Fantastic Mr. Fox
Encyclopedia
Fantastic Mr Fox is a children's
novel
written by British author Roald Dahl
. It was published in 1970
by George Allen & Unwin
in the UK and Alfred A. Knopf
in the U.S., with illustrations by Donald Chaffin. The book was later published with new illustrations by Jill Bennett
, Tony Ross
and Quentin Blake
. The story is about Mr Fox and how he outwits his farmer neighbours to steal their food from right under their noses.
named Mr Fox. In order to feed his family, Mr Fox steals chicken
s, duck
s, and turkeys
, each night from three mean and wealthy farmers: Boggis, Bunce, and Bean. The farmers are fed up with Mr Fox's theft and try to kill him. One night, the farmers wait outside Mr Fox's foxhole in an attempt to ambush him. When Mr Fox emerges from his home, the farmers fire at him. However, the farmers only succeed in blowing off Mr Fox's tail.
Determined to catch him, the farmers use spades and shovels to dig their way into the foxes' home. However, Mr and Mrs Fox and their four children escape by digging a tunnel deeper into the ground. The farmers then use bulldozer
s in order to dig deeper into the ground, but to no avail.
The three men therefore decide to watch the entrance to the fox tunnel with shotgun
s at the ready, while the farmers' men patrol the area to make sure the foxes do not escape.
After three days of starving, Mr Fox comes up with a plan. He and his children dig a tunnel into Boggis' chicken house. There, they steal some chickens and depart without leaving any sign of their presence. They also raid Bunce's storehouse of ducks, geese
and vegetables as well as Bean's underground cellar of cider
.
Along the way, the foxes meet Badger
and other digging animals who are also starving due to the farmers' siege of the hillside. Mr Fox, feeling responsible for the whole affair, invites the other animals to a feast made from the loot. At the feast, the animals decide to make an underground town where they will be safe, while discreetly obtaining food from the farmers.
Meanwhile, Boggis, Bunce, and Bean keep guard on the tunnel entrance in pouring rain, unaware that Mr Fox and his friends are stealing their food right under their noses. The book ends with the indication the three will be waiting forever.
In the book, local children sing the following verse (a limerick
) to taunt the three farmers:
Boggis and Bunce and Bean
One fat, one short, one lean
These horrible crooks
So different in looks
Were nonetheless equally mean.
. It was made using stop-motion animation
and features the voices of George Clooney
as Mr. Fox, Meryl Streep
as Mrs. Fox, Bill Murray
as Badger, Hugo Guinness as Bunce, and Michael Gambon
as Bean. The movie's plot focuses more on Mr. Fox's relationship to Mrs. Fox and his son, which is pitted against Mr. Fox's desire to steal chickens as a means of feeling like his natural self. The movie adds scenes before Mr. Fox attacks the three farmers and after their bulldozing of the hill, as well as a slightly altered ending and more background on Mr. Fox's past life as a thief.
and was first performed at the Belgrade Theatre in Coventry
in 2001. The play is licensed (in UK only) through Casarotto Ramsay Ltd. for repertory performances and Samuel French Ltd. for amateur performances.
adapted the book into an opera
(the only adaptation with origins in the USA) which had its world premiere at the Los Angeles Opera
performing December 9–22 in 1998. the Opera starred Gerald Finley
as Mr. Fox and Suzanna Guzman
as Mrs. Fox. A specially commissioned new version of this opera by Opera Holland Park was performed in the beautiful gardens and natural scenery of Holland Park in the summer of 2010 staged by Stephen Barlow
. This version starred Grant Doyle as Mr. Fox, Olivia Ray as Mrs. Fox, Henry Grant Kerswell, Peter Kent and John Lofthouse as Farmers Boggis, Bunce and Bean.
Children's literature
Children's literature is for readers and listeners up to about age twelve; it is often defined in four different ways: books written by children, books written for children, books chosen by children, or books chosen for children. It is often illustrated. The term is used in senses which sometimes...
novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
written by British author Roald Dahl
Roald Dahl
Roald Dahl was a British novelist, short story writer, fighter pilot and screenwriter.Born in Wales to Norwegian parents, he served in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War, in which he became a flying ace and intelligence agent, rising to the rank of Wing Commander...
. It was published in 1970
1970 in literature
The year 1970 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:* Deliverance by American poet James Dickey published...
by George Allen & Unwin
Allen & Unwin
Allen & Unwin, formerly a major British publishing house, is now an independent book publisher and distributor based in Australia. The Australian directors have been the sole owners of the Allen & Unwin name since effecting a management buy out at the time the UK parent company, Unwin Hyman, was...
in the UK and Alfred A. Knopf
Alfred A. Knopf
Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. is a New York publishing house, founded by Alfred A. Knopf, Sr. in 1915. It was acquired by Random House in 1960 and is now part of the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group at Random House. The publishing house is known for its borzoi trademark , which was designed by co-founder...
in the U.S., with illustrations by Donald Chaffin. The book was later published with new illustrations by Jill Bennett
Jill Bennett
Jill Bennett was a British actress, and the fourth wife of playwright John Osborne.-Early life and career:She was born in Penang, The Straits Settlements, to British parents, educated at Priors Field, an independent girls boarding school in Godalming, and trained at RADA...
, Tony Ross
Tony Ross
Tony Ross is a British illustrator and author for children.He is most noted for his work with Francesca Simon on the Horrid Henry books, and has also illustrated the Harry The Poisonous Centipede and Dr. Xargle series of books...
and Quentin Blake
Quentin Blake
Quentin Saxby Blake, CBE, FCSD, RDI, is an English cartoonist, illustrator and children's author, well-known for his collaborations with writer Roald Dahl.-Education:...
. The story is about Mr Fox and how he outwits his farmer neighbours to steal their food from right under their noses.
Plot summary
This story is about a foxFox
Fox is a common name for many species of omnivorous mammals belonging to the Canidae family. Foxes are small to medium-sized canids , characterized by possessing a long narrow snout, and a bushy tail .Members of about 37 species are referred to as foxes, of which only 12 species actually belong to...
named Mr Fox. In order to feed his family, Mr Fox steals chicken
Chicken
The chicken is a domesticated fowl, a subspecies of the Red Junglefowl. As one of the most common and widespread domestic animals, and with a population of more than 24 billion in 2003, there are more chickens in the world than any other species of bird...
s, duck
Duck
Duck is the common name for a large number of species in the Anatidae family of birds, which also includes swans and geese. The ducks are divided among several subfamilies in the Anatidae family; they do not represent a monophyletic group but a form taxon, since swans and geese are not considered...
s, and turkeys
Turkey (bird)
A turkey is a large bird in the genus Meleagris. One species, Meleagris gallopavo, commonly known as the Wild Turkey, is native to the forests of North America. The domestic turkey is a descendant of this species...
, each night from three mean and wealthy farmers: Boggis, Bunce, and Bean. The farmers are fed up with Mr Fox's theft and try to kill him. One night, the farmers wait outside Mr Fox's foxhole in an attempt to ambush him. When Mr Fox emerges from his home, the farmers fire at him. However, the farmers only succeed in blowing off Mr Fox's tail.
Determined to catch him, the farmers use spades and shovels to dig their way into the foxes' home. However, Mr and Mrs Fox and their four children escape by digging a tunnel deeper into the ground. The farmers then use bulldozer
Bulldozer
A bulldozer is a crawler equipped with a substantial metal plate used to push large quantities of soil, sand, rubble, etc., during construction work and typically equipped at the rear with a claw-like device to loosen densely-compacted materials.Bulldozers can be found on a wide range of sites,...
s in order to dig deeper into the ground, but to no avail.
The three men therefore decide to watch the entrance to the fox tunnel with shotgun
Shotgun
A shotgun is a firearm that is usually designed to be fired from the shoulder, which uses the energy of a fixed shell to fire a number of small spherical pellets called shot, or a solid projectile called a slug...
s at the ready, while the farmers' men patrol the area to make sure the foxes do not escape.
After three days of starving, Mr Fox comes up with a plan. He and his children dig a tunnel into Boggis' chicken house. There, they steal some chickens and depart without leaving any sign of their presence. They also raid Bunce's storehouse of ducks, geese
Goose
The word goose is the English name for a group of waterfowl, belonging to the family Anatidae. This family also includes swans, most of which are larger than true geese, and ducks, which are smaller....
and vegetables as well as Bean's underground cellar of cider
Cider
Cider or cyder is a fermented alcoholic beverage made from apple juice. Cider varies in alcohol content from 2% abv to 8.5% abv or more in traditional English ciders. In some regions, such as Germany and America, cider may be termed "apple wine"...
.
Along the way, the foxes meet Badger
Badger
Badgers are short-legged omnivores in the weasel family, Mustelidae. There are nine species of badger, in three subfamilies : Melinae , Mellivorinae , and Taxideinae...
and other digging animals who are also starving due to the farmers' siege of the hillside. Mr Fox, feeling responsible for the whole affair, invites the other animals to a feast made from the loot. At the feast, the animals decide to make an underground town where they will be safe, while discreetly obtaining food from the farmers.
Meanwhile, Boggis, Bunce, and Bean keep guard on the tunnel entrance in pouring rain, unaware that Mr Fox and his friends are stealing their food right under their noses. The book ends with the indication the three will be waiting forever.
In the book, local children sing the following verse (a limerick
Limerick (poetry)
A limerick is a kind of a witty, humorous, or nonsense poem, especially one in five-line or meter with a strict rhyme scheme , which is sometimes obscene with humorous intent. The form can be found in England as of the early years of the 18th century...
) to taunt the three farmers:
Boggis and Bunce and Bean
One fat, one short, one lean
These horrible crooks
So different in looks
Were nonetheless equally mean.
Film version
The book has been adapted into a film by director Wes AndersonWes Anderson
Wesley Wales Anderson is an American film director, screenwriter, actor, and producer of features, short films and commercials....
. It was made using stop-motion animation
Animation
Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...
and features the voices of George Clooney
George Clooney
George Timothy Clooney is an American actor, film director, producer, and screenwriter. For his work as an actor, he has received two Golden Globe Awards and an Academy Award...
as Mr. Fox, Meryl Streep
Meryl Streep
Mary Louise "Meryl" Streep is an American actress who has worked in theatre, television and film.Streep made her professional stage debut in 1971's The Playboy of Seville, before her screen debut in the television movie The Deadliest Season in 1977. In that same year, she made her film debut with...
as Mrs. Fox, Bill Murray
Bill Murray
William James "Bill" Murray is an American actor and comedian. He first gained national exposure on Saturday Night Live in which he earned an Emmy Award and later went on to star in a number of critically and commercially successful comedic films, including Caddyshack , Ghostbusters , and...
as Badger, Hugo Guinness as Bunce, and Michael Gambon
Michael Gambon
Sir Michael John Gambon, CBE is an Irish actor who has worked in theatre, television and film. A highly respected theatre actor, Gambon is recognised for his roles as Philip Marlowe in the BBC television serial The Singing Detective, as Jules Maigret in the 1990s ITV serial Maigret, and as...
as Bean. The movie's plot focuses more on Mr. Fox's relationship to Mrs. Fox and his son, which is pitted against Mr. Fox's desire to steal chickens as a means of feeling like his natural self. The movie adds scenes before Mr. Fox attacks the three farmers and after their bulldozing of the hill, as well as a slightly altered ending and more background on Mr. Fox's past life as a thief.
Stage adaptations
The book was adapted into a play of the same name by David WoodDavid Wood (actor)
David Wood OBE is an English-born actor and writer, called "the National Children's Dramatist" by The Times.He was educated at Chichester High School For Boys and Worcester College, Oxford....
and was first performed at the Belgrade Theatre in Coventry
Coventry
Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...
in 2001. The play is licensed (in UK only) through Casarotto Ramsay Ltd. for repertory performances and Samuel French Ltd. for amateur performances.
Opera
Tobias PickerTobias Picker
Tobias Picker is an American composer. Picker began composing at the age of eight and studied at the Manhattan School of Music, The Juilliard School and Princeton University, where his principal teachers were Charles Wuorinen, Elliott Carter and Milton Babbitt...
adapted the book into an opera
Fantastic Mr. Fox (opera)
Fantastic Mr. Fox is an opera in three acts composed by Tobias Picker to a libretto by Donald Sturrock based on Roald Dahl's children's novel Fantastic Mr Fox...
(the only adaptation with origins in the USA) which had its world premiere at the Los Angeles Opera
Los Angeles Opera
The Los Angeles Opera is an opera company in Los Angeles, California. It is the fourth largest opera company in the United States. The company's home base is the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, part of the Los Angeles Music Center.-Current leadership:...
performing December 9–22 in 1998. the Opera starred Gerald Finley
Gerald Finley
-Career:He was born in Montreal and received his musical education in St. Matthew's Anglican Church, Ottawa, the University of Ottawa, King's College, Cambridge and the Royal College of Music in London, England...
as Mr. Fox and Suzanna Guzman
Suzanna Guzmán
Suzanna Guzmán Suzanna Guzmán Suzanna Guzmán (born in East Los Angeles, California is an American mezzo-soprano. Ms. Guzmán has sung in major operas such as La Traviata at the Metropolitan Opera, La Favorite in Montpelier, France, and Goya at the Spoleto Festival in Italy...
as Mrs. Fox. A specially commissioned new version of this opera by Opera Holland Park was performed in the beautiful gardens and natural scenery of Holland Park in the summer of 2010 staged by Stephen Barlow
Stephen Barlow (director)
Stephen Barlow is an Australian born , London based opera director. He was educated at Melbourne Grammar School and the University of Melbourne...
. This version starred Grant Doyle as Mr. Fox, Olivia Ray as Mrs. Fox, Henry Grant Kerswell, Peter Kent and John Lofthouse as Farmers Boggis, Bunce and Bean.