The Fantastic Fox Caper

This is how the story unfolded to me. The first thing that caught my attention was several movie bloggers were being flown to London for the premiere of the Fantastic Mr. Fox. Disclosed completely here, but bits of it were gleaned from Twitter and various other modes of communication. I wondered why the studio would foot the bill to send so many out there at once – it seemed quite unusual for a film that has a built-in audience and should do well, being that animated films almost always do well; families will take their kids to see these movies no matter what. And as one Twitterer put it, Wes Anderson is kind of a favorite son of the blogger/fanboy crowd and it seemed impossible they would not like the film, even sight unseen.

So what could be the reason? I couldn’t quite manage to get my mind around it in any satisfactory way – what would having a whole lot of blogs on your side mean? So, they’re off in London, visitin Roald Dahl’s home and tomorrow, Wednesday, they will see the Fantastic Fox at the London Film Fest.

Then the other shoe drops. This story in the LA Times puts out the idea that Wes Anderson “remotely” directed the film. Read all about it here. The outrage in the comments section here makes me think that this might be among the reasons for flying the bloggers out – head the bad press off at the pass. Do you think I’m right? Do you think it was a good idea? Do you think it helps or hurts the film? Maybe it’s just an odd coincidence.

Another possible reason for the coaxed migration could be that the film might be thought of as “too British” (but in a good way) and that having Americans out there to get a vibe for the place could help them to digest it better? Anyway, with so many prominent Americans doing the voices it’s hard to envision anyone thinking it too British.

Here is a bit of a review from the Telegraph:

The film’s setting is clearly British. It was produced in this country, largely at Three Mills Studios in London’s East End. And in homage to Dahl, Anderson and his co-screenwriter Noah Baumbach stayed at the author’s home, Gipsy Cottage, and used the legendary hut in his garden where Dahl wrote his famous children’s books, to complete their script. There are little tributes to Dahl scattered throughout the film: the decor of Mr. Fox’s study in the film and the objects lying around it recall Dahl’s real writing den.

Most crucially Anderson, a fan of Dahl’s books since childhood, had to persuade the author’s literary estate, headed by his widow Felicity, that he should be given permission to adapt Fantastic Mr. Fox for film. In his lifetime Dahl was critical of attempts to film his work (notably The Witches) and since his death in 1990 Liccy Dahl has carefully vetted interested film-makers.

Finally, the last reason I could think of was that The Fantastic Mr. Fox and Where the Wild Things Are, two children’s classics, are hitting theaters kind of around the same time. By getting all of this online publicity they can help distinguish one from another.

Can good buzz be generated by good will?  If the movie is great none of this will matter.