I loved the Fantastic Mr. Fox.. LOVED IT. I was hoping that it would be great but it was honestly better than I thought it would be. Definitely my favorite movie of the year. Sweet and cute and smart and beautiful.

It was well written and the puppets and sets were beautiful. I was skeptical about the form when I saw the trailer but the movie won me over completely within minutes. The puppets were really well done and very specific.

There were things I love all on display: tons of art department, dry jokes, beagles, nerdy jokes, odd kids, and excellent dialogue. I loved the son character and the Kristofferson character and how the scenes were often short or without a ton of talking. Many things were just said matter-of-factly and not labored or overwrought. I loved all the parts where they were animals or reminded us that they were wild animals. I just loved it. I am a terrible review writer. I thought it was sweet and interesting and beautiful without trying too hard.

I really, really disliked the last few Wes Anderson movies for being pretentious and boring and for trying so hard. This one was so much better than I could have expected based on that. Pretty much every line that Ash had was a teeny bit heartbreaking. "I prefer being an athlete." Jason Schwartzman really did a good job with the part. The fact that he dressed in a cape and tucked his sweatpants into his socks was just the icing on the cake.

I think everyone should see it!