In the second issue of Wes Anderson's special issue, today we'll be talking about The Fantastic Daddy Fox.
This is one of his representative stop-motion animation works, the other is "Canis Island".
First of all, let's understand, what is stop motion animation?
Animation in the traditional sense falls into three categories - hand drawn , stop motion and computer animation .
The character image of stop-motion animation is usually made of clay (puppets, paper-cuts) and other materials, hand-made , shot frame by frame (each time a picture is taken, the subject is moved), and finally it is shown continuously . There will be a sense of discontinuity in the rendering effect .
Stop-motion animation requires a large number of real scenes and character images to be manually produced, which is time-consuming and labor-intensive in today's highly developed digital technology.
If you are still insisting on doing stop-motion animation studios, you are really dealing with this matter in the spirit of "artisan".
In the history of stop-motion animation, there have actually been many excellent works. In addition to "Fox Dad", which we will talk about today, there are also "Ghost Mom", "Canis Island", "The Legend of Magic Strings" and so on.
The other is my favorite "Mary and Marx".
After talking about stop-motion animation, let's return to today's theme.
"Fantastic Daddy Fox" is Wes Anderson's adaptation of Roald Dahl's original fairy tale.
Wes Anderson is -- everything he writes, edits, shoots , it's Wes Anderson . Good at creating those gorgeous and dreamy, hazy and sad scenes.
Usually when we talk about wes obsessive compulsive disorder anderson , we always mention his bold use of color (pink maniac) , translational lens movement , and the symmetry of the picture (obsessive compulsive disorder) , and a lot of Top-down detailing (fetish) .
But there is actually a very big feature of all his films, which is unreality - "out of time, out of life, out of common sense".
This kind of unreality is fascinating. After all, who can say for sure that the world we live in now is 100% real?
"Fox Papa" is also such a film based on fantasy and "unreality" . The story starts with a family of foxes:
Father Fox is a columnist for the small town daily. He writes innocuous articles and lives an ordinary life. He always recalls his youth and the regret of not being able to continue.
When he was young, he was an agile bird/chicken thief (the nature of a fox), but now he sits at the desk in a suit every morning and reads the newspaper, full of shadows of the "middle-class elite".
Only the way he devoured food while eating revealed his wildness as a fox.
He has a beautiful, generous, understanding and tolerant wife, the fox mother.
Twelve years ago, because the fox mother was pregnant, the fox father promised her that for the safety of the family, she would wash her hands in a golden basin from now on.
There is also a son, Ash, who "doesn't look like me". Ash is a little different, whether it's his clothes or his brain circuits, everyone doesn't understand him.
In addition, Ash's little cousin also came to stay at home temporarily (the little cousin's father had bilateral pneumonia). The little cousin not only looks like a "fox", but also has decathlon, which deepens Ash's existence for himself. of suspicion.
The fox father suffered a mid-life crisis. First, he suddenly wanted to improve the family living environment (foxes usually live in holes), and bought a conspicuous tree house.
The tree house both beyond his purchasing power , but also one of the areas worst law and order in the animal world - and three vicious farmer neighbors .
Walt Boggis - the world's most successful chicken farmer ;
Nate Bunce - Nutritious duck and goose farm ;
Franklin Bean - Raises turkeys, grows apples (makes cider) and is the scariest person today .
Despite moving into a new home, it doesn't seem like our dad fox's midlife crisis has been alleviated. Instead, it gave birth to his urge to find himself.
One night, standing on the balcony of his new home, looking at the stars, he asked Mr. Kylie, the possum, the housekeeper of the new home:
"Who am I"
"who am I"
"Why a Fox"
"Why am I a fox"
This conversation is not so much asking someone else,
Rather, he is torturing himself.
Fox mentioned here - "existential" (Existentialism) , but also the entire core of the film to be explained :
Existentialism is derived from "liberalism" , which emphasizes individuality , respect for individuality and freedom . The universe is meaningless, and human existence itself is meaningless. But through self-shaping , pursuit and achievement , people can realize their own meaning .
For Father Fox, now he is suppressing his nature. Foxes are naturally adventurous, hunting and challenging predators . Would there be true happiness and self-satisfaction without these?
As a result, he hatched a poaching plan, targeting three farmers.
The plan went very well (except for being stopped by guard rats while stealing cider, which was a near miss). But his frequent trips and clues were still discovered by the fox mother.
It also led to the retaliation of the three farmers, and finally lost a tail in a sneak attack at the door of the house.
This is just the beginning. The farmers began to attack his tree house, causing the fox family to dig down holes to escape, and even affected other animals to escape with them. There was no water or food, and they faced the danger of collective death.
At a time of crisis, Father Fox came up with another good idea. While the farmers were concentrating on attacking them, he simply dug a hole in the ground and directly hollowed out the farms of the three farmers.
Just when they started celebrating the "party", things weren't so simple.
The farmers came up with a new way to flood the burrows with water, flushing them all directly into the sewer system.
At this time, Ash and his little cousin were on the way to steal the fox's tail together. After the plan failed, Ash managed to escape, but the little cousin was caught and became a "hostage".
So the fox family, including other wild animals, decided to unite.
Make use of your own strengths (simple nature and talent are natural, each has its own advantages and disadvantages).
Kill the farmer, save the little fox, and win back his place of survival.
In the movie, the fact that the father fox fears wolves has been repeatedly emphasized. At the end of the film, the fox father took his son and Kelly to rescue the little cousin on the way, and finally met a wild gray wolf.
All the animals in the film can speak human words, but this wolf can't.
Because the wolf is the only one in the film who followed his heart 100% and released his animal nature, and the one who is the loneliest, with no family and no partners. We can understand that the "most free self" is - to give up the fetters.
"Wolf" has always been the fear of Father Fox, because he has no way to face and face his heart.
But here, he waved goodbye to the lone wolf with tears in his eyes (mutual gesture).
Then he ran to his family without looking back.
Almost every work of Wes Anderson has his own shadow. Here, Father Fox bids farewell to the wolf, which is also a dialogue between him and himself.
For us, our whole life is a journey of self-discovery.
Truly following your heart is great, and at the same time, the price to pay is huge.
Wes Anderson has always been a very contradictory director:
On the one hand, there are many strange things in his head, and on the other hand, his expressions are extremely restrained;
He has never made a serious/artistic film in the true sense , nor has he chosen to stand with commercial directors;
There's never a real bad guy in his movies , just some "big kids" who make mistakes
For serious topics tend to be evasive , even if the expression of death is not bloody.
As one of the most deeply personal directors of this era, he has always tried to find a balance.
Neither mainstream nor catered for. Immerse yourself in your own world without closing yourself in.
The world needs social writers, directors, and films , because they always remind us of the imperfect side of the world and keep us skeptical and cautious about life .
But we also need "big boys" like Wes Anderson, who weave those psychedelic and bizarre dreams for us to create the good in the bad
Like each of us, he lives in contradiction, both lovely and pitiful.
In the battle at the end of the film, the little fox Ash also showed his agility and talent. It turns out that this child who seems to be a little "different" has so much energy behind it.
I think a lot of people have doubts when they face their imperfect and different selves.
Try to accept yourself and accept your imperfections, because everyone is different.
Most people are "Fox dads". In addition to dreams, we have families, lovers, and children.
One day, at some point in your life, you will say goodbye to the dreams of your youth.
We are still moved by those unfulfilled dreams, but the time has come and there are more important things waiting for me to do.
"Il n'ya qu'un héroïsme au monde : c'est de voir le monde tel qu'il est et de l'aimer."
"There is only one kind of heroism in this world: after seeing the truth of life, still loving life."
The original text was first published on WeChat public account EMBERSTUDIO and Zhihu column Light and Shadow Life
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