Loving :: Fantastic Mr. Fox

It’s pretty rare that The Boy, The Girl, and I can agree on anything, but we are all so in love with Fantastic Mr. Fox.

What’s not to love about a clever fox who outwits not one but three farmers and manages to constantly stay one step ahead of them? I cannot believe I never read Roald Dahl’s classic book as a child, but I am making up for lost time with my own children.  I absolutely adore the 1970 version illustrated by Donald Chaffin, which come to find out is out of print. We sometimes have a hard time snagging it at the local library, so I managed to track down a copy and I am so glad I did.

We’ve also been enjoying this version of it on cd, read by Roald Dahl himself and the only word I can find to describe it is droll.  It is his story after all, but he brings it to life in a crotchety old British man kind of way.  And I mean that in a good way.

And what’s not to love about the animated film by Wes Anderson?  He took a few liberties with the story, but I still love it all the same.  And the kids love it, even when I thought for sure they wouldn’t.  Yes, the film’s protagonists, Boggis, Bunce, and Bean, carry guns.  They are farmers after all, and they are out to get that fox.  But the film is just gorgeous to watch, in its beautiful earthy tones of yellow, red, orange and brown.  I just want to climb in and live there.   Seems I’m not the only one with that idea.  I want to knit Mrs. Fox’s pale yellow sweater with the box stitch details.  Also, just check out that acorn wallpaper. Pure awesomeness.  I intend to make Mrs. Bean’s Nutmeg Ginger Apple Snaps when fall hits and I feel like baking cookies once again.  (Recipe by Mario Batali, who plays the voice of Rabbit in the film.)