10 Wonderfully Quirky And Eccentric Animated Movies

5. Fantastic Mr. Fox

Wes Anderson may have watered down some of the darker elements in the Roald Dahl source material, but his animated version of Fantastic Mr. Fox, voiced by a stellar ensemble cast including George Clooney, Meryl Streep and Anderson regular Bill Murray is still one of the quirkiest and amusing films to come out of Hollywood in quite some time. Stealing food from three wealthy local farmers is the best way yet the titular fox has figured out to provide for his family, and it doesn't take long for the farmers to turn nasty and bring in the diggers to remove them from their land. But Mr. Fox is a wily creature and isn't about to give up without a fight, and he proceeds to rally the support of the other woodland creatures and pools their resources to outwit the aggressive humans. Wonderfully shot in an autumnal colour palette, it's an energetic romp through the countryside with a sharp, appealing look which matches the snappy dialogue. Wes Anderson clearly proved himself to be more than capable of directing animation, confirming his flair for symmetrical compositions and sets which appear to have been bisected allowing the camera to roam from the sidelines like a voyeur. Applying this aesthetic to stop motion animation is something of a master stroke, creating a truly inventive world which, although it may not adhere to Dahl's original too closely, is a marvellous creation in its own right.