Can you guess the movie from its first and last shot?
The answer (and some Oscar talk) is after the jump...
Yes, it's Wes Anderson's twice Oscar-nominated The Fantastic Mr Fox (2009). I've fallen back in love with Wes Anderson this year. Asteroid City (2023) was a delight and during my trip to Italy earlier this month, we visited a enormous exhibit for the film at the Fondazione Prada in Milan. All that and The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar (2023) proved a surprise and tasty dessert upon my return. I haven't watched all of the four Anderson does Dahl shorts yet, have you? This one two punch from 2023 almost makes me want to revisit his whole career chronologically.
As for the 2009 Oscar race for Best Animated Feature. The lineup was underappreciated at the time but has aged well. Of course Pixar won again (and at the time I was rooting for Up, too) but in hindsight the win is semi-agonizing as it was the first nomination for two of the very best animation studios Cartoon Saloon (The Secret of Kells) and Laika (Coraline) and neither studio has ever managed to get around the constantly-winning behemoth Mouse House for the gold Fantastic Mr Fox would have also made a worthy winner. The fifth nominee was Disney's The Princess and the Frog which is also important historically as the studio's last 2D animated feature. Which would you have voted for?