"In keeping with the stylized nostalgia that looms large in almost all his films, Anderson knew he was after a particular lo-fi aesthetic. And despite giant leaps forward in computer-generated imagery in recent years, he put CGI and green screen off-limits for “Mr. Fox’s” animators. Materials such as plastic kitchen wrap would stand-in for water, cotton balls would be puffs of smoke and green terry cloth, grass. Even though it was much more difficult for fabricators and animators, everything had to be shot “in camera” rather than be added digitally later. As well, the writer-director stipulated that the animal puppets have real fur — long verboten in stop-motion circles for the material’s discontinuous, blown-by-the-wind look on film."

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Fur flies on ‘Mr. Fox’ — latimes.com : I must say that as much as the animators must have hated him sometimes for this decision, the trailers I’ve seen more than justify it. Everybody’s sick to death of watching shiny computer graphics. Half the reason I liked Wall-E so much is that Earth felt dirty, and that this film is aesthetically driven to look lo-fi and handmade gives me hope for it. But, as with any animated film, its quality and success ultimately depends on the quality of the story and the characters. If Anderson does justice to Dahl’s book, it should be great.

I don’t approve of Anderson’s refusal to be on-set for the production, however. I think the negative tone this article portrays stems mostly from his absence and seeming lack of care for the people making this film. It feels inconsiderate and unprofessional, regardless of whether the film is successful or not.

(via Jason Kottke, whose blog you should be reading if you aren’t already subscribed)

Tags: fantasticmrfox film wesanderson