The Handcrafted Details in Fantastic Mr. Fox
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	Narrator: The handcrafted look of Fantastic Mr. Fox, for which more than 4,000 props were created, contrasts deliberately with the smooth surfaces of a lot of contemporary computer-generated animation. Nowhere in the film is this more obvious than in the final exciting sequence. The animals hatch an elaborate plan to rescue Kristofferson from the clutches of the farmers. In a way, the use of handcrafted technology in their mission pays tribute to the film's
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	artisanal aesthetic. After the animals set off a firebomb made from pinecones in the sewer, Fox and Possum pop out of a manhole cover in a puff of smoke, smoke that is quite clearly made out of cotton wool. The shaking background as Fox and Possum speed through the countryside, though diegetically motivated by the antiquated motorbike, pays homage to the trickiness of vintage stop-motion. And the news helicopter tracking
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	the animals' progress is shown flying over fields, obviously made from stitched-together textiles. Because creating the world of Fantastic Mr. Fox is so reliant on mise-en-scène and so labor-intensive, montage is downplayed. Instead, camera movements like tracking shots give us time to feast our eyes on detail and the animation technique of the movie. In this sequence, the animals are gathered for a communal
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	meal in their makeshift but convivial lodgings in Badger's flint mine. The camera starts on Mole playing the piano and tracks right, taking in the characters' movements as the kids set the table and as Rabbit prepares the meal. The camera speeds up to follow Fox and Badger as they talk about Fox's injury. The camera pauses just as Ash appears on camera overhearing his father's words prompts his bold plan
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	to get the tail back. Now tracking backward, the camera watches as Ash approaches his cousin, Kristofferson, with his idea. Of course, this virtuoso single-take is simulated, as the models are manipulated between each frame to create all the delightful on-screen activity we witness.