Ultimately I think that Fantastic Mr. Fox’s greatest strength is also its greatest weakness: Wes Anderson. I remember seeing the build up to Fantastic Mr Fox and being rather excited for the film. It was marketed as a big, fun romp about a whimsical, silly family pulling a heist. It sounds great on paper. But then you walk into the theater and it’s a slow, subtle film. Every moment of whimsy is counter-balanced by a dozen harsh, somber moments of bitter reality. Not to mention all the celebrities featured so prominently in trailers and promotional material are often little more than brief cameos. In a lot of ways, it’s less a statement about the film and more a problem with people not knowing how to promote a Wes Anderson movie. I had the exact same experience going into The Grand Budapest Hotel. Advertised as a big, funny romp with loads of celebrities, was actually a slow, subtle film with brief cameos. While neither were bad movies, it feels like a total bait-and-switch.

Strictly from an animation standpoint though, it was quite well done. Certainly oozing with Wes’s signature style and has plenty of cool cinematography but I wouldn’t really say it was revolutionary. Not recognized for its merit but also not severely underrated either. On the other hand, Tim Burton’s work after Nightmare (Which was a visual triumph but narratively quite lacking) is severely overrated while Laika’s Paranorman is perhaps the most underappreciated achievement in stop-motion history, made all the more insulting because it was overshadowed by the forgettable Frankenweenie which came out at the same time.