700 Fantastic Mr. Fox

[Matt]

Announced for dual-format release: February 18, 2014

[Kauno]

Money saved is money made. No intention to hurt anyone's (religious) sentiments.

[matrixschmatrix]

Agreed.



Wait, what?

[flyonthewall2983]

So what's the over/under on features carried over from the Fox blu?

[domino harvey]

So what's the over/under on features carried over from the Fox blu?

New digital master, approved by director Wes Anderson, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack on the Blu-ray
Audio commentary featuring Anderson
Storyboard animatics for the entire film
Footage of the actors voicing their characters, puppet construction, stop-motion setups, and the recording of the score
Interviews with cast and crew
Puppet animation tests
Photo gallery of puppets, props, and sets
Animated awards acceptance speeches
Audio recording of author Roald Dahl reading the book on which the film is based
Gallery of Dahl’s original manuscripts
Discussion and analysis of the film
Stop-motion Sony robot commercial by Anderson
One Blu-ray and two DVDs, with all content available in both formats
PLUS: A booklet featuring a new essay; a 2002 article on Dahl’s Gipsy House by Anderson; White Cape, a comic book used as a prop in the film; and drawings, original paintings, and other ephemera

[hearthesilence]

If I ever need to replace my old Blu-Ray, I'll get this, but otherwise, I don't intend to buy it just to upgrade.

Regardless, I'm glad they have this bonus:

Animated awards acceptance speeches

That year at the Oscars, all the nominees for best animated feature animated their segments during the presentation (including acceptances if they won), and Fantastic Mr. Fox was the only one that made something memorable. Basically, Mr. Fox is under the impression that they were nominated for Best Picture, and when he notices that it's the "animated" category, he gets indignant and yells at someone off camera. ("Hey, I thought we got one of the REAL nominations!") They lost, so I'm guessing we'll finally see what it would've been like had they won.

[The Narrator Returns]

Criterion sneakily added in another feature.

Fantastic Mr. Dahl, an hour-long 2005 documentary about the author

[flyonthewall2983]

When Criterion promotes added features after a release has been announced, is it because they're holding it back or because they got the rights in between the time of initial announcement and said inclusion of the bonus feature?

[jindianajonz]

I'd guess the latter, as I can't think of any reason it would be better to announce it later and without much fanfare

[Shrew]

I wonder if on occasion they get contacted about a special feature after they make the announcement? In this case it would make sense if Criterion was mainly working with film-centric extras from/about Anderson and the animation, but someone with this Roald Dahl doc saw a google alert after the announcement and contacted Criterion themselves.

[dwk]

DVD Beaver

[mfunk9786]

This film is a masterpiece. PLEASE do a sequel! Is Wes Anderson our little secret? making these films... for us? It sure feels that way sometimes.

What the fuck is he ever talking about?

[adavis53]

This film is a masterpiece. PLEASE do a sequel! Is Wes Anderson our little secret? making these films... for us? It sure feels that way sometimes.

What the fuck is he ever talking about?

I also like the touch of Bill Murray being best known for Lost in Translation but Owen Wilson's best work is Marley & Me and Dafoe's is the Spiderman trilogy. Not to mention none of those actors have leading characters in the film, and Wilson's barely passes as a cameo.

[Yaanu]

This film is a masterpiece. PLEASE do a sequel! Is Wes Anderson our little secret? making these films... for us? It sure feels that way sometimes.

What the fuck is he ever talking about?

I also like the touch of Bill Murray being best known for Lost in Translation but Owen Wilson's best work is Marley & Me and Dafoe's is the Spiderman trilogy. Not to mention none of those actors have leading characters in the film, and Wilson's barely passes as a cameo.

That's what happens when you make a mainstream movie, yo. Minor characters played by A- or B-List talent get their name on the poster.
Same thing happened with Michael Caine and "Inception". Anne Hathaway in "Les Miserables" probably counts as well.

[Der Spieler]

This film is a masterpiece. PLEASE do a sequel! Is Wes Anderson our little secret? making these films... for us? It sure feels that way sometimes.

What the fuck is he ever talking about?

I had the exact same reaction. Troubling.

[Moe Dickstein]

...To MFunk or the Beev?

[Der Spieler]

When I read that sentence in the Beaver review. I had the same reaction as mfunk.

[cdnchris]

I thought this was a neat little tidbit from the commentary:

The whack-bat scene with Owen Wilson sounds to have been something added last minute in the writing process. Anderson came up with the scene and when he was recording the commentary for Bottle Rocket with Wilson over the phone (he actually says it was the one for Darjeeling but I'm pretty sure Wilson wasn't there for that one, and that track would have been recorded after Mr. Fox was released anyways) he had Wilson record his lines for the scene.

He also says he'd like to do another stop-motion film but doubts he'd ever be able to do a sequel to this one since it performed so poorly. So I'm sure Gary will be disappointed.

[Yaanu]

I thought this was a neat little tidbit from the commentary:

The whack-bat scene with Owen Wilson sounds to have been something added last minute in the writing process. Anderson came up with the scene and when he was recording the commentary for Bottle Rocket with Wilson over the phone (he actually says it was the one for Darjeeling but I'm pretty sure Wilson wasn't there for that one, and that track would have been recorded after Mr. Fox was released anyways) he had Wilson record his lines for the scene.

He also says he'd like to do another stop-motion film but doubts he'd ever be able to do a sequel to this one since it performed so poorly. So I'm sure Gary will be disappointed.

Come to think of it, the whack-bat scene does seem like something added in the last minute. The inclusion of Owen Wilson as well. Still kinda funny to think that he got his name on the poster despite being in the film for less than five minutes.

I don't think too many people would want a sequel to a story that didn't ever actually have a sequel in the first place.
Though I hope if he does make another stop-motion feature that he enlists the help of the Brothers Quay. Then they can have a foot in the door with Criterion.

[flyonthewall2983]

Blu-ray.com

[Norbie]

What's The Criterion?

[copen]

On the u.s. non-criterion dvd: on the french audio track, who does the voice of Mrs. Fox? I think it was supposed to be Isabelle Huppert, but it's not her.

[manicsounds]

Huppert does the voice in French on the France edition, but the US version includes the Canadian French dub, by Marie-Andrée Corneille

[copen]

Thanks. There's probably a good reason for this. My favorite parts of this movie are the ones without the farmers, the chases, and the shootings.

[flyonthewall2983]

Nice little blast from the past seeing Karen Duffy read Mrs. Fox during the Clooney recordings.