilst I enjoy, and am awed by, modern CGI animation there’s just something about stop motion that makes me gawp. Coraline earlier this year was a great stop-motion, but really it was just a smoother NBC/James and the Giant Peach, with better equipment and skills. Fantastic Mr Fox, however, really held a torch to old-school stop motion.

Yes, you should go see it. It’s a bit strange, and you might not get it, but it was lovely. Also, who thinks it’s ok to take a tiny baby to the cinema? wtf?