Good Example Of The Existentialist Mr. Fox Essay

Wes Anderson’s movie adaptation of Roal Dahl’s Fantastic Mr. Fox, is a story about a family of foxes. The protagonist, Mr. Fox, faces an existential crisis because he is trying to fight his animal nature. He is a middle-aged fox, and not a civilized human. First he wonders about the basic existential questions: “Who am I, and why a fox? Why not a horse, or a beetle, or a bald eagle? I’m saying this as existentialism, you know? Who am I? And how can a fox ever be happy without, forgive the expression, a chicken in its teeth?” Mr. Fox wants to raise a family and be a journalist, but deep down, he knows he is a fox, and really just wants to hunt chickens. There is something absurd about a fox writing for a newspaper and worrying about living in a good neighborhood. He is conflicted between being a civilized journalist and a wild animal. Nature has these two elements, and even humans are torn between refined civilization and animal barbarism. They are both in human nature. Furthermore, Mr. Fox is pursuing materialism, when it only leads to more trouble. He wants a nicer house in a tree, even though its more dangerous. The trappings of civilization are a burden to Mr. Fox, who is also experiencing a mid-life crisis.
Like a true existentialist, Mr. Fox does not rely on fate, he uses his free will and tricks the farmers when he asks them to a meeting. Mr. Fox and his family triumph over the three farmers because they use their animal instincts. Eventually, his family climbs into the sewers, abandoning civilization and scavenging for food. By becoming animals again, they find happiness.

Work Cited

Fantastic Mr. Fox. By Roald Dahl, Noah Baumbach, Alexandre. Desplats, Mathieu Amalric, Isabelle Huppert, George Clooney, and Meryl Streep. Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, 2013.