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Trailers can't always capture the magic of a movie, and that is definitely the case with Fantastic Mr. Fox, a movie which I kept putting off because the trailers didn't seem very interesting. I should have remembered that a Wes Anderson movie is always worth it for one reason or another (usually visuals or soundtracks). In this case, the movie was worth it for the entire thing.

Anderson's first full-length stop-motion animation feature opens with Mr. Fox in his younger days, in the midst of sneaking about a farm in search of food. He's funny, mischievous, and adventurous. When he gets caught mid-caper, he promises to settle down. He does so for many years, but the itch comes back and he decides to pull off one more raid - or at least, one huge plan that includes three big raids on three of the most challenging farms possible: the farms of Boggis, Bunce, and Bean.

I was so surprised by this movie. From the very earliest scenes, I kept mentally kicking myself for not catching it on the big screen. Stop-motion animation is not an easy process, and combined with Anderson's aesthetic, every frame of the movie is a visual feast. Oranges and yellows flow in the form of landscape, decor, costumes, and more.

Everything moves at a quick pace, the vocals from the actors are crisp and played on the right note, and it's all accompanied by a score from Alexandre Desplat (just looked him up and am excited to see he's working on the final Harry Potter movie, although I hope that doesn't mean the music won't lose the magical touch). There's nothing not to like.

The themes, humor, sights, and sounds all worked for me. I'll definitely be watching this movie several more times in my future, and it just might become a long-term favorite.