Wes Anderson: Absentee Director

Fur flies on 'Mr. Fox' -- latimes.com

Posted using ShareThis

Toy OTD: Robert Harrop's Roald Dahl Collection Figurine: Willy Wonka

I'm sure every toy fan has a favorite artist that they would love to see in toy form, but believe that the artist's drawing style is impossible to sculpt. That's how I felt about Quentin Blake. I love his drawings, but I didn't think you could really sculpt well from them. Case in point: here's Mr. Blake's version of Willy Wonka (left). There's not a lot of form there, right? Don't get me wrong, it's an awesome drawing, but at best there'd have to be a lot of interpretation by the sculptor in order to make it work:

It's always great to be proven wrong with a nice-looking statuette! Robert Harrop Designs, Ltd. is a large figurine concern in the UK, and their products run the gamut from tacky to wonderful. Some time ago, RHD produced a line of figurines based Mr. Blake's illustations from some of the Roald Dahl books. Check out what one of their sculptors has done with the Wonka drawings...

Great, huh? Granted, the hair is a little less bristly, and the colors are darker, but overall it really captures the flavor of the original artwork. The posing is lively, the paint work is quite tight for a ceramic piece, and the base is cleverly incorporated into the overall concept. No logos or branding, either!

It's been a while since I bought this figure, so I don't remember the packaging very well - I think it was a similar style to the Walt Disney Classics Collection boxes - good, but not much in the way of theming.

You can still buy this figurine at the the Roald Dahl Museum and Story Center's online store for £24.50 + shipping (about $36.35 + shipping USD). Happy shopping!

Wes Anderson Turns To Animation

MTV MOVIES BLOG: Wes Anderson Enlists Bill Murray For ‘The Fantastic Mr. Fox’
Published by Josh Horowitz on Wednesday, September 26, 2007 at 7:04 pm.

It will be five films in a row for the collaboration that is Wes Anderson and Bill Murray. I talked to Anderson about his upcoming animated flick based on the Roald Dahl story and he confirmed his voice cast. “George Clooney is going to be Mr. Fox. Bill Murray has a part. Jason [Schwartzman] is doing a voice. That’s our team,” he told me.

But don’t line up at the multiplex just yet…this one is still a long ways off. “It will take a couple years to do the animating,” said “The Darjeeling Limited” helmer, adding that they are about to record the voices. As for the animation, “It’s stop-motion. It’s like ‘Nightmare Before Christmas’ or those Christmas specials. These [characters] have fur, so it’s not like claymation.”

It sounds like Anderson will make this one quite unique (big surprise). “The settings will be very natural. We want to use real trees and real sand, but it’s all miniature,” he said.

*************************************************************************************
I haven't liked a Wes Anderson film since "Bottle Rocket", so I'm not thrilled about this news. It's hard for me to see how Anderson's chilly storytelling will mesh with the content and the new-to-him medium. I remember liking the book, but I'm not even sure how well it'll adapt to film - I'll have to read it again.