People are talking about the new stop-motion animation film The Fantastic Mr. Fox, based on the book of the same name by the late Roald Dahl (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory). The film is the first foray into animation for director Wes Anderson (Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums), and it’s being released by (who else?) 20th Century Fox. For those who don’t know, the story tells of Mr. Fox, who regularly steals chickens and ducks from three mean human farmers (named Boggis, Bunce and Bean) to feed his family. When the farmers conspire to have them all killed, the foxes conspire right back with a group of badgers, moles, and other undergroud dwellers to take care of the humans once and for all. The cast includes the voices of George Clooney and Meryl Streep as Mr. and Mrs. Fox, respectively, as well as Anjelica Huston, Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, Jarvis Cocker, Michael Gambon, Owen Wilson, and Willem Dafoe — several of whom have been frequent Wes Anderson collaborators in the past. The film is scheduled to be released on November 13th of this year, and the first trailers are scheduled to hit theaters on July 31st.
Fox
Voyage of the Dawn Treader
News from The Hollywood Reporter: “The Voyage of the Dawn Treader will be setting sail from a new port. The third installment of Walden’s Chronicles of Narnia franchise, which was let go by Disney last month, is landing at Fox 2000, which will develop it with an eye to release the movie in the holiday season of 2010. Many of the key players are expected to stay with the project, including director Michael Apted and actor Ben Barnes, though a new writer might come aboard. Elizabeth Gabler will oversee for the studio. Because of the epic scope — and accompanying production costs — of the books, Walden partnered with Disney to produce and co-finance the adaptations. Disney backed out of Dawn Treader after failing to come to an agreement with Walden over budgets and release-date issues. Although the first installment, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, was an unabashed hit, the second, Prince Caspian, ran over budget and performed below the studio’s expectations. Despite a couple of suitors, including Columbia, Walden only had eyes for Fox, with whom it partnered to market and distribute its fare under the Fox Walden banner after the first Narnia film. The third film faces creative as well as budgetary challenges. Although the C.S. Lewis book has quests, dragons and sea monsters galore, the story also has been criticized for lacking a clear antagonist.”
