His ability to take on diverse themes  such as the dysfunctional family with hilarious black humor (see The Royal Tennenbaum’s), adventure  in the deep ocean with absurdly fake images (see The Life Aquatic of Steve Zissou), and boyhood crushes on older women (see Rushmore), to name just a few movies, is why I think Wes Anderson is one of the most creative and hilarious directors making movies.  Scheduled to be released on November 13, Fantastic Mr. Fox has gained considerable hype, but one that would be expected from a Mr. Anderson movie.

Also as expected from a Wes Anerson movie, the characters are played–voiced, actually–by faces we have seen in his previous movies.  Jason Schwartzman plays Ash, Mr. Fox’s son, George Clooney as Mr. Fox, Bill Murray as Badger, Meryl Streep as Felicity Fox, Owen Wilson as Coach Skip, and Willem Daf0e as Rat.   Being Anderson’s first animated movie, I’ve read that painstaking detail went into the creation of the stop motion models and the doll house sets, using real fox hair and fine materials for their clothes to achieve that surreal look his movies have become famous for.   More of a family movie, and probably much less esoteric than his previous films, Fantastic Mr. Fox can appeal to almost any audience.

Check out the trailer.  Fun for the whole family.