There just aren't enough books for children that glorify stealing and drinking.

My impressions in a single word: Meh.

I recently read this to my little boy, and I have to admit I really didn't care for it.

Don't get me wrong. It's not a *terrible* book. There's nothing hideously wrong with it. (See my review of Esio Trot, if you want to see me go off on a Dahl book I hated.)

But there wasn't much right with it either. The simple fact was Mr. Fox was not, in fact, very fantastic.

The plot centers around some farmers that try to kill Mr. Fox. They try to dig him out of his hole. Fox's clever solution? Dig down so they can't reach him.

But then the farmers dig *faster.*

Fox's clever solution? They should dig away faster.

Eventually they try to starve Mr. Fox and his family out of the hole.

Fox's clever solution? Dig even farther and steal some food.

And that's pretty much the whole book. (Spoiler alert.)

I like my books to have some cleverness in them. If you have a book where the main character is a Fox, and people are going to praise him for being fantastic, he better... y'know... do something if not fantastic, then at least interesting.

If your clever solution to *every* problem is "Dig more" you're kinda just phoning it in.

Also some mild sexism in here. Nothing horrifying like in Esio Trot, but why read a meh book with mild sexism to your kids? There's better stuff out there. Much better.

ছোটদের জন্যে লেখা রোয়াল্ড ডালের আরেকটি অনবদ্য বই। এখন অবধি রোয়াল্ড সাহেবের কোন বই আমাকে হতাশ করেনি। একটু বড় হয়ে তার লেখা পড়ছি বলে আসলে আমার কোন প্রকার আফসোস নেই। ভালো সাহিত্য যে কোন বয়সে উপভোগ করা যায়।

آخ چه خوب بود! ಥ⌣ಥ

This one isn't quite as mean as some other Roald Dahl books. It's fine? The story fizzles at the end but there's a nice animal solidarity. My kid liked it.

Roald Dahl is undoubtedly one of my most favorite authors. I never get bored of his stories.
This book was short but full of excitement! Enjoyed it as usual. :D

I enjoyed this as always but it is so sexist!

While I was reading Fantastic Mr. Fox, I had in mind three colorful bubbles (yes, sometimes I like to tease my ideas):

1. Roald Dahl is amazing.
2. Mr. Fox is indeed Fantastic!
3. And this stupid yet hilarious song:

n  n

Seriously Chaymâa?!

Well, as Roald Dahl said in this book :

I understand what you're saying, and your comments are valuable, but I'm gonna ignore your advice.

n

Unfortunately not a fantastic book, but it’s less problematic than some of Dahl’s other books. This does have mild sexism, fat shaming and underage drinking.

I liked the story which I had forgotten since the last time I read this, I was a child. I liked the tension throughout. But the Fox isn’t really that fantastic, let’s be honest with ourselves, the solutions to his problems are so... easy and convenient. However, at only 82 pages, you can breeze through it and (sort of) enjoy the ride somewhat.

Three stars for the questionable morals and implications for the animal society.

Mr. Fox stole from local farmers for years and the farmers are fed up. They decide to wipe out the entire Fox family. These are talking animals - this is murder.

Instead of trying to negotiate (or even work for a living), the Fox family makes a run for it and they end up endangering all the animal families that live in the hill, the Badgers, the Weasels, the Moles, the Rabbits, etc. Their homes and children are at risk.

So, all the underground dwelling animals get together for a heist. They end up making permanent tunnels to and from the farmer's stores...and creating a completely underground town so they can always live and mooch off the farmers.

n  Why was the solution to stealing .... more stealing? n

Now, in a world where all the animals can talk, think and reason, how can they justify feeding carrots to the Rabbit family while n  gnawing on the chickens and geese?n Aren't rabbits and moles prey for foxes?

I feel like their ideal society is shortly approaching their apocalypse...

YouTube | Blog | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | Snapchat @miranda_reads

Liked it a lot more than what I expected. After watching Wes Anderson's fabulous, fast and frenetically funny film, I was ready to be a bit let down by how low-key and basic the original story seemed. But Roald Dahl, being Roald Dahl, exceeded my expectations. In just short of 100 pages, he had me roped in for a quirky, exciting and entertaining little adventure about a fox, his family and friends and how he saves himself and them all against three evil farmers hell-bent for revenge.

Just a little niggle, though. I agree that Dahl wanted this to be as crisp as a freshly toasted slice of bread and as indulgently sweet as a toasted slice smothered with marmalade. But couldn't it have been just a little bit more crunchy? And by being crunchy, I mean, couldn't the ace storyteller put in just some more stakes, some more peril for our reliably 'fantastic' Mr Fox to wriggle and burrow his way out of with his dastardly wit? Things seem, at times, a tad too easily laid out for him, Mrs Fox and the Small Foxes and while a very valid argument can be made for length and economy befitting a children's tale, were not we expecting more bite for the grown-ups as well? This being not just any ordinary writer but Dahl himself? Ah, never mind.

The story is simple, even unspectacular but Dahl fleshes it out with his trademark little touches and twists; Mr. Fox starts off being a cocky thief and then transforms, quite convincingly, into a rousing patriarch doing everything possible with his foxy wit and instinct for survival to save his family from suffering the vengeance of the three seemingly evil but rather hilariously thick-headed and foolhardy villains, who won't take Fox' bravado lightly.

What he does, in response, is ingenious and delightful to say the least and Dahl makes us cheer ultimately for Mr Fox, reminding us that he is 'fantastic' not because he can make away with anything delicious or appetizing with seamless ease but because, like every good father, husband and social animal, what he does is to keep his family and fellow furry burrowing creatures in good health and spirits, no matter what adversity comes knocking on their doors.

Its beauty is in its simplicity and the easy, lovably winsome charm of the creatures (with the sole exception of Rat, whom I wish was given more meat in the narrative) really overwhelms you without being ever exaggerated. I was actually moved by the unassuming innocence of Badger, as he wonders if what they were doing was right or not. Dahl also takes care to flesh out his villains with quirky, even grimy touches so that they emerge as real people driven to extreme, even foolish ends and not just caricatures.

So much for the book. Coming to the Wes Anderson film, I felt that it was, as it is, a very American perspective on what is primarily an English fable. The simplicity and innocent pastoral warmth of the book, that we equate automatically with something not out of place in the English countryside where it is set, is replaced in the film with the satirical themes of archetype American suburbia- hints of marital discord between Mr and Mrs Fox, the self-doubting teenage son Ash trading sparks with his 'cooler' cousin Kristofferson and the debate between giving in to your natural instincts and blending in with society in more honorable fashion.

While I am not really a fan of Wes Anderson, even as I loved 'Rushmore', I loved 'Fantastic Mr Fox' too because it took the little gem of Dahl's fable and turned it into a sparkling and genuinely rollicking adventure of the highest order, with sights and sounds so delicious (I loved the soundtrack choices too, especially 'Street Fighting Man'. All I can imagine for the celebratory climax of the book is the lovable 'Yellow Submarine') that one could almost find them as delectable as the juicy chickens, geese and gorgeous cider mentioned in the tale.

But even as this is one of the rare cases when I found an adaptation exceeding the source in distinct ways, nothing is going to diminish my affection for the story. I felt as if I was invited for the feast in the end too.

Delightful! Though I do feel bad for the chickens, ducks and geese.