Having tried to brave the Union Square crowds yesterday, Rick and I eventually had to admit defeat and seek shelter from the Thanksgiving sales. First off, we we tried out the new Burger Bar at Macys. This is Hubert Keller’s new casual outpost, where you can build your own burger, based on his famous high-end recipes. It’s a great new addition to downtown shopping eats, and I was thrilled to see Chef Keller very much in evidence throughout our visit. He didn’t just lend his concept to the place, he was practically bussing tables! Very exciting. And the banana milkshake? Fabulous.

Once we were full of great quality junk food, it was time to hit the movies. Rick and I have wanted to go see The Fantastic Mr Fox ever since we heard it was being adapted for the big screen. Growing up in England, and a complete bookworm, I devoured the books of Roald Dahl. Every single one. Hard to even say which is my favorite, but The Witches and The Twits are still up there for me. I loved Road Dahl because he refused to patronize kids. His books usually had a dark center and didn’t always have a traditional happy ending. He understood that kids don’t want always want or need things to be wrapped up prettily in a bow, and that the most interesting stories are those that don’t conform to the norm.

I remember loving The Fantastic Mr Fox, with its graphic descriptions of the evil farmers, Boggis, Bunce and Bean, trying to smoke out the wiley and charming Mr Fox. The movie version is also just wonderful. Filmed in stop motion animation, it feels simultaneously old-world charming and completely contemporary. What I loved the most was the very adult (but never inappropriate for kids) dialogue and interplay between the characters. These are foxes and badgers dealing with some very human emotions, such as sibling rivalry and marriage guidance! Chris Brogan, someone I admire in my working life, described it as “The Royal Tenenbaums in stop motion” and I couldn’t agree more. (They share the same director, Wes Anderson, and most of his favored actors are in both too).  But there’s still enough slapstick and laugh out loud moments for children too.

George Clooney was divine as the eponymous Mr Fox, but my favorite character had to be Jason Schwartzman’s angst-ridden young cub, Ash. Very subtle intonation, but his lines were soooo good.

I’ll remain loyal to the original books, and particularly the illustrations of Quentin Blake, but this was a great movie experience, that showed that you don’t have to think at the lowest common denominator to appeal to the mass market.

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