Last night I enjoyed the best film I have seen for a long time. The Fantastic Mr Fox is a kids film based on a Roald Dahl book.

I’m too old to have read Roald Dahl, and I have no children, (so I didn’t catch the book second time around). But I did get the film references that were littered thoughout.

The film’s main influence was Quentin Tarantino’s ‘Kill Bill’. It had the same titled episode format, and the same dramatic rapid drum music, for the action sequences.

The film was vastly improved by the ABSENCE of something. There was no artificial CGI (Computer Generated Images), or at least none that was ’in-your-face’ obvious. The whole film was a homage to Britain’s Nick Park and his laborious stop-motion technique with clay animal figures.

One scene did acknowledge their debt to Nick Park, with a motorcycle and sidecar episode straight out of ‘The ‘Wrong Trousers’. However Quentin Tarantino was the main influence, with a good use of music throughout.

Meryl Streep and George Clooney are just two of the famous actors to voice the characters. George Clooney playing the part of Mister Fox, reprising his ‘Oceans Eleven’ role.

One funny scene  had Mr Fox giving latin code names to each of his gang. This was a reference to Tarantino’s ‘Reservoir Dogs’ where the gang are named Mr Black, Mr White, Mr Blue etcetera.

Mr Pink complained that his name wasn’t macho enough, he wanted to know why  he couldn’t have a sexy name like Mr Black?………They spent about 10 minutes arguing about it.

In Mister Fox one of the animals complained that HE hadn’t been given a latin code name.

Don’t get me wrong. This movie isn’t just for film buffs like me. The whole thing can be enjoyed for what it is, a very, very enjoyable piece of family entertainment. Go and take your kids, (or your friends kids), to see it now! You won’t regret it.

John McNally