Filed by KOSU News in Art & Life.
November 23, 2009

Director Wes Anderson has worked on a lot of film projects, but with his latest picture, Fantastic Mr. Fox, he ventured into new territory. It’s the first time Anderson has made an animated feature.

Based on the Roald Dahl children’s book of the same name, Fantastic Mr. Fox is the story of a slick, well-bred fellow (voiced by George Clooney) who swears off stealing from three rich farmers after becoming a parent — but who can’t entirely control his sticky fingers.

Anderson created the film in stop-motion, in which the objects in front of the camera — puppets, in this case — are repositioned just slightly in between each frame. When the film is played back at speed, the puppets appear to move fluidly on their own, as in a flip book. Though Anderson says that stop-motion animation is the most involved film-making he’s ever done, he also says that the process of bringing the characters to life has “a sort of magic.”

Anderson’s other films include The Royal Tennenbaums, The Darjeeling Limited, Bottle Rocket and Rushmore. He joins Fresh Air host Terry Gross to talk about his affection for the story of Mr. Fox, about the unexpected challenges of stop-motion work, and about his idiosyncratic moviemaking style. Copyright 2009 National Public Radio