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I still wonder whether you watched the same movie as everyone else, Domino. I can't imagine not being swept up in this film's charms. It's middle-of-the-road in terms of Anderson's other films, but it has all the relaxed charm of a David the Gnome or Rankin/Bass holiday special.

It might be my most rewatched and widely recommended amongst his movies- it's fun without the bite of a Royal Tenenbaums, which is both a strength and a weakness, but it's also incredibly sweet and the form of it is endlessly charming in of itself.

Maybe it's that lack of bite that puts it down on my list (mind you, on this list Bottle Rocket is last which I double-dipped from DVD to Blu-ray without question). Wes is the only director right now I can think of who does R-rated comedies with fairly big budgets and name casts that doesn't resort to crude sex or toilet humor, which is a feat unto itself.

matrixschmatrix wrote:It might be my most rewatched and widely recommended amongst his movies- it's fun without the bite of a Royal Tenenbaums, which is both a strength and a weakness, but it's also incredibly sweet and the form of it is endlessly charming in of itself.

The animation is nicely done, but don't you guy's get a little bit of the creepy Roald Dahl vibe from it?

Creepy in the sense of undercutting what could otherwise be cutesy, I suppose, but that's part of the charm for me- it's handmade looking and slightly ungainly and every once in a while will stick in something like the characters eating like monsters, which serve to prevent it being saccharine.

mfunk9786 wrote:I still wonder whether you watched the same movie as everyone else, Domino. I can't imagine not being swept up in this film's charms. It's middle-of-the-road in terms of Anderson's other films, but it has all the relaxed charm of a David the Gnome or Rankin/Bass holiday special.

Well, it's obvious just browsing rankings here that I get different things out of his films-- to me Moonrise Kingdom is so clearly his best film (and is indeed a masterpiece worthy of so many earlier uneven attempts at reconciling style with filmic needs to finally get it all so right), and it's barely invoked, which is frankly beyond comprehension for me. But me being to the side of general consensus here or elsewhere is hardly news!

I haven't seen Mr. Fox yet, but Moonrise Kingdom is also my favoite (by a substantial margin over the earlier films I've seen).

We all know what this is leading to:

01. Rushmore
02. Moonrise Kingdom
03. The French Dispatch of the Liberty, Kansas Evening Sun
04. Bottle Rocket
05. The Royal Tenenbaums
06. The Grand Budapest Hotel
07. Fantastic Mr. Fox
08. Isle of Dogs
09. The Life Aquatic
10. The Darjeeling Limited

Last edited in 2022

Oh my god -- it's a list -- and not in an authorized list-allowed forum,

01 Moonrise Kingdom
02 the Royal Tenenbaums
03 the Phoenician Scheme
04 Isle of Dogs
05 Rushmore

06 the Swan
07 the Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar
08 the Grand Budapest Hotel
09 the Darjeeling Limited
10 the Rat Catcher

11 Poison
12 Bottle Rocket
13 the French Dispatch
14 Hotel Chevalier

15 the Fantastic Mr Fox
16 the Life Aquatic
17 Asteroid City

RANKINGS CURRENT AS OF 10/22/2025

1 Moonrise Kingdom
2 Rushmore
3 Royal Tenebaums
4 Fantastic Mr Fox
5 Life Aquatic
6 Bottle Rocket
7 Darjeeling Limited

I still haven't seen Bottle Rocket or Darjeeling Limited, but aside from those two I have actually liked every Wes Anderson film a little more than whichever Wes Anderson film preceded it. I agree with Domino that Moonrise Kingdom is definitely his best, but contrariwise, Fantastic Mr. Fox is a fairly close second.

I do worry that this trend is artificially inflating my expectations for Grand Budapest Hotel, though.

1. Bottle Rocket
2. Moonrise Kingdom
3. The Royal Tenenbaums
4. The Darjeeling Limited
(leap)
5. Rushmore

1. Moonrise Kingdom
2. Rushmore
3. Royal Tenenbaums
4. Life Aquatic
5. Fantastic Mr Fox
6. Bottle Rocket
7. Darjeeling Limited

I think I need to go home and finally pull out that Bottle Rocket blu tonight...
EDIT: Finally saw Moonrise Kingdom and Bottle Rocket

I'm surprised you have Moonrise Kingdom as low as you do, mfunk. I seem to remember you raving about it on here when the thing came out.

1. Royal Tenenbaums
2. Rushmore
3. Moonrise Kingdom
4. Fantastic Mr. Fox
5. Bottle Rocket
6. The Life Aquatic
7. The Darjeeling Limited

(though honestly, my feelings about his work change every time I watch one of his movies, and I have yet to not like one.)

I've always had the top two in my head as far and away his best work, but Moonrise is on par with them- and as I've only seen it once, it might well shift relative to them. I think the top three and bottom three are likely to remain so, with Fox solidly in the middle.

01. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (not a popular opinion, I know, but boy, I sure felt vindicated reading Seitz's new book)
02. Rushmore
03. The Royal Tenenbaums
04. Moonrise Kingdom
05. Fantastic Mr. Fox
06. The Darjeeling Limited
07. Bottle Rocket

I should note that, outside of PTA, I think Wes Anderson is maybe the most consistent American filmmaker working today. I tend to lurk here more than contributing, sure, but I'd certainly count myself among his cheerleaders.

Joshuadel wrote:01. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (not a popular opinion, I know, but boy, I sure felt vindicated reading Seitz's new book)

I always thought Life Aquatic got a much harsher rap than it deserves. I think part of this stems from the fact the characters in it just aren't as likeable; Steve Zissou doesn't have any of the self-serving charm that Gene Hackman had in Royal Tenenbaums, and Owen Wilson is just too naive and pathetic to earn too much sympathy. But I also really enjoy the risks Anderson took with this one, from the super-cheesy special effects to the retro synthesized(?) soundtrack. I also find that I make references to this movie more than any of his others; my girlfriend always laments that when I describe scenes from this movie it sounds absolutely hilarious, but when she sits down and watches it, she's just bored by it.

Mr Sausage wrote:I'm surprised you have Moonrise Kingdom as low as you do, mfunk. I seem to remember you raving about it on here when the thing came out.

It's more an indication of how much I love his films on the whole. Rushmore and The Royal Tenenbaums are DNA-altering all-time favorites that came out at just the right time in my life to stick, and haven't worn off on repeat viewings, so they're always going to accompany the top two spots - but his other features aside from Bottle Rocket (which is only okay, and didn't hold up well at all the last time I watched it) have the unfortunate designation of merely being excellent. Moonrise Kingdom is lovely, but it comes off feeling a bit slight, and sort of a misuse of an ensemble - there are a ton of actors who need screen-time, and for me it turns the town of New Penzance into a little bit of an A-list elbowing match (the relationship between Bill Murray and Frances McDormand [and Bruce Willis], for example, always seems to need either 5 minutes less or 10 minutes more screentime to feel right). These are ultimately minor quibbles as I love a whole lot about the film, but it doesn't inhabit as definitive a universe as Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums, Fantastic Mr. Fox, and The Life Aquatic - and that's what draws me to Anderson's work so much - his ability to create a wonderfully tiny, precise other dimension for his characters to exist in. When it feels like there should be some more exposition, or when there's some weak dialogue and plotting at times (The Darjeeling Limited), I'm plucked out of that fantasy world, even if only for a moment.

jindianajonz wrote:

Joshuadel wrote:01. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (not a popular opinion, I know, but boy, I sure felt vindicated reading Seitz's new book)

I always thought Life Aquatic got a much harsher rap than it deserves. I think part of this stems from the fact the characters in it just aren't as likeable; Steve Zissou doesn't have any of the self-serving charm that Gene Hackman had in Royal Tenenbaums, and Owen Wilson is just too naive and pathetic to earn too much sympathy. But I also really enjoy the risks Anderson took with this one, from the super-cheesy special effects to the retro synthesized(?) soundtrack. I also find that I make references to this movie more than any of his others; my girlfriend always laments that when I describe scenes from this movie it sounds absolutely hilarious, but when she sits down and watches it, she's just bored by it.

It's not my favorite by a long shot, but I do consider it his most important film yet being a sort of explosion to what was being done before. A sort of end to the summer with Darjeeling Limited (my personal favorite) as its epilouge.

Also, if you assume that people vote with their halloween costume choices, Life Aquatic wins by a longshot.

Well, my ex gf and I were Sam and Suzy last year...

Can't believe Matt's letting this go. But I can't resist:

1. Fantastic Mr. Fox (am I the only person this weird!?)
2. Rushmore
3. Bottle Rocket (#2 and #3 nearly tied)
4. Moonrise Kingdom (just saw it for the second time this weekend and it is truly lovely)
(really big leap)
5. The Darjeeling Limited
6. The Life Aquatic
(less big leap)
7. The Royal Tenenbaums (I know, I know, it just never really worked for me)

1. Royal Tenenbaums
2. Rushmore
3. Moonrise Kingdom
4. Fantastic Mr. Fox
5. Life Aquatic
6. Bottle Rocket
7. Darjeeling Limited

dustybooks wrote:Can't believe Matt's letting this go.

I've given up.