Fantastic Mr. Fox (soundtrack) explained

Fantastic Mr. Fox (Original Soundtrack)
Type:soundtrack
Artist:Alexandre Desplat and various artists
Cover:Fantastic Mr. Fox soundtrack cover.jpg
Released:November 10, 2009
Recorded:2008–2009
Length:50:00
Label:ABKCO

Fantastic Mr. Fox (Original Soundtrack) is the soundtrack to the 2009 film Fantastic Mr. Fox directed by Wes Anderson. The film's soundtrack featured a selection of songs from The Beach Boys, The Bobby Fuller Four, Burl Ives, Georges Delerue, The Rolling Stones, and other artists. An original score composed by Alexandre Desplat accompanied the remainder of the album. ABKCO Records released the soundtrack on November 10, 2009, three days ahead of the film. Desplat was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Score and BAFTA Award for Best Original Music for his work in the film.

Development

In 2006, Anderson's frequent collaborator Mark Mothersbaugh was announced that he was working on the soundtrack.[1] However, during the production, Mothersbaugh was replaced by Alexandre Desplat who would later collaborate on all of Anderson's films.[2] [3] Desplat and Anderson met at Stephen Gaghan's weeding and thereafter, Anderson contacted the former on his involvement which he agreed. Later, Desplat was invited to the editing room in Paris and eventually started working on the film's music, which he described it as "an easy way of bonding together".

During their initial discussions, Desplat recalled that he read the original source material—the novel by Roald Dahl—instead of watching the film, hence, he was familiar with the characters. Wes demanded melodies, that would provide a childlike and had a simplicity which was an integral part of the score.[4] Unlike, other American films which had a large orchestra, Anderson refrained from using that as it would overpower the puppet characters.[5] He then suggested for writing a mini-symphonic orchestra having multiple baby instruments—a string quartet, brass section with only one instrument per section, and a combination of glockenspiels, triangles, little pieces forming percussion instruments—that provide an intimate sound different from the symphonic orchestra, adding that "the melodies' simplicity, the tiny instruments, all that created a very different sound that was very exciting for us".

The piece "Boggis, Bunce and Bean" featured a boys choir under the age of 8–11. Anderson eventually brought all the puppets from the film to the recording studio "to the boys so they would not be nervous and they could be relaxed and enjoy the moment", says Desplat. Besides composing Desplat further performed whistles for the score, for a mean rat and eventually insisted on composing a piece with a whistle. He described it as a part of the fun and childlike nature of the film.

The film also featured a compilation of original and pre-existing songs. Jarvis Cocker revealed that he had written nearly 3–4 songs which would be integrated into the score. However, the only song he written for the film was "Fantastic Mr. Fox AKA Petey's Song".[6] Contributions from The Beach Boys, The Bobby Fuller Four, Burl Ives, Georges Delerue, The Rolling Stones, Nancy Adams, Art Tatum and The Wellingtons were included in the film as well as the album.[7]

Reception

Christian Clemmensen of Filmtracks.com wrote "[Desplat's] approach to this concept could drive a person insane, and since that was probably the intent, it's easy to get the feeling that his one is aimed exclusively at enthusiasts of the film."[8] Rob Mitchum of Pitchfork rated 7.1 out of 10 and wrote "With Fantastic Mr. Fox, Wes Anderson, ever the obsessive soundtracker, creates another value-added souvenir in the spirit of a literally wonderful film."[9] Gissane Sophia of Marvelous Geeks Media wrote "The entire soundtrack ultimately feels like it should be playing at a theme park, but that’s neither here nor there."[10] A critic from Unsung Sundays wrote "The Fantastic Mr. Fox Soundtrack is a great place to start."[11] Matt Bochenski of Little White Lies wrote "Alexandre Desplat’s score is skilfully integrated into the action".[12]

Michael Leader of Den of Geek described it as "masterful".[13] Sheri Linden of The Hollywood Reporter wrote "Boomer faves by the Beach Boys and the Stones punctuate the soundtrack, with Alexandre Desplat delivering an elegant gallop of a score."[14] John Young of Entertainment Weekly wrote "composer Alexandre Desplat wrote one of the most delectable scores in quite some time".[15] Fionnuala Halligan of Screen International wrote that Desplat's "French-influenced score is a delight".[16] Robert Levin of Film School Rejects described it as a "jaunty soundtrack".[17]

Complete score

A complete score album was released by 20th Century Fox as a part of the For Your Consideration (FYC) campaign for the 2009–10 film awards season. The album contains 47 cues from Desplat's score featured in the film in its entirety.[18]

Fantastic Mr. Fox (Additional Music from the Original Score – The Abbey Road Mixes)

Fantastic Mr. Fox (Additional Music from the Original Score – The Abbey Road Mixes)
Type:film
Artist:Alexandre Desplat
Released:March 2, 2010
Recorded:2008–2009
Venue:Abbey Road Studios, London
Genre:Film score
Length:47:19
Label:ABKCO
Producer:Alexandre Desplat

A second soundtrack album Fantastic Mr. Fox (Additional Music from the Original Score – The Abbey Road Mixes) was released on March 2, 2010. The album features the remainder of the film score composed by Desplat. It was released in anticipation of the 82nd Academy Awards where Desplat was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Score.[19]

Notes and References

  1. May 2006 . Devo Is Dead. Long Live Devo. . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20111107024714/http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/14.05/devo.html . November 7, 2011 . August 1, 2011 . Wired.
  2. Web site: Banks . Grace . September 21, 2023 . Wes Anderson’s Composer Alexandre Desplat On Making Their Films Sound Like ‘A World Of Their Own’ . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230927085347/https://www.forbes.com/sites/gracebanks/2023/09/21/wes-andersons-composer-alexandre-desplat-on-making-their-films-sound-like-a-world-of-its-own/ . September 27, 2023 . July 1, 2024 . Forbes . en.
  3. Web site: Perez . Rodrigo . February 20, 2009 . Alexandre Desplat Scoring Wes Anderson's 'Fantastic Mr. Fox'? . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240701093357/https://theplaylist.net/alexandre-desplat-scoring-wes-andersons-20090220/ . July 1, 2024 . July 1, 2024 . The Playlist.
  4. Web site: Weintraub . Steven . November 27, 2009 . Wes Anderson Interview Fantastic Mr. Fox . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20141017005122/https://collider.com/wes-anderson-interview-fantastic-mr-fox/ . October 17, 2014 . July 1, 2024 . Collider . en.
  5. Huff . Lauren . October 20, 2021 . Fantastic Mr. Fox composer Alexandre Desplat on joys of working with 'mischievous' Wes Anderson . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230528024019/https://ew.com/movies/fantastic-mr-fox-composer-alexandre-desplat-wes-anderson/ . May 28, 2023 . July 1, 2024 . Entertainment Weekly.
  6. News: Brent DiCrescenzo . July 17, 2008 . From the UK to the Magic Kingdom . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20080731182222/http://www.timeout.com/chicago/articles/music/39791/from-the-uk-to-the-magic-kingdom . July 31, 2008 . August 8, 2008 . Time Out.
  7. Web site: September 21, 2009 . Fantastic Mr. Fox Soundtrack Listing . https://web.archive.org/web/20120916233915/http://www.slashfilm.com/fantastic-mr-fox-soundtrack-listing/ . September 16, 2012 . May 17, 2011 . Slashfilm.com.
  8. Web site: Clemmensen . Christian . Fantastic Mr. Fox (Alexandre Desplat) . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20110302091818/https://www.filmtracks.com/titles/fantastic_fox.html . March 2, 2011 . July 1, 2024 . Filmtracks.com.
  9. Web site: Mitchum . Rob . December 10, 2009 . Various Artists: Fantastic Mr. Fox OST . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20100106222316/https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/13758-fantastic-mr-fox-ost/ . January 6, 2010 . July 1, 2024 . Pitchfork . en-US.
  10. Web site: Sophia . Gissane . September 19, 2022 . Music Monday: 'Fantastic Mr. Fox' (Original Score) by Alexandre Desplat . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220921060716/https://marvelousgeeksmedia.com/2022/09/19/music-monday-fantastic-mr-fox-original-score-by-alexandre-desplat/ . September 21, 2022 . July 1, 2024 . Marvelous Geeks Media . en-US.
  11. Web site: May 11, 2014 . Various Artists: Fantastic Mr. Fox Soundtrack Review . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220811135854/https://unsungsundays.com/album-reviews/various-artists-fantastic-mr-fox-soundtrack/ . August 11, 2022 . July 1, 2024 . Unsung Sundays . en-CA.
  12. Web site: Bochenski . Matt . October 22, 2014 . Fantastic Mr Fox review – The real Wes Anderson just stood up . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240221173008/https://lwlies.com/reviews/fantastic-mr-fox/ . February 21, 2024 . July 1, 2024 . Little White Lies . en.
  13. Web site: Leader . Michael . October 20, 2009 . Fantastic Mr Fox review . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230924065135/https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/fantastic-mr-fox-review-4/ . September 24, 2023 . July 1, 2024 . Den of Geek . en-US.
  14. Web site: Linden . Sheri . October 14, 2009 . ‘Fantastic Mr. Fox’: Film Review . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220925080152/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/fantastic-mr-fox-review-movie-2009-93658/ . September 25, 2022 . July 1, 2024 . The Hollywood Reporter . en-US.
  15. Young . John . November 15, 2009 . Fantastic Mr. Fox: A toast to stop-motion animation . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20210301005852/https://ew.com/article/2009/11/15/fantastic-mr-fox-2/ . March 1, 2021 . July 1, 2024 . Entertainment Weekly.
  16. Web site: Halligan . Fionnuala . October 29, 2009 . Fantastic Mr Fox . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20130516150511/https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/fantastic-mr-fox/5006827.article . May 16, 2013 . July 1, 2024 . Screen International . en.
  17. Web site: Levin . Robert . November 12, 2009 . Review: Fantastic Mr. Fox . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20180107053825/https://filmschoolrejects.com/review-fantastic-mr-fox-a1257618ed2e/ . January 7, 2018 . July 1, 2024 . Film School Rejects . en-US.
  18. Web site: Desplat . Alexandre . 2009 . Fantastic Mr. Fox (Best Original Score) . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240701095432/https://www.discogs.com/release/3241702-Alexandre-Desplat-Fantastic-Mr-Fox-Best-Original-Score . July 1, 2024 . July 1, 2024 . . Fox Film Corporation.
  19. Alexandre Desplat . Fantastic Mr. Fox (Original Soundtrack) . ABKCO.
  20. Web site: Nominees & Winners for the 82nd Academy Awards . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20100411210003/http://www.oscars.org/awards/academyawards/82/nominees.html . April 11, 2010 . April 30, 2010 . Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
  21. Web site: January 21, 2010 . BAFTA Winners 2010 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20100228014651/http://www.bafta.org/awards/film/film-awards-nominations,949,BA.html . February 28, 2010 . February 21, 2010 . . British Academy of Film and Television Arts.
  22. Web site: Knegt . Peter . December 16, 2009 . "Wild Things" and "Air" Lead Chicago Critics' Nominations . https://web.archive.org/web/20120229022952/https://www.indiewire.com/article/wild_things_and_air_lead_chicago_criticss_nominations . February 29, 2012 . December 19, 2014 . IndieWire.
  23. News: Maxwell . Erin . December 16, 2009 . Chicago critics high on 'Air,' 'Wild Things': Pic each nab six noms from CFCA . https://web.archive.org/web/20160214161649/https://www.variety.com/article/VR1118012826.html?categoryId=1985&cs=1 . February 14, 2016 . December 16, 2009 . . Reed Business Information.
  24. Web site: Leydon . Joe . December 19, 2009 . Houston critics salute 'Locker' . live . https://archive.today/20130105060636/http://www.variety.com/awardcentral/?layout=awardcentral&jump=news&articleid=VR1118012982 . January 5, 2013 . July 17, 2010 . . Reed Business Information.
  25. News: Dansby . Andrew . December 18, 2009 . Houston film critics announcing awards Saturday . https://web.archive.org/web/20100117055444/https://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/features/6777745.html . January 17, 2010 . December 15, 2010 . Houston Chronicle.
  26. Web site: . 2010 . 2008 IFMCA Awards . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20111114141019/http://filmmusiccritics.org/awards-archive/2009-ifmca-awards/ . November 14, 2011 . May 1, 2020 . IFMCA . IFMCA.
  27. Web site: Pond, Steve . January 29, 2010 . Michael Giacchino Leads Film Score Nominations . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20210618041205/https://www.thewrap.com/michael-giacchino-leads-film-score-nominations-13687/ . June 18, 2021 . May 1, 2020 . . The Wrap News Inc..
  28. Web site: Hernandez . Eugene . 13 December 2009 . "Hurt Locker" Tops LA Critics Awards . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20160910162942/http://www.indiewire.com/2009/12/hurt-locker-tops-la-critics-awards-55623/ . 10 September 2016 . 28 December 2017 . IndieWire.
  29. Web site: 35th Annual Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20130706032417/http://www.lafca.net/years/2009.html . July 6, 2013 . May 5, 2010 . Los Angeles Film Critics Association.
  30. Web site: OFCS Governing Committee . January 6, 2010 . Online Film Critics Awards 2009 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110722174721/http://www.ofcs.org/2010/01/hurt-locker-named-best-picture-of-2009.html . July 22, 2011 . March 30, 2010 . Online Film Critics Society.
  31. Web site: San Diego Film Critics Society 2009 Awards . dead . https://archive.today/20120630154101/http://sdfcs.org/?page_id=19 . June 30, 2012 . January 31, 2010 . San Diego Film Critics Society.
  32. Web site: World Soundtrack Academy 2010 . dead . https://archive.today/20130619205923/http://www.worldsoundtrackacademy.com/awards2.cgi?go=history&category=&year=2010&type= . June 19, 2013 . June 12, 2013 . . mdy-all.
  33. Web site: 23 October 2013 . Alexandre Desplat wins Award for Film Composer and Best Film Score of the Year . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20170109024259/http://www.worldsoundtrackacademy.com/en/music-blog/alexandre-desplat-wins-award-for-film-composer-and-best-film-score-of-the-year/23-10-2010/1199 . 9 January 2017 . 11 December 2013 . World Soundtrack Academy.
  34. Web site: March 23, 2010 . Fantastic Mr. Foxs Oscar Nominated Score |url=https://www.abkco.com/news-feed/fantastic-mr-foxs-oscar-nominated-score/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201021102732/https://www.abkco.com/news-feed/fantastic-mr-foxs-oscar-nominated-score/ |archive-date=October 21, 2020 |access-date=July 1, 2024 |publisher=ABKCO}}

    Personnel

    Credits adapted from liner notes[19]

    • Music composed and produced by – Alexandre Desplat
    • Soundtrack producer – Randall Poster, Wes Anderson
    • Recording – Andrew Dudman, Peter Cobbin, Sam Ockell
    • Mixing – Andrew Dudman
    • Mastering – Greg Calbi
    • Score editor – Peter Clarke
    • Supervising score editor – Gerard McCann
    • Music co-ordinator – Jim Dunbar, Xavier Forcioli
    Orchestra
    • Orchestration – Alexandre Desplat, Jean-Pascal Beintus, Marie-Christine Desplat
    • Conductor – Alexandre Desplat
    • Orchestra contractor – Isobel Griffiths
    • Assistant orchestra contractor – Lucy Whalley
    • Copyist – Claude Romano, Norbert Vergonjanne
    • Pro-tools operator – Andy Kitchen, John Barrett, Tristan Montrocq
    Musicians
    • Banjo – John Parricelli, Nigel Woodhouse
    • Celesta – Dave Arch
    • Double bass – Chris Laurence
    • Drum kit – Ralph Salmins
    • Guitar – John Parricelli, Mitch Dalton, Nigel Woodhouse
    • Jew's Harp, spoons, toy percussion – Paul Clarvis
    • Keyboard percussions – Frank Ricotti
    • Mandolin – John Parricelli, Alison Stephens
    • Recorder – Helen Keen
    • Piccolo trumpet – Maurice Murphy
    • Recorder – Annabel Knight, Jill Kemp, Piers Adams, Helen Keen
    • Timpani – Tristan Fry
    • Ukulele – John Parricelli
    • Vocals – Felix Wareing
    Management
    • Music production co-ordinator – Teri Landi
    • Music business and legal affairs – Peter Howard
    • Music licensing and clearance – Jessica Dolinger, Sara Matarazzo
    • Executive in charge of marketing and promotion – Iris Keitel
    • Executive in charge of sales – Joe Parker
    • Executive in charge of soundtracks – Alisa Coleman
    • Marketing and promotion – Michael Kirk, Tracey Jordan
    Cover artwork
    • Packaging and design – Brian Fitzpatrick, Mike Heinzer
    • Liner notes – Wes Anderson

    Accolades

    AwardDate of ceremonyCategoryRecipientsResult
    Academy AwardsMarch 7, 2010Best Original ScoreAlexandre Desplat[20]
    British Academy Film AwardsFebruary 15, 2010Best Original MusicAlexandre Desplat[21]
    Chicago Film Critics AssociationDecember 21, 2009Best Original ScoreAlexandre Desplat[22]
    [23]
    Houston Film Critics SocietyDecember 19, 2009Best Original ScoreAlexandre Desplat[24]
    [25]
    Best Original Song"Fantastic Mr. Fox AKA Petey's Song" — Jarvis Cocker, Noah Baumbach and Wes Anderson
    International Film Music Critics AssociationDecember 14, 2009Best Original Score for an Animated FilmAlexandre Desplat[26]
    [27]
    Los Angeles Film Critics AssociationDecember 14, 2009Best MusicAlexandre Desplat[28]
    [29]
    Online Film Critics SocietyJanuary 5, 2010Best Original ScoreAlexandre Desplat[30]
    San Diego Film Critics SocietyDecember 15, 2009San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Original Score Best Original ScoreAlexandre Desplat[31]
    World Soundtrack AwardsOctober 23, 2010Film Score of the YearAlexandre Desplat[32]
    [33]
    Soundtrack Composer of the YearAlexandre Desplat

    References

    ]

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