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Since its release in 1970, generations of children and then subsequent adults have come to fall in love Roald Dahl's Fantastic Mr Fox. Thus the idea of this beloved book finally making it to the big screen filled many with joy and wondrous expectation – only this isn't Dahl's book, but rather a disappointing interpretation by director Wes Anderson.

Mr Fox (Clooney) likes stealing poultry. He doesn't need to – because he buys all his food from the supermarket – but he wants to, until his pregnant wife (Streep) forces him to give up the game and become a responsible father. 12 fox years later, the thrill of the chase comes back to haunt him and despite working as a newspaper man (what?!) he succumbs to temptation and decides to organise one last steal. Assisted by his friend Kylie, he breaks into the stores houses of Boggis, Bunce and Bean - three of the meanest but most successful farmers in the town. But soon the farmers realise there's a fox in their midst and they declare an all out war on him and his family. With the help of their combined employees, the farmers put Mr Fox's home under siege and capture his nephew Kristofferson. However Mr Fox is smarter than they think and with the help of Badger (Murray) and his almost estranged son Ash, he conjures up a plan to prove just how fantastic he really is.

Upon re-reading the original story you realise that the film version would need bulking up, in order for it to be: 1. longer than half an hour; and 2. engage the new YouTube generation who may be unfamiliar with the original. However, the direction Anderson takes and the additional sub plots he has created seem to contradict the original spirit of the story. The Mr Fox of the film seems to be motivated by a desire to always remain young and sacrifices his family – in particular the relationship with his son – to satisfy some midlife crisis. Also the book makes it quite clear that the only reason Mr Fox steals is to feed his family who would otherwise starve to death. However in this version Mr Fox steals because he can and he craves the wild fox within that has now been tamed. He and his family don't need the stolen poultry and cider and could just as easily buy them from the local Tesco. You thus lose sympathy for the character and he comes across as selfish and just a bit arrogant.  

One thing Fantastic Mr Fox does do well is appeal to both adults and children and the script is full of references to modern culture, Freudian theories on Father/son relationships and the overall tone of the film is one of wit and humour. This will thus keep the parents entertained while the children enjoy the first class animation and Anderson almost psychotic attention to detail.

It was never going to be easy to adapt such a popular children's book for the big screen and while Anderson hasn't failed at the task he hasn't unanimously succeeded either. Millions of adults the world over have incredibly fond memories of reading Roald Dahl and thus changing the story to such a degree inevitably doesn't please everyone.