The Wes Anderson Effect: art direction’s importance in big films
3. Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)
Production Designer: Nelson Lowry
Art Director: Francesca Berlingieri Maxwell
In Anderson’s rendition of this Roald Dahl classic, which was also his first feature animation (stop-motion), he delivered some of his best work. Set in the UK’s countryside, this sharp-witted fox has to revise his life of thievery as three mean farmers encroach onto his territory. The scenes feature a variety of colours, from rich autumn oranges to cool, clear winter variants as the story progresses. Even with the stop-motion effects, the detailed scenery still stuns audiences to this day. Anderson chose to specifically use animal fur for the characters even though it risked showing the production team’s fingerprints. Each frame does its part to build the world of the Fantastic Mr. Fox and drive the cheeky storytelling with pinpoint attention to detail in an overall immersive experience.