By JOHN CARTER JR
Tiger Media Network
What would someone be like without the pressures of conforming? Without the expectations to fit inside a box and without the expectation that you will impose that box on others as well. For some people we feel the need to impress others, and some feel the need to gain the approval of others. I myself have had this desire to be liked or gain the approval of certain people in my life. Bosses, potential partners, friends, or people in general are among those I have strived to impress. It is so exhausting. For example, In my first semester at Fort Hays State University, I watched a great many films – this was before I had started writing for Tiger Media Network.
I had been given a list of 70 films; I had only asked for 10 originally. I promised I’d finish the list. Well, it’s been years since that original list and It has grown numerous with suggestions. I have watched about 200 films from this list of the nearly 700 suggested in the past five years. Many of the reviews I have completed have been based on this list, “Pulse,” “Halloween,” “Chungking Express,” “Ritual,” “Spirited Away,” “The Shining,” and so on. Getting comments on my reviews or on my thoughts of a film, sometimes I’d find myself adjusting my own perceptions or ratings of a film based on what others said. Critics, letterboxed raters, or even friends affected my scoring or reviews. Of course, this is but one example. People want to be loved or accepted or approved of, but that shouldn’t be at the cost of sacrificing who you are at your core or suppressing what you feel or believe or think. If we begin to do it for too long, we begin to believe the persona we are putting up is who we are or what is right. As you grow older and the real you or even your body changes, it becomes harder and harder to keep up that persona, to gain that praise. It leaves no room for differences, uniqueness, or different interpretations of what makes someone Fantastic.
With autumn at its close and winter on the doorsteps, I thought I’d take a look back at an orange fall-feeling film that has been on my to-review list for about half a decade. Wes Anderson’s 2009 stop-motion film “Fantastic Mr. Fox” was one of those suggestions I watched my very first semester. The film was captivating and introduced me to the world of Wes Anderson films. Along with Hayao Miyazaki’s animated masterpieces, Wes Anderson was one of the first directors who introduced me to film as more than a beautiful art form, rather being the wonderful culmination of many arts. This film is simply exquisite – color, palettes, world design, characters, storylines, motivations, set pieces, puppets, framing, dialogue – everything in this film was perfect.
The film was released in the same year as “Coraline” and “Up” from Laika and Pixar, respectively. “Fantastic Mr. Fox” tells the story of the arrogant Mr. Fox as he tries to recapture some of his glory days by robbing fowls and cider from three mean farmers. Being motivated at the beginning of the film to do something about his life, Mr. Fox says “I don’t want to live in a hole anymore. It makes me feel poor,” to which his wife, Mrs. Fox responds, “We are poor… but we’re happy.” Seemingly disregarding this, Mr. Fox causes problems for his community when he gets caught by the farmers and gets his tail shot off. At first, Mr. Fox feels the need to live this thrilling life not simply because of the excitement but also to impress or win over others. Later in the films, Mr.Fox tells his wife:
“I think I have this thing where I need everybody to think I’m the greatest, the quote-unquote Fantastic Mr. Fox. And if people aren’t knocked out and dazzled and slightly intimidated by me, I don’t feel good about myself,” Mr. Fox.
This pressure that he feels on himself seems to be reflected in his own child, Ash. Throughout the film, Ash feels inadequate and is seen as “different.” Ash gets this labeling more than once. Ash feels the most frustrated when their cousin Kristofferson comes to stay with their family. Ash feels the need to be validated by Mr. Fox whom they have always looked up to, and it is only at the end of the film, when Mr. Fox is honest about his own need to be validated by others’ perspective of him so that he can see his child’s plight and relate.
Mrs. Fox (played by the legendary Meryl Streep) tells Ash that it is okay to be different and in recognition who they are: “We’re all different. [indicates Mr. Fox] Especially him. But there’s something kind of fantastic about that, isn’t there?” This quote is not only an important lesson for the members of the Fox family to learn but also is an interesting point as the others don’t seem to understand how to take this comment. Ash is still frustrated, and Mr. Fox still wants to steal from the farmers, incurring more of their wrath (there could be an essay on classism and society to be written here).
From the beginning, Mrs. Fox seemed to have a lot of these lessons learned. This makes the trials and journeys that both Ash and Mr. Fox go on to be representative of each of their own battles with toxic masculinity and living up to the expectations of others. Ash gets scrutinized for “dressing like a girl,” sees how Kristofferson is more like his father than he is in terms of accomplishments and then subsequently takes their anger out on those around them.
The characters in the film eventually get to a point where they are able to meet a mutual understanding. There is a beautiful moment between Ash and Mr. Fox that stands out to me:
Mr. Fox:
“The whole time, I was putting paw over paw with your mother digging beside me, and I thought to myself: I wonder who this little boy is…”
Ash:
“Or girl!”Mr. Fox:
“Right, ’cause at the time, we didn’t know. I wonder who this little boy or girl is gonna be? Ash, I’m so glad he was you. It’s not your fault, it’s mine.”
Ash sees their father’s own shortcomings and his willingness to take responsibility for his actions. Mr. Fox sees the same in Ash and later in the film instead of robbing them of the opportunity to write their wrongs. Mr. Fox is supportive, as far as making their child feel included, and demonstrating that he is proud of Ash.
The way in which the film wraps up says something about contentment, happiness, and what it means to live your life regardless of the change and being yourself. The song Ol’ Man River (the Beach Boys rendition of the classic song) is played after The Foxes’ confrontation with the farmers. The song’s lyrics go:
“Ol’ Man River
He must know somethin’
He don’t say nothin’
He just keeps rollin’
He keeps on rollin’ along
He don’t plant taters, he don’t plant cotton
And them that plants em are soon forgotten
But Ol’ Man River
He keeps on rollin’ along”
While I tend to prefer the Judy Garland version, and the song is not in the thematic usage that it originally was when first published here, it represents that regardless of what happens, time still flows on. After everything the animals go through in this story, they end in a similar position to where they started. After having everything Mr. Fox wanted and losing all those things (a new house, all the stolen food, and praise for it), he is able to cherish, at the very least, what they have. They may have more wonderful things come along and they may be lost but he can keep rolling along if he has his family to see him through it all. This is conveyed through his short toast to his family with juice.
“They say all foxes are slightly allergic to linoleum, but it’s cool to the paw, try it. They say my tail needs to be dry-cleaned twice a month, but now it’s fully detachable, see? They say our tree may never grow back, but one day, something will. Yes, these crackles are made of synthetic goose and these giblets come from artificial squab and even these apples look fake—but at least they’ve got stars on them. I guess my point is, we’ll eat tonight, and we’ll eat together. And even in this not particularly flattering light, you are without a doubt the five and a half most wonderful wild animals I’ve ever met in my life,” Mr. Fox.
“Fantastic Mr. Fox” is a classic tale about finding the courage to be yourself, when “different” is treated like a pejorative, and being happy with what you have. That is not to give up on going after your dreams or desires but to learn not to resent or feel contempt for what you have because of what you don’t. The film is beautiful in every way and shows us its numerous lessons through its beauty. We learn through both Mr. Fox and Ash that we shouldn’t suppress who we truly are at our core. Suppressing what you feel or believe or think in order to live to impress others, be more agreeable, or be like someone you perceive everyone else likes. In being you, for the good and the bad, you’ll find fantastic experiences await you.
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