Book Review: The Making of Fantastic Mr. Fox

November 21, 2009 by junxian

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.

Fantasic 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.

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If you buy from any links on the blog, I get a little commission that helps me get more art books to feature.

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Comments

Just watched the show and

Anonymous (not verified)
November 23, 2009,
40 weeks 4 days ago
Comment id: 943

Just watched the show and liked it very much. It was very much old school stop-motion animation (which I still like very much). Never read the book so not sure how good the adaptation was. The story was ok, and without reading a review first, I wouldnt have seen the themes of parenthood and community spirit.
Where can I find this book locally (Singapore) ?