Fantastic Mr.Fox

Today, I am going to analyze the mise-en-scene in Wes Anderson's Fantastic Mr.Fox.

Summary of films:

This is a 2009 American stop-motion animated comedy film based on Roald Dahl’s children novel. The film is about a fox who name Mr. Fox breaks a promise to his wife and farmers after 12 years of bucolic bliss. He steals food and raids the farms of their human neighbors, Boggis, Bunce and Bean. Giving in to his family and their animal friends in trouble. When the farmers force Mr. Fox and company deep underground, he has to resort to his natural craftiness to rise above the opposition.

Mise-en-scene

Mise-en-scene is an expression used to describe the design aspect of a theatre or film production. It is also means that everything of the shot which are staged in front of the camera at the time of filming, such as setting, props, costume and make-up, lighting and performance. Those elements of design help express a film’s vision by generating a sense of time and space, as well as setting a mood, and sometimes suggesting a character’s state of mind. As I mentioned before, there are five key aspects. First key aspect is settings, Settings creates both a sense of place and a mood and it may also reflect a character’s emotional state of mind.  It can be entirely fabricated within a studio or filmed on-location. The second key aspect is props, Props is a property used to tell the story just as much as the characters and locations do. They can serve to drive the narrative or become a motif to tell the themes of the film. After then, the third key aspect is costume, Costume can include both makeup or clothes that characters wear used to convey a character’s personality or status, and to signify these differences between characters. Next, Lighting. The intensity, direction, colour and quality of lighting can influence an audience’s understanding of characters, actions, themes and mood. Light (and shade) can emphasize texture, shape, distance, mood, time of day or night, season, glamour. It also can create attention on the particular elements of the composition. Lastly, the last key aspect is Performance, The method actor’s job is to become one with the character’s dress, education, mannerisms and so on.

Analysis

Settings

There are a lot of setting applied in this film such as Berk’s Squar Farm, Mr. Fox’s hole house and tree house, Lawyer Badger’s office, Boggis’s Farm, Bunce’s Farm, Bean’s Farm, Ash’s school – lab, stadium, Bean’s house, Town and Boggis, Bunce, Bean International Supermarkets. The whole settings play around the composition which are foreground, middleground and background. However, the most unforgettable setting is Boggis’s Farm which is Mr. Fox and Kylie steal chickens from the first place because the setting full of challenge, as example beagle security, high-voltage fence. At this setting we can see the characteristic from Mr. Fox and Kylie in their way stealing the chicken. Even though, Kylie is looking blur and laggard but in this place, we can see that he is more careful than Mr. Fox, he saw the electric warning and he found another way which not obstacle to get in to the room 34 – chicken house. It change my perspective to Kylie. 

      

Props

One of the props using in this film is blueberries and attached each one with high-potency sleeping powder, this is the trick use to make Beagles fall asleep then they can easily escape from Beagles.

    

Next, put bandit hat on when they are going to steal produce and poultry from the three farms and when the animals combat with the three farmers. For me, the bandit hat means a thief that full of craziness as a wild animal.

 

 

Then, the tail from Mr. Fox. Due to Mr. Fox steal produce and poultry from the three farms. The farmers decide to kill Fox, but only shoot off his tail. Ash and Kristofferson are going to steal back Mr. Fox’s tail at Bean’s home, when they arrival, they are interrupted by the arrival of Bean’s wife, Ash escape but Kristofferson is captured. After then, a series of stories happen cause of it.  

Lastly, this whack-bat is one of the spot event in the school. Ash finds this situation intolerable; Kristofferson is apparently superior to him at almost everything, such as diving, fight and whack-bat. Lastly, Ash show his athlete’s potential by apply what he learn about whack-bat player to the battlefield and save his father, Kylie and Kristofferson by release a rabid beagle to keep the farmers at bay.    

Customes

 

The costume that Mr. Fox wears for his character, we can know that he is an officer as his formal suits with a tie. Second the costume of Mrs. Fox put on is a yellow dress. After they had Ash, The costume of Mrs. Fox from a shirt and pant to a skirt. We can see that she not going to be a thief again and going to be a good mother and a good wife. Next, Ash’s costume is much different with others, as a cape with the pants tucked into his socks, what I think about this brave match costume is want to get everyone’s attention and want to be as super as his dad. Lastly, I going to discuss about Kylie’s costume, as his fisherman outfits we can know he like fishing.

Lighting

 

 

 

The lighting of whole scene, Wes Anderson used more bright and warm colour even they in the hole.

Actor’s performance

Fox is a clever, tricky animal in all creature as every story mentioned. In this film also, we can see the Wes Anderson try to applied those personalities to Mr. Fox and humanize him. The character that I like the most is also Rat, the action, movement and the costume that applied, we can know that he is the bad role in this film. The costume is looking like a prisoner as his betray his friend too.

Conclusion

Fantastic Mr.Fox has applied mise-en-scene which includes setting, props, costume and make-up, lighting and performance. This film really inspired me, the stop-motion technique and the setting of the film make the whole film looks fantastic. Really recommend to have a look for this fantastic film.