We didn't know it at the time, but Fantastic Mr. Fox turned out to be the best possible Thanksgiving day entertainment.  Like the holiday itself, Wes Anderson's film is stuffed full with family, food, and fun. There are enormous feasts, thrilling heists, family tensions and heartfelt toasts. Its a whimsical fable with some moments of true depth and emotion.  This is a "fantastic" film for both grown-ups and kids alike.

The story is a thoughtful twist on Roald Dahl's children's classic about Fabulous Mr. Fox, a reformed chicken thief who risks life and limb (as well as his whole community and family) to steal from a wicked trio of farmers, Boggis, Bean, and Bunce, one last time.  Wes Anderson (of The Royal Tenenbaums fame) injects nuance and emotion into what is otherwise a one dimensional children's story - bringing the characters to life through a winning combination of old school stop motion animation and voice-overs from numerous A-list actors. George Clooney is pitch perfect as Mr. Fox, a newspaper columnist/family man who longs to recapture the glory days of his past - as a precision poultry poacher.  (Can you say mid-life crisis, girlfriends?)  In an effort to get ahead (code for feeling alive again), Mr. Fox decides to pull off one last caper against the evil farmers.  It is this crowning heist that becomes the center of the film.  Ever the natty dresser and charmingly roguish (of the non-Sarah Palin variety), Clooney plays off of his former swanky tuxedo-clad burglar roles from Ocean's Eleven and Twelve to give added dimension to Mr. Fox's already loveably rakish character.  Meryl Streep is not surprisingly impeccable as the patient (within reason) and grounded Mrs. Fox who tells it like it is and is the Fox family's moral compass. Joining this dream team we have Jason Schwartzman who plays Ash (Mr. Fox's moody son); Eric Anderson (Ash's nauseatingly perfect, yoga-practicing cousin); Owen Wilson (the kids' absent-minded coach); William Defoe (as the druggie turncoat rat) and the always irresistible Bill Murray (the lawyer badger).  

My kids both loved the film (correction: my seven year old loved the film, my two year old was quite frankly more interested in polishing off her humongous bag of popcorn and being snuggled in her blanky).  But really, it was the adults in the crowd who appreciated the true gifts contained in this small film.  Scenes like Mr. Fox and his lawyer arguing over whether buying a home is a sound investment given the current market conditions are sheer comic genius - the two characters descend from heated debate  into chasing each other around the table baring their teeth and yelling "you cussin' me?" - reminding us that they really are wild animals after all!  So are the scenes where Mr. Fox sheds the social niceties and reverts to eating "fox style" (i.e., like my dog) and then politely wipes his mouth and goes back to plotting his master caper.  There were also some poignant moments - such as the interactions between Mr. Fox and his approval-seeking son who doesn't feel like he can live up to his father's legacy or the conversation between Mr. Fox and Mrs. Fox where she tells him that she loves him but should not have married him.  But, as I said, these more difficult moments are lost on kids who will be plenty distracted by the abundance of sight gags from the home-spun animation.

This is the film that I hoped "Where the Wild Things Are" would be but wasn't.  It's a charming, smart, multi-layered film that will engage the adult audience while preserving its original appeal as a children's tale. Fantastic Mr. Fox is a film that the whole family can sink its teeth into and come away at the end of it feel fully satisfied.