A technical breakdown of Wes Andersons 2009 film Fantastic Mr. Fox 
and commentary essay

Commentary

            For the production project, I chose to create a technical breakdown video of a scene from Wes Anderson’s 2009 animated film “The Fantastic Mr. Fox”. Anderson is a well-known director in Hollywood for his easily identifiable aesthetic and cinematographic style. His approach to filmmaking includes lots of symmetry, bright colors, and a camera movement known as 90º angle pans. Other work includes The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014), The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004), and Asteroid City (2023). This film specifically is inspired by Roald Dahl’s children’s book “Fantastic Mr. Fox.” It follows the story of Mr. Fox, voiced by George Clooney, in a sort of mid-life crisis. As he yearns to feel young again, Mr. Fox steals from three of the local villain farmers and ends up placing his family and neighborhood in danger. Mr. Fox must find a way to fix his mistakes and protect the ones he loves while coming to terms with his responsibilities as a father, husband, and role model.
 

            Before production, I immediately knew I wanted to analyze a scene from Wes Anderson’s work because of his recognizable style and compelling world-building. In my video, I discuss how Anderson uses these elements of sound, shots/camera angles, and character archetypes to create a slightly kooky, yet realistic world. The worlds he creates within his films are the perfect balance of “out-of-the-ordinary” so the audience is able to recognize it’s not real. Yet his use of realistic elements simultaneously allows the viewer to be able to relate to this world and place themselves within his films.
 

            In order to support my claim regarding Anderson’s worldbuilding, I chose to depict the scene titled “Boggis, Bunce, and Bean” and analyze Anderson’s deliberate use of character archetypes, sound, and shots/angles. I continued with the same design style and layout that I have been using for my movie reviews throughout the semester. I decided this because it makes the video look more professional and creates an “essay-like” structure. This way, I was able to introduce all my points, break down the scene in accordance with my argument, and effectively conclude the video. Furthermore, I believe this structure allows me to easily transition between a clip of the scene and its breakdown. I include a little ‘subheading’ transition, where I introduce the next point, then show a clip from the scene, and finally break down the scene and how Anderson’s use of a certain technique contributes to his world-building.
 

            Finally, my intended audience for this video is individuals who are familiar with Anderson’s work and have a general background in the technical analysis of films. This is because I do not spend a whole lot of time reviewing Anderson’s work, so it would be helpful for viewers to have some background context on his previous films, and his style of work. Secondly, within my argument, I discuss aspects of filmmaking that some might not understand. However, in production, I tried to make this video as accessible and understandable as possible.