Fantastic Mr. Fox: 10 Behind-The-Scenes Facts About Wes Anderson’s Movie

Based on the Roald Dahl book of the same name, Fantastic Mr. Fox was Wes Anderson’s first foray into stop motion animation, which eventually led the quirky director to release Isle of Dogs some years later. Starring George Clooney, Meryl Streep, and Bill Murray, Fantastic Mr. Fox tells the story of a fox helping a community of woodland creatures survive the onslaught of some nearby farmers.

The movie was a critical and commercial success, drawing on the magic of the classic Roald Dahl story, while also introducing some of the quirky, offbeat humor that makes Wes Anderson movies so entertaining.

10 CGI Was Used For Only One Scene

CGI has become so advanced and affordable that, in many instances, it is far cheaper and easier to use when compared to practical effects. This has led to movie studios basically overrelying on too much CGI in order to produce the desired effect for their movie, and oftentimes this just backfires.

However, in Fantastic Mr. Fox, CGI was only used in the scene in which the flint mine was flooded. The rest of the movie was entirely produced with practical effects, stop-motion animation, and puppetry.

9 The Movie Required A Total Of 535 Puppets

It should come as no surprise that Fantastic Mr. Fox had to make a lot of puppets during production. Overall, the production team used 535 puppets while filming the adaptation of Roald Dahl’s book.

For Mr. Fox alone, there were over 102 puppets of different sizes, each sporting a different style for the titular character.

8 There Are Many Visual Homages To Roald Dahl

Due to the fact that Fantastic Mr. Fox is based on the book by Roald Dahl, the filmmakers decided to include various different nods to the famous British author’s life, including several design inspirations from Dahl’s own life.

The way that Mr. Fox sits on his chair is a nod to how Dahl used to write his novels, while the village that Dahl lived helped inspire the village seen in the movie. Furthermore, the tree was inspired by a beech tree growing on Dahl’s property.

7 Mr. Fox’s Fashion Is Based On Wes Anderson’s

Fantastic Mr. Fox has a timeless, quaint style that, despite perfectly capturing the style of the period in which Dahl originally wrote the book, also manages to appear fresh, new, and incredible modern in its design.

The fashion of Mr. Fox in particular was heavily inspired by the fashion of Wes Anderson, with Mr. Fox often sporting a similar wardrobe to the director. In fact, the costume designers even consulted with Wes Anderson’s tailor for Mr. Fox’s attires.

6 Kris Kristofferson Was Named After The Actor

One of the most memorable characters of the movie was Mr. Fox’s nephew, Kristofferson (voiced by Eric Chase Anderson). The character arrives at the Fox’s home after his father becomes ill with double pneumonia. Kristofferson is an original character created for the movie, with Wes Anderson and Noah Baumbach naming the character after singer Kris Kristofferson.

Kristofferson, of course, was Whistler in the original Blade movies starring Wesley Snipes. Anderson named Kristofferson after the actor not just because he liked his work, but because he just liked his name that much.

5 Petey Was Based On Pulp’s Frontman

While the movie was based on the book of the same name, Fantastic Mr. Fox also had its own Anderson-esque plot lines. Some of these plot lines required new characters to be introduced and one brief but memorable character was that of the musician, Petey.

The character design of Petey was based on legendary Pulp frontman, Jarvis Cocker. Pulp are one of the most iconic British bands of the past few decades, releasing some of the best music of the ‘Britpop’ era.

4 Tim Burton Was Attached At One Point

Fantastic Mr. Fox was in production for quite some time, with a variety of different directors attached to the project before Wes Anderson would ultimately finish the long-gestating adaptation.

One of the more notable directors who eventually left production was Tim Burton, who had notable experience on animated movies including producing The Nightmare Before Christmas and directing Corpse Bride and Frankenweenie. Coincidentally, many of the animators who worked on Corpse Bride worked on Fantastic Mr. Fox.

3 Rat’s Death Was Almost Reshot Because The MPAA Didn’t Get It

The movie is full of memorable and quirky characters, as is a Wes Anderson tradition; however, one of the most memorable characters is the villainous alcoholic rat — appropriately named Rat — voiced by the legendary Willem Dafoe.

Rat ultimately meets his end in a duel with Mr. Fox, but this scene was almost reshot because the MPAA thought that the death scene showed Rat bleeding to death and being forced to drink his own blood. In truth, a weakened Rat wanted one last drink, which Mr. Fox provided by giving him some water from a nearby puddle.

2 Some Scenes Were Recorded Outdoors

Fantastic Mr. Fox is, naturally, a movie that is set heavily around nature. The film follows a group of sentient woodland creatures, showing the creatures coming up against the creeping advance of humans.

In order to make the movie feel more natural and ‘outdoorsy’ for the more natural scenes, Wes Anderson had the actors record their lines outside in order to give a more authentic feel. Similarly, if a scene was recorded in an attic, the cast would record their lines in an attic.

1 Fantastic Mr. Fox Was Wes Anderson’s First Book

Roald Dahl is one of the most influential and iconic children’s authors of all time, with the British author writing legendary books including Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, the BFG, and The Witches.

It wouldn’t come as a surprise to many to learn that Fantastic Mr. Fox was actually the first book that Wes Anderson ever owned, adding a touch of destiny to Wes Anderson eventually directing the movie adaptation.

About The Author

Sam Hutchinson
(374 Articles Published)

Writer living in Adelaide, Australia. Long-suffering post-graduate student and lover of pop culture from Game of Thrones to DC.
Twitter: @samchinson

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