Could “The Fantastic Mr. Fox,” “Where the Wild Things Are” restore my faith in Hollywood?
Last week, I unleashed my inner curmudgeon.
I took Hollywood executives to task for the latest slate of sequels, remakes and repackaged properties, for relying on action figures, video games and Saturday morning cartoons in order to make a quick buck. I accused them of stealing my childhood.
This week, I’ll temper my tone a little bit.
You see, there are a few films based on familiar childhood franchises that I am looking forward to.
The first is “The Fantastic Mr. Fox.”
Based on Roald Dahl’s classic children’s story, “The Fantastic Mr. Fox” chronicles the adventures of a sly fox who matches wits with a trio of greedy farmers.
Mr. Fox, Mrs. Fox and their children live in a hole in a hill, along with Badger, Squirrel, Weasel and their respective clans. Every night, the Fox family patriarch steals a meal from farmers Bean, Boggis and Bunce.
When the farmers try to eradicate their woodland pests, the critters fight back.
“The Fantastic Mr. Fox” is the latest from auteur director Wes Anderson, who’s helped such fanciful films as “Rushmore,” “The Royal Tenenbaums” and “The Darjeeling Limited.”
With this movie, he branches out into the world of stop-motion animation.
“Mr. Fox” features a unique visual style and an outstanding voice cast that includes A-listers George Clooney, Meryl Streep and Adrien Brody as well as Anderson regulars Bill Murray, Jason Schwartzman and Owen Wilson. The director himself provides the voice of one of the woodland creatures.
“The Fantastic Mr. Fox” opens in theaters Nov. 13.
I’ve also got my eye on “Where the Wild Things Are,” based on Maurice Sendak’s marvelous picture book.
Like the book, the movie follows the otherworldly adventures of a disobedient little boy named Max (Max Records, “The Brothers Bloom”).
Sent to bed without his supper, Max creates a magical jungle inhabited by wild creatures. The fearsome, ferocious Wild Things (voiced by James Gandolfini, Catherine O’Hara, Forest Whitaker and others) crown Max as their king.
Director Spike Jonze (“Being John Malkovich,” “Adaptation”) is best known for his wildly creative music videos and skate documentaries.
With “Where the Wild Things Are,” he faces the tough challenge of bring a much-read, much-loved title to life.
Judging from the trailer, however, Jonze should have nothing to fear.
“Where the Wild Things Are” is set to open Oct. 16 in theaters.
And then there’s Tim Burton’s upcoming adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s “Alice in Wonderland.”
In the film, blond, beautiful Alice Kingsley (Mia Wasikowska) returns to Wonderland about a decade after she first encountered the magical fantasy world.
There, Alice reunites with old friends — including the Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp), the Cheshire Cat (Stephen Fry) and the White Rabbit (Michael Sheen, “Frost/Nixon”) — and learns of her true destiny. She must end the reign of terror imposed by the Red Queen (Helena Bonham Carter).
Burton’s version blends the sweet, colorful nature of Disney’s animated “Alice” with his own darkly Gothic worldview. It also appears to capture some of the stranger, trippier aspects of Carroll’s books, “Alice in Wonderland” and “Through the Looking Glass.”
Although I’m undecided whether this “Alice” will succeed, I’ll undoubtedly see it in theaters. For curiosity’s sake, if nothing else.
“Alice in Wonderland” hits theaters next year, on March 5, 2010.
She Likes to Watch 
I’m a big fan of Wes Anderson. “Rushmore” was great … but I have all his movies on DVD — even “Bottle Rocket.” I’m looking forward to “The Fantastic Mr. Fox.”
They’ve got star power, that’s for sure.
I REALLY can’t wait for Alice in Wonderland. It’s slowly killing me X_x;;