'The Big Bad Fox' repeats that same excellent visual style, much to my relief. It had a special visual style, like a moving watercolor painting with ink outlines highlighting the absurd cartoon animals of the movie. The French film was animated and directed by the same team as Academy-award nominated 'Ernest & Celestine,' a clever adaptation of a children's book and mature piece of storytelling and animation.

I was looking forward to 'The Big Bad Fox and Other Tales.'. Visuals: 3.50 | Animation: 3.00 | Music: 3.00 | Acting: 2.50 | Story: 2.50 | Fun: 4.50 | Personal Bias: 4.00ĭirector: Benjamin Renner, Patrick Imbert This review was published in the School Library Journal April 2017 issue.Review of The Big Bad Fox and Other Tales '2DAniCritic' Review: The Big Bad Fox and Other Tales Review Score: 3.29 / 5.00 VERDICT Bound to keep adults and kids alike laughing, this is a winning selection for comic book fans, reluctant readers, and those who enjoy subversive comedy. This one has heart, too, depicting the fox’s burgeoning feelings of affection toward his unlikely ward.

While much of the humor derives from somewhat predictable setups, such as the fox’s botched attempts at proving that he can be just as intimidating as the wolf, it’s sure to tickle young funny bones, and the author injects the narrative with a sly, edgy sensibility that sets this title apart from more typical fare. Renner sets the individual scenes against a white backdrop, free of borders, resulting in a clean design, and the use of color, texture, and shading is top-notch. Though this work is similar in look and tone to typical comic strips (bulging-eyed, caricaturelike characters with exaggerated expressions occasional slapstick violence motion lines), there’s a sophistication to the art that recalls the author/illustrator’s roots as a celebrated filmmaker and cartoonist. The fox successfully makes off with the eggs, but things get complicated when the chicks emerge and (surprise, surprise!) assume that the fox is their mother. Taking pity on the fox, the wolf proposes playing the long game: stealing eggs and eventually eating the hatched chickens. The titular character lacks gumption, guile, or cunning, and the chickens send him running each time he ventures into the farmyard. Gr 3-6 –The proverbial fox may be a menace to the henhouse-but not the hero of this work.

The big bad fox benjamin renner