Customer Reviews

The Making of Fantastic Mr. Fox: A Film by Wes Anderson Based on the Book by Roald Dahl

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Length:: 0:26 Mins

Hands up if you have not read any of Ronald Dahl's books, alright, those of you who have your hands up, you seriously need to press the "BUY" button when you see any on Amazon, like in the upcoming link.

Fantastic Mr. Fox was published in 1970, written by Ronald Dahl. The Making of Fantastic Mr. Fox is for the visual companion for the stop motion animated movie based on that book, directed by Wes Anderson.

This is a 192-page hardcover book with a nice dust jacket. The low gloss pages are filled with character sketches from the conceptualisation to the making of the models for the animated film.

A short introduction to the Dahl estate starts the book, which is then divided into several chapters which focus on the various characters of the film. Alongside the sketches and art, there are little notes that explain the consideration taken when designing the models, how each part is to be handled and the significance in the final film.

This book a treasure trove of knowledge on stop motion animation. It shows much of the behind-the-scenes work that goes into the final film, how each and every character is modeled, the making of the sets - the farmhouse, the foxes' tree burrow, the town square, how the fire in the street scene is done and many more.

There are plenty of detailed photos of the models of the buildings, like how each chicken should look down to the bread in the bakery etc. Alongside these photos are notes by the artists talking about the scenes where the models are used.

Each character has its own chapter. You can see how the director's interpretation the characters' look, traits and behaviours, are all reflected in the creation of the models. There are concept art from the initial character design to the final selected design, and the different expressions, their clothings, textures -- hair, fur, wrinkly skin, etc.

In the later parts of the book, alongside the pictures of the models for the settings and locations, there are interviews with Wes Anderson, Liccy Dahl (Roald Dahl's wife) and various production staff.

Fans of stop motion animation would enjoy this book and through it, appreciate this way of movie making.

(More pictures are available on my blog. Just visit my Amazon profile for the link.)

You should purchase this book if:
1. You enjoyed/liked/loved the film "Fantasic Mr. Fox"
2. You are an animation fan/historian/buff.
2a. Specifically, stop-motion animation
2b. With created puppets.
3. You like reading or collecting "Making Of" books about films.

Well, I loved this film, I'm an animation fan, and I qualify for item three. At first I was hesitant to get this book, but it was the option to not have to pay shipping if I bought this book and the soundtrack and had them shipped together which convinced me to get the book as well.

The book itself is amazingly detailed. There are interviews with Liccy Cahl (Roald's wife), Eric Anderson (voice of Kristofferson and brother of Wes), Jason Schwartzman (voice of Ash), and even Wes Anderson himself (interviewed by Michael Specter, who also wrote the book's introduction). The book is broken into sections based on "chapters" in the film - not necessarily the chapters as they are divided on the DVD. What I find amazing to look at, though, is the concept art for the film, particularly the characters. The art by Félicie Haymoz, Huy Vu, and Chris Appelhans really stands out too, especially Félicie's.

One last interesting tidbit other reviewers may not mention: The font and back endpages contain interesting bonuses that may interest some people: The front endpages have a dope sheet used by animators to mark out the timing of puppet movements, as well as camera and lighting changes, for the "Kylie, is he telling the truth?" scene. The dope sheet details every single frame of that scene, what shape/sound the character's mouths need to be making, the frames in which something moves, and the waveform (sound) of the actor's voices.

The rear endpages show us a segment of Alexandre Desplat's orchestral score for the "Whack-Bat Majorette" track in the film. As a piano player, I was intrigued to see the parts for every single instrument a segment in the song as I listened to it.

Anyway, to sum up, this book makes an excellent add-on on top of a purchase of the film and/or its soundtrack. It makes a great gift to someone you know who likes the film!

not only is wes anderson's film one of the best of 2009 but it is one of the best film's ever. it is a truly imaginative and cozy world that you enter from the first moments of the movie. it is as much for adults as it is kids because it hits the mark in capturing that childhood sense of wonder and exploration. the book itself is a gorgeous piece that wholly captures the detailed process that the creative team went through in making the movie. i highly recommend it. got it for christmas today and started to read it in front of the fire. i am 31 years old and i haven't wanted to be an animal living in a cozy animal world since i was a kid. this books and the film brings me back to that time and feeling.

First, I have to commend the designers of this book. It's elegantly designed, all of the graphics and text look great. What is lacking is actual content. While the models and sets are represented with some really nice photography, the text is limited to a handful of interviews and a short introduction. I was expecting to learn more about the technical aspects of making a film like this, but the focus is often more on the scriptwriting and voice acting - interesting enough, but not particularly what I was interested in. At one point it is mentioned that the director exchanged some 60,000 emails with the animators. Some of these are included in the book, but it would be nice to see more.

In short, if you are looking for a nice document of some really lovely drawings and photography, get this book. If you are looking for a deeper insight into the "Making" of this film... I guess wait for the dvd.

The film Fantastic Mr. Fox is my absolute favorite film of all time. It is nothing short of perfection. I've seen in 32 times and that number is still growing. Wes Anderson and Alexandre Desplat are sublime. I was given this book as a gift and it one of the most beautiful, honest, and real books I've ever owned. Every detail is marvelous and I'm so glad nothing was left out. The only criticism I had was that I would've liked there to have been more info on Alexandre Desplat, the composer for the film. Two thumbs up and 29 gold stars. This book is a treasure, an absolute treasurel. Brilliant!

If you're a Wes Anderson Junkie and you appreciate his exquisite attention to detail, then this book will BLOW YOUR MIND!

The package arrived two days after ordering, a major plus.

The Making of Fantastic Mr. Fox has fantastic images of the construction, the drawing, and writing process of the film, along with an interview with the film's director, Wes Anderson.

Excellent buy for those who are a fan of the film Fantastic Mr. Fox, or those who wish to see the process of making a stop-motion film. 5 Stars!

First off, I love every part of the movie and I really like seeing how it was made. This book has a lot of great behind the scenes pictures and concept drawings. The pictures themselves are of pretty good quality. There are a couple of fuzzy pictures, but the vast majority are great. The drawings and paintings by Turlo are awe-inspiring and are a great addition. The text in the book is mostly comprised of general interviews about the movie and the book. I would have liked some interviews with the animators, modelers or designers showing how they made the puppets, animated them, or the artistic choices that were made. Showing pictures of armatures, but having text discussing why a certain voice was chosen makes the pictures and text seem disjointed. This isn't a major complaint though, as the pictures and interviews are interesting enough. If you are fanatical about this movie like I am, then you should certainly buy this book.

To be honest, I haven't read many of the words in this book, so I'm not rating it on how well written it is. However, I have spent hours looking at the detailed pictures of the amazing puppets, costumes, props, sets, script excerpts, storyboards, and photos of the artists and their tools. The book is well laid out, and is presented on fantastic stock, as I expected from a Rizzoli book. The book itself appears to have been miniaturized from a larger format, as the text seems oddly small, but I like that aspect of it tho, as it makes it seem ever more precious. It's very inspirational, and one of my favorite 'Art of' animation books.

To go off what another reviewer said, this book may not be for everyone. However, if you:

--Like the movie
--Like the book
--Like Roald Dahl
--Like stop-motion film

You will enjoy this book. At almost 200 pages, it will take you some time just to look at all the images and read the captions - they have packed a lot into the pages. It is obvious a lot of time and effort went into making this book (more than can be said about similar books which are light on content). There are also a handful of interviews which are interesting as well.

Downsides? This is a 'making of' book, and there was almost no content talking about how they made the movie (other than what was mentioned in the interviews). I do wish there was more content describing how the scenery, characters, etc. were made - though these can be found in online videos (and almost certainly will be included with the extras with the movie). Even with this factored in, if you fit the criteria above, you will love this book.