The Not So Fantastic Mr. Fox

Elizabeth it’s so interesting that you bring up Fantastic Mr. Fox because my 9 yro daughter is so excited to see the movie and loves the book! I have not read it myself; they have read them in school. She says this is one of her favorites and believe me when I tell you she has “not one mean bone in her body” as quoted by her teacher last week. But, myabe she just doesn’t pick up on that aspect of the book. I still may get it for her for the holidays and then maybe I can hear it myself.

Sandy, Not everyone interprets a book in the same way. What I think is mean may just seem funny to others. If you read it, I’ll be interested in hearing how you feel about it.

Liz Kennedy

Elizabeth Kennedy
Your About.com Guide to Children’s Books

I have a M.Ed. in Children’s Literature and work in the book industry but had never read Fantastic Mr. Fox until this week. In fact, a few of us at work decided to read it before seeing the movie. I didn’t find it mean-spirited at all – in fact, I found it more of a valentine from Mrs. Fox to her husband – she never gave up believing that he would save the family because he was “Fantastic” – her belief in him, spurred him on to great things. And, in that way, her children regarded their Dad as someone who, if they all worked together, would find a way out of a perilous situation. The whole community of underground diggers bands together – a Thanksgiving-like feast is held (with cider – I found it quite amusing and delightful and am looking forward to comparing it with the movie.

I’m 45 years old, and “The Fantastic Mr. Fox” was one of my favorite childhood books, as it became one of my daughter’s as well. I am currently pursuing a Master’s in Children’s Literature, and your posting has encouraged me to peruse the book’s pages once more. Rather than “mean-spirited”, I find this book to be a wonderful anthropomorphic characterization. From the lense of children’s literature, it is the dicotomy of animal and human personalities that drives the story; as well, the Fox family relationship models values that might be lacking in modern families, all while encompassing the actual canid spirit of the fox. From a less critical lense, that of a keeper of chickens (I love my little hens!), the story makes me giggle: Boggis, Bunce and Beane are just awful men, and the disgusting descriptions of their collective characters in contrast with the upstanding Mr. an Mrs. Fox’s gives me pause to examine my own nature (as I believe it helps kids to do the same). I am always disappointed when movies misrepresent the books on which they are based, and I’ve been disappointed with this one. I’ve found Dahl’s books to all be edgy – a powerful contrast of characters that provide great potential for learning and expansion in a child’s mind and heart. I suppose one might also consider “Mathilda” to be mean spirited, but like “The Fantastic Mr. Fox”, for me these stories highlight the true meaning of family. And of course, this is really only my opinion, and I absolutely understand yours!

I love all of Roald Dahl’s books ! Every last one of them.
They all have a similar theme and that is unkind adults will get ‘ it in the neck ‘ by the children in the end. As a child who suffered a lot of abuse myself, I think perhaps that is what appeals the most. The powerless finally getting revenge.

I have long been horrified by Fantastic Mr. Fox, and have hoped that Dahl wrote in purpose, as a challenge to the moral sensibilities of PARENTS.

As the above comments largely indicate, those parents have no grasp of morality, and even the ones that dislike the story are insufficiently perspicacious to see why… and insufficiently perspicuous to explain their view.

Mr. Fox is, bluntly a thief, who finds a way to obtain the unearned. His victims’ ugly quirks, are all the justification offered for the reader to side with Mr. Fox. In fact, every pursuit of justice his victims pursue fails. The immoral, calloused supporters of Mr. Fox have no reason for their position, except for the unsavoury nature of his victims.

IS IT acceptable to rob someone who has bad breath, a funny appearance, odd food preferences or a fulminative temper? Never. The criminal effort to gain the unearned, however wittily accomplished, is still the ideal of the lowest of parasitical humans. Marvelous escapes do nothing to change that principle.

“Fantastic Mr. Fox” is either a low point for Roald Dahl, or a heck of a moral trick perpetrated upon parents with an abominably unthinking moral sense!

Liz – after reading the above comments I’ll definately be reading Fantastic Mr. Fox now! My goodness!

I first read Fantastic Mr. Fox with my son and nephew when they were 7-years-old. They would not let me stop reading aloud until we’d read through the book! Later, I read it to the fourth-graders at our school year after year. It is one of the “funnest” read-alouds I ever do. I’ve never had a class that didn’t love it. It’s been a lesser known Dahl book up until now, probably because it wasn’t ever made into a movie. When my 22-year-old son saw the advertisement for the movie, he got excited about it all over again.

Fantastic Mr. Fox the movie is NOT for kids. Repeat NOT for kids. I walked out and got a refund. It was like an R rated shoot ‘em up heist movie disguised in animation. Adult themes and repeated disturbing images like large knives, explosives and fighting. Repeated talk of killing, being dead and mention of suicide. This should be a minimum of PG-13.

Wow! What an intriguing group of reactions. I too am curious and will place a hold on this book. In fact, a real-life fox bas been frequenting our little corner of suburbia for a couple of months now. I’m always glad to see wildlife around, though I don’t find myself comparing it to humans; it has its own laws to live out.

Mr. Fox had no choice in what he aspired for and took.

It was his nature to take from the farmers, not a matter of good and evil, no more does the racoon “steal” your trash or a rabbit steal your carrot.

An amusing tale, and one that does not necessarily seek any more morals than what we wish to impose on it,, much like we impose our human moral values upon wild animals.

Those comments taking the side that “Fantastic Mr. Fox” is a good children’s book are extremely disappointing. The adults apparently do not ‘get it’!

Perhaps the worst argument is that from sj. Children’s books use animals allegorically. The animals are essentialized symbols intentionally chosen to show human character, for good or for bad.

The idea, from sj, that the animals are doing what they naturally would do is completely, absolutely, even ridiculously, irrelevant. Dahl, very clearly, shows that Mr. Fox’s actions are based on his bigotry, and on his disregard for the property rights of those he cheats. Note, please that Mr. Fox’s actions are lauded, not only by his family, but by animals a natural fox would normally eat.

The moral depravity and misanthropy of the story is so extremely obvious, that I suggest Roald Dahl is deliberately duping those readers of his story who deserve it!

What will the movie do with it? HL and I (and perhaps Elizabeth) may not be on the same page, but clearly we see strong reasons to avoid this movie.

Fantastic mr fox is amazing ! The book is a great one of Dahls. The book is ten times better than the movie! The movie differs toooo much in a bad way!!!

I am not sure what bizarre alternate reality you all grew up in, but the idea that Fantastic Mr. Fox is a story of “moral depravity” is very, very strange. I…words fail me. Ugh.

I hope that people do read the book themselves before being dissuaded by the comments of a few internet cranks.

I understand RnBram’s comments perfectly. I just saw the movie for the first time (have never read the book), and I had to find out if there was more to the story than what I gleaned.

I see this story as a representation of progressive ideology that is thriving today; that it is perfectly acceptable to steal from the haves to provide to the have/will/can-nots. The haves are then characterized as greedy, mean-spirited buffoons that overreact out of anger causing harm to the land and others (as opposed to reality, which is that they were protecting what is theirs).

I saw Fantastic Mr. Fox before I read the book, and I could just picture the book and how Roald Dahl wrote it. I could picture what parts were kept from the book and what parts were added in because audiences need some humor, right? Then I checked out the book at the library, and was completely disappointed that everything I thought the book was didn’t really happen. Now I can’t see who to get mad at, the author or the director.
I do agree that Fantastic Mr. Fox the book was a little discouraging, especially at the ending. I guess Roald Dahl got bored with the book and ended it by making all of the animals stay down underground forever.

I’m only 22 and may be dumb, but is it a possibility that Roald Dahl just conjured this story up from his imagination, because he thought it was a neat story. Are some of you way over-thinking his intentions and finding hidden themes that don’t exist? He had a fox that eats chickens. Farmers have chickens so the fox steals them. You need a bad guy so why not make the bad guys extra bad and portray them negatively. The messages in this book can’t be worse then when your kids are watching Jersey shore