''Fantastic Mr Fox'' is a

children's A child ( : children) is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person young ...

novel written by British author Roald Dahl. It was published in 1970, by

George Allen & Unwin George Allen & Unwin was a British publishing company formed in 1911 when Sir Stanley Unwin purchased a controlling interest in George Allen & Co. It went on to become one of the leading publishers of the twentieth century and to establish an ...

in the UK and

Alfred A. Knopf Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. () is an American publishing house that was founded by Alfred A. Knopf Sr. and Blanche Knopf in 1915. Blanche and Alfred traveled abroad regularly and were known for publishing European, Asian, and Latin American writers in ...

in the U.S., with illustrations by Donald Chaffin. The first Puffin paperback, first issued in 1974, featured illustrations by Jill Bennett. Later editions have featured illustrations by

Tony Ross Anthony Lee Ross (born 10 August 1938) is a British author and illustrator of children's picture books. In Britain, he is best known for writing and illustrating his Little Princess books and for illustrating the Horrid Henry series by France ...

(1988) and

Quentin Blake Sir Quentin Saxby Blake, (born 16 December 1932) is an English cartoonist, caricaturist, illustrator and children's writer. He has illustrated over 300 books, including 18 written by Roald Dahl, which are among his most popular works. For his ...

(1996). The story is about Mr Fox and how he outwits his farmer neighbours to steal their food from right under their noses. In 2009, it was adapted into a stop-motion animated film by

Wes Anderson Wesley Wales Anderson (born May 1, 1969) is an American filmmaker. His films are known for their eccentricity and unique visual and narrative styles. They often contain themes of grief, loss of innocence, and dysfunctional families. Cited by ...

and included the voice of George Clooney as Mr Fox. The novel was also adapted into a musical in 2016, and an

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...

in 1998 which in 2019 was recorded by the

Boston Modern Orchestra Project The Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP) is a professional orchestra in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1996 by artistic director Gil Rose, its mission is to explore the connections between contemporary music and contemporary s ...

and Odyssey Opera. In 2012, Mr Fox appeared on a Royal Mail

commemorative postage stamp A commemorative stamp is a postage stamp, often issued on a significant date such as an anniversary, to honor or commemorate a place, event, person, or object. The ''subject'' of the commemorative stamp is usually spelled out in print, unlike de ...

. Two audio readings of the novel were released, one with the author narrating, and another with actor Martin Jarvis narrating.

Plot

Mr Fox is an anthropomorphic, tricky, and clever fox who lives underground beside a tree with his wife and four children. To feed his family, he makes nightly visits to local farms owned by three cruel, rude, wicked and dim-witted farmers named Boggis, Bunce and Bean, whereupon he seizes the livestock available on each man's farm; chickens from Boggis, ducks or geese from Bunce, and turkeys from Bean. Tired of being outsmarted by Mr Fox, the triumvirate devise a plan to ambush him as he leaves his burrow, but they succeed only in shooting off his tail. The three farmers then dig up the Foxes' burrow using spades and then excavators. The Foxes manage to escape by burrowing further beneath the ground to safety. The farmers are ridiculed for their persistence, but they refuse to give up and vow not to return to their farms until they have caught Mr Fox. They then choose to lay siege to the fox, surrounding Mr Fox's hole and waiting until he is hungry enough to come out. Cornered by their enemies, Mr Fox and his family, and all the other underground creatures that live around the hill, begin to starve. After three days trapped underground, Mr Fox devises a plot to acquire food. Working from his memory of the routes he has taken above ground, he and his children tunnel through the ground and wind up burrowing to one of Boggis's four chicken houses. Mr Fox kills several chickens and sends his son to carry the animals back home to Mrs Fox. On the way to their next destination, Mr Fox runs into his friend Badger and asks him to accompany him on his mission, as well as to extend an invitation to the feast to the other burrowing animals - Badger and his family, as well as the Moles, the Rabbits and the Weasels - to apologize for getting them caught up in the farmers' hunt. Aided by Badger, the animals tunnel to Bunce's storehouse for ducks, geese, hams, bacon and carrots, and then to Bean's secret cider cellar. Here, they are nearly caught by Bean's servant Mabel and have an unpleasant confrontation with the cellar's resident, Rat. They carry their loot back home, where Mrs Fox has prepared a great celebratory banquet for the starving underground animals and their families. At the table, Mr Fox invites everyone to live in a secret underground neighbourhood with him and his family, where he will hunt on their behalf daily and where none of them will need to worry about the farmers anymore. Everyone joyfully cheers for this idea, while Boggis, Bunce, and Bean are left waiting in vain for the fox to emerge from his hole. The book ends with the words "And so far as I know, they are ''still'' waiting."

Awards

In 1994, ''Fantastic Mr Fox'' was awarded the Read Aloud BILBY Award from the Children's Book Council of Australia.

Adaptations

Film adaptation

The book was adapted into a stop-motion animated film by director

. It was released in 2009 and features the voices of George Clooney as Mr Fox,

Meryl Streep Mary Louise Meryl Streep (born June 22, 1949) is an American actress. Often described as "the best actress of her generation", Streep is particularly known for her versatility and accent adaptability. She has received numerous accolades throu ...

as Mrs Fox,

Bill Murray William James Murray (born September 21, 1950) is an American actor and comedian. He is known for his deadpan delivery. He rose to fame on ''The National Lampoon Radio Hour'' (1973–1974) before becoming a national presence on '' Saturday Nig ...

as Badger, Robert Hurlstone as Boggis, Hugo Guinness as Bunce and Michael Gambon as Bean. The movie's plot focuses more on Mr Fox's relationship with 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 they bulldozed the hill, as well as a slightly altered ending and more background on Mr Fox's past life as a thief of food. The Foxes' four children are replaced by Ash, a small and insecure fox who seeks his father's approval and Mrs. Fox's nephew Kristofferson, who excels in athletics and is a source of jealousy for Ash.

Stage adaptations

The book was adapted into a play of the same name by David Wood and was first performed at the Belgrade Theatre in

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a city in the West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed b ...

in 2001. The play is licensed (in the U.K. only) through Casarotto Ramsay Ltd. for repertory performances and Samuel French Ltd. for amateur performances. A musical adaptation of the book ran at the Nuffield Theatre in Southampton during Christmas 2016 before touring the U.K. in early 2017.

Opera

Tobias Picker Tobias Picker (born July 18, 1954) is an American composer, artistic director, and pianist, noted for his orchestral works ''Old and Lost Rivers'', ''Keys To The City'', and ''The Encantadas'', as well as his operas ''Emmeline'', ''Fantastic Mr. ...

adapted the book into an

which had its world premiere at the Los Angeles Opera performing 9–22 December in 1998. the Opera starred

Gerald Finley Gerald Hunter Finley, (born January 30, 1960) is a Canadian baritone opera singer. Early life Finley was born in Montreal and studied music at St. Matthew's Anglican Church, Ottawa, the University of Ottawa, King's College, Cambridge and the Ro ...

as Mr Fox and Suzanna Guzman as Mrs Fox."Larmore, Domingo to Open L.A. Opera Season"
Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 30 May 2012 A specially commissioned new version of this opera by

Opera Holland Park Opera Holland Park is a summer opera company which produces an annual season of opera performances, staged under a temporary canopy in front of the remains of Holland House, a Blitz-damaged building in Holland Park, west central London. The venu ...

was performed in the 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.Fantastic Mr. Fox at Holland Park Theatre
Time Out London. Retrieved 30 May 2012 In 2019, ''Fantastic Mr. Fox'' was recorded by the

and Odyssey Opera who were subsequently awarded the

Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording The Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by m ...

References

{{Authority control 1970 British novels 1970 children's books British novellas British children's novels British novels adapted into films British novels adapted into plays Novels adapted into operas Alfred A. Knopf books BILBY Award-winning works Allen & Unwin books Books about foxes Literature featuring anthropomorphic foxes Fictional tricksters Novels by Roald Dahl Children's books by Roald Dahl Novels about animals Children's novels about animals