"The Great Fox Papa" is a fairy tale novel by the famous Norwegian children's literature writer Roald Dahl. Wes Anderson liked this story very much, so the idea of adapting it into a movie was born, and the stop motion animation was adopted. This film is shining brilliantly in various formats and wonderful adaptations. It was nominated for Oscar and Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature Film in one fell swoop. This is the best commendation for the film. Of course, it also shares the form and narrative of Weiss in the film. Method and content adaptation are inseparable. The original novel of
is actually a short story with a strong allegorical nature. There are only 18 chapters and 16,000 words in total. The detailed description is not so detailed, but it constitutes a memorable and timeless novel. The profoundness of the novel lies in the depiction of human beings' greed and selfish heart, while the image of Daddy Fox is extremely clever and steals things for survival. The fox family is fully anthropomorphized. It seems that this is no longer a story between humans and animals, but a duel of two higher intelligent creatures. What's interesting is that the fox family actually won in the final competition. This is undoubtedly an irony of human wisdom and high-tech methods. Director
Weiss is not only ingenious in the presentation of the film, but also very attentive in the choice and expansion of the story. For this reason, he has lived in Roald’s residence for a period of time and experienced the ecological environment around his creation. As the fox’s residence, this tree is the warm family on the yellow earth pile in the film. The reason why this story is touching is that all the characters are so vivid. The audience can experience the joys, sorrows and joys of the characters in the story. Although the protagonist is a group of foxes, they are like the leader of "Animal Farm" driving away humans. Identity recognition. The difference is that the pig failed in the end, but the fox succeeded, which is also the meaning of "great".
Today, I will start with the adaptation of this novel. I will talk about how Wes transplanted the elements of the novel into the movie, and how to tell a movie story. is mainly divided into narrative style, role image, behavior motivation, audio-visual creation These four parts show the charm of the movie:
01, the opening with the main character Mr. Fox, explaining the six elements of narration, making the whole story ups and downs, full of highlights. The
novel begins with the ballads of Boggis, Bunce, and Bean, describing their meanness and pettyness, in order to elicit Daddy Fox. Gradually, the hatred and revenge caused by the theft of Daddy Fox is introduced, and the main line is continued, but the process of portraying the main characters is lacking, which is not conducive to the understanding of the audience. The
movie needs to have a main line, and the storyline is developed around the main line. Weiss set this main line to be the growth of Daddy Fox. This starts with the fox father and mother, who were born together to steal things, and when the fox mother told her husband that she was pregnant, the first point of thought in the film appeared: whether the fox stealing is an inevitable result. The origin of the
novel is the fox stealing food , but the description of the reasons for this theft is superficial, all attributions are concentrated on the "bad" aspect of human beings. Therefore, the first sentence of the movie opens with the greed of human nature that the novel wants to express:
"Bean, Bunce, Burgess, one thin, one short and one fat. The three villains are really bad, although they look different, none of them are not greedy for money. "This is a nursery rhyme that children nearby often sing when they see them. This song is actually the meaning of the point. However, in order to build a longing for the good in the heart, it is impossible to attribute all problems to human beings, so the nature of the fox is first explained in the film: he has always had the bad habit of stealing things. And the vice of is not just for survival, which blurs the line between human punishment and fox's greedy behavior.
In the plot, the novel is satisfied after setting the fox as a thief, and the remaining main story becomes the battle between humans and foxes, but the movie also pays attention to depth and needs to have an interesting and true storyline. So when the mother fox was pregnant, she pleaded with her husband not to steal. As for the education of the fox son Ash, she asked him to study hard. After the son became sensible, she wanted to steal the tail from humans for her father. These are all to make the story smooth and moving. In addition to the main line,
has added several auxiliary lines to highlight the role of . For example, the growth line of the fox’s son Ash is based on the extension of the main line plot. He and his cousin Christopherson went from confrontation to friendship.Every child will experience a rebellious period in life. At this stage, he likes to contradict his parents, refuse to accept management, let his parents turn east and west, and be dissatisfied with life and friends. In the movie, he laughs at his cousin’s meditation and his sick father, and the jealous fox girl Agnes The cousin’s admiration did not want to listen to all the truths his father said to him.
But we found out that he grew up after going through hardships with his father. Under the guidance of his cousin, he can teach himself karate to rescue his cousin, dare to face sudden difficulties, and get rid of negative emotions. All these show that Ash has grown from a confused boy to a promising young man with a broad mind. The same is true for
's father. In the novel, it is his father's improvement of living conditions that caused the killing. The family digs underground to avoid humans. This is actually quite dangerous, but the movie shows a leisurely and happy escape life. In the novel, the mother fox is so hungry that she is about to die, but in the movie, it is humans who force the father fox to return to his old career and complete his own salvation. The so-called "remarkable" is the contribution and dedication to the family.
02. Add different characters and character descriptions around the main plot, so that each character is vivid and full of personality. The
novel focuses all the focus on Dad Fox, while ignoring his family. Everyone knows that he has a wife and four children, but what are their personalities and what troubles do they have when they grow up? The novel does not give its own thinking.
However, the feelings of the movie are diverse. Weiss wants to tell a good story while also making the audience feel and think. Therefore, in the novel, the four children of Father Fox who originally had no description become the only son Ash, and his cousin Christopherson is added to reflect the conflicts of the multi-child family. Around the two, many related roles have been added, such as the fox girl who is deeply attracted by the handsome cousin, and the fox coach.
We can see that Ash is very different from Christopherson in athletic talent. The cousin's strength is that he is easily favored by girls, so he is better than Ash in all aspects. What's more interesting is The talent of the fox father is not inherited to Ash, and the inheritance of the cousin is still from the mother's line. This undoubtedly enhances the degree of competition among children of the same age and becomes a real problem that plagues the fox son.
adds the image of Kelly, the opossum, which is also , which is not in the novel. This character is a bit dull. He often doesn't understand what Dad Fox wants to express, but always follows Dad Fox. As the so-called three gangs of one hero, the nephew of the fox actually wanted to join, but was opposed by the father of the fox. These behaviors are both vivid and authentic. The image of the fox is instantly tall, which enhances the fun and suspense.
Even the villain’s mouse has a strong figure , with a big tooth exposed. Despite his loyalty, he has never had a sip of cider. The novel's portrayal of the mouse is simple and simple. The mouse regards the cider warehouse of Bean's family as his home. He hates the theft of the fox family, but turns out to be treated as a thief by humans. It can be seen that the mouse is a thankless character. In this regard, the film directly sets the mouse as a human helper, and was knocked down by a fox during the first theft, and was directly killed during the second visit to provocation. The movie deliberately interprets the end of the human helper so miserably, but it fulfilled his lifelong wish, let him taste the cider before dying. This also reflects the kindness of the fox family.
Daddy Fox finds a lonely wolf on his way after a duel with humans. The film also uses black humor to make Daddy Fox try to communicate with the wolf. This does not exist in the book, but the movie makes this The dead opponents of the biological world are facing each other. The wolf in the distance is indifferent and arrogant against the backdrop of the snow-capped mountains. It is in sharp contrast with the gentle and kind fox image against the yellow ground. The wolf here represents "pure wild animal", that is, an animal that has not been tamed by humans, father fox Wanting to remain wild like a wolf but unable to achieve it, finally had to leave a sentence "what a beautiful creature" with envy, and the fox became an existence between humans and wild animals.
also used the first perspective to show many times for human pet dogs. When stealing a chicken, the fox's pill was thrown by his side and was quickly eaten. The dog appeared extremely stupid here, similar to a stupid dog. There are also humans. When Burgess saw the pill, he also tasted it with his mouth, Fainted instantly. The addition of these plots shows that in the confrontation with humans, the fox has always had the upper hand. Their attitude towards dogs is similar to that of humans, but humans’ pet dogs in turn attacked humans in the big duel, proving that their sanity is really limited, and once again highlighting the ingenuity of the fox family.
03, character motives and behaviors were modified to make all behaviors more real, showing various thrilling scenes from details. In the
novel, Daddy Fox steals to survive. For this reason, he said, "Do you know anyone in the world who doesn't steal a few chickens when his child is about to starve to death?" It is these stolen foods that give Their chance of survival. But in the movie, the stealing of father fox is portrayed as an animal's instinct. Even if his wife does not allow this behavior, father fox still does the same. ’s mother prevented theft from the consideration of protecting the family from harm, while the father wanted to improve living conditions and pursue excitement. The film enhanced the sense of suspense and tension in this highly tense atmosphere. The
novel points out that foxes are driven to extinction by humans only to meet the needs of children’s lives. The movie has deepened. At the very beginning, foxes like to steal. This is a young hobby. With the birth of children, stealing became him. A way of seeking fun for the ordinary life, but it is this kind of repeated teaching that makes humans hate it, and swear to kill the fox family. This anger even involves other animals. In contrast, the motives and goals of human behavior in the movie are clear. It is to retaliate to eradicate future troubles, for which they use forklifts, guns and various tools. The interaction between the fox family in
novels is lacking, and in the movie, the main motivation for fox behavior is family . His son Ash wants to be a hero like his father. He also asked to participate in the battle but was rejected and jealous. Cousin's athletic talent until he reconciled in the crisis and jointly steal his father's tail. There is a strong family relationship between father and son. The father didn’t understand his son at the beginning, until he was emotionalized, and even took his son to find a supermarket with abundant commodities and become the "great fox father". He is inseparable from a warm family. The environment, even in the most difficult times, his wife and children are by his side, helping him overcome the crisis and move forward. The film
is as close to the novel as possible in the spiritual core, showing the confusion of father fox to middle-aged . He pursues a free and unruly lifestyle and desires to be full of wildness like a wolf, but on the one hand, his family drives him to work hard, and on the other On the one hand, it also restricted his adventurous heart, so he was willing to give up his original ideas and make continuous efforts under the manifestation of family affection. The author's "stealing chickens for family affection" has been transformed into "not stealing chickens for family affection", but what remains unchanged is the sense of responsibility of father fox to the whole family. The
movie retains the moving parts of the novel in terms of behavioral motivations, while adding more details to make the behavior of the fox family logical, to convince the audience of this possibility, and to render emotions into the entire movie. This is also the success of the movie. Key elements of
04. The creation of a visual atmosphere, with brilliant light, color, lens and dialogue, constitutes a unique logo. Director
Weiss is very good at image expression. These visual presentations of are out of the novel, and they are also the out-of-picture sound that cannot be shown in the plot of the novel. It is the unique visual presentation and wonderful dialogue that make the film show the superb artistic aesthetic characteristics. In this work, he uses absurd methods to create the sensitivity and rebellion of the characters, and uses a large number of classic lines to make the characters true and believable. This is due to his years of accumulation and life precipitation, and it is also a natural talent. reveal.
uses orange tones throughout the film to create a warm and beautiful setting, which is in sharp contrast with the cold and selfish black and gray tones of humans. When showing fox affection, most of the soft light and multiple light sources are used to show human anger and irritability. At times, the expressions and single light source are used for display.
Although CG technology has been so developed, Wes still uses retro stop-motion animation to create. Many scenes, such as fire, smoke, shooting, etc., are deliberately paused using frame-drawing methods. Once is visually If you experience this kind of artistic sense of "great skill but no work", you will enjoy the special charm formed by visual persistence. For example, the look in the eyes of Kelly opossum, the performance of the dog fainting after taking drugs, etc., can well show the characteristics of the characters.Point and plot effect.
This film also deliberately used the expression of western film confrontation to show the effect of bantering , which is also an atmosphere that the text of the novel cannot express. What Papa Fox showed is that "the hero uses the inner sense of justice as the supreme standard of value. "Although he lost the tail that represents honor, he still won the battle for the animals in a way of heroes in Western films. The creation of this atmosphere contrasts with the storyline and enhances the entertainment of the film. There are many wise words in the film
specially arranged by the screenwriter . For example, Father Fox keeps asking himself, "Who am I? Why is it a fox, not a horse, a beetle or a bald eagle? In order to make the fox happy forever, don’t need to worry about a chicken in his mouth?” Obviously the fox father is very reflective. Another example is the fox son asking the coach, “Is this training as good as my father”, the coach Say "you don't have to compare yourself with him, you are improving, we have to look at it from this perspective"; and father fox said when trapped in the cave, "we have to thank those three bastards for one thing: remind us Be grateful and care about each other". These words are actually more like human words, but they have a different flavor when they are spoken in the fox's mouth.
Conclusion: is based on the novel. Wes can be said to be adapted into a world with distinctive characters, ups and downs and bizarre plots. In the movie, animals possess high intelligence and can compete with humans. This setting makes competing with each other a highlight of the film. The description of the novel tends to favor Daddy Fox, and the author's attitude towards him can be seen from the "remarkable" in the title. In the movie, this point of view and perspective are also not changed. Therefore, when showing the life of the fox, it is emotional, giving the fox the ability to think independently.
From the perspective of story adaptation, this movie not only straightens the whole story, strengthens the shaping of the role of the fox, but also brings the audience a lot of reflection on the essence of life, which is full of fox’s view of children’s education and happy family The beauty and criticism of human greed and selfishness. If we start from the fox's perspective, we can understand all his behavioral motivations and emotional fluctuations, and if we analyze the behavior of each character from an objective perspective, we can better understand the difficulties and misfortunes in life. Facing difficulties and facing up to difficulties, this is actually the meaning of "Great Fox Daddy".
