by Joel Bocko
“Fixing a Hole” is a new series on Wonders in the Dark whose sole purpose is to review films that have not yet been covered on that site. The theme for Novembered is “Animated Animals.” Some spoilers are discussed below.
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The Story of the Fox (1937/France/directed by Wladyslaw and Irene Starewicz)
stars the voices of Claude Dauphin, Romain Bouquet, Sylvain Itkine, Marcel Raine
written by Jean Nohain, Antoinette Nordmann, Roger Richebe, Irene Starewicz, Wladyslaw Starewicz from Johann Wolfgang Goethe • photographed by Wladyslaw Starewicz • designed by Wladyslaw Starewicz • music by Vincent Scotto • animated by Wladyslaw and Irene Starewicz
The Story: The royal lion seeks to punish Monsieur Renard (Mr. Fox) for eating his fellow creatures, yet the crafty animal tricks, manipulates, and fights his way out of every scrape.
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“Animated Animals”: you’d be forgiven for picturing cute, wide-eyed little critters wandering through daisy fields and singing happy songs. Not so: this month there’s one cuddly creature (albeit too mute to sing), an amiable buffoon, a murderous yet still sympathetic monster, and then there’s Monsieur Renard (French for “fox”), the eponymous antihero of the brilliant stop-motion feature The Story of the Fox. Crafty, nasty, and carnivorous, Renard may have the least redeeming qualities of all the November beasts; unsurprisingly, he may also be the most human.
Watching as he assaults and semi-cannibalizes his fellow creatures, regarding us every now and then with an ambiguously conspiratorial twinkle in his eye, we titter nervously. We recognize we aren’t really compatriots in crime but rather spectators in a show enacted only for the fox’s own benefit. Renard has the gifted performer’s contempt for the audience – and we’d probably be his next victim were we onscreen ourselves. Not only the fox but his master are winking at us with raw, mischievous relish.
Wladyslaw Starewicz (who co-directed, co-wrote, and co-animated the film with his daughter) had been making tart and witty films about animals since the dawn of the cinema, and his works are a double delight for both eyes and mind. On the one hand, the incredibly charming puppetry – from the amorous insects of his debut The Cameraman’s Revenge to the distinctive devil’s ball sequence full of cavorting toys in The Mascot to the furry and feathered court intrigue of Story of the Fox – has its own distinctive, visceral charms. Somehow, seeing inanimate objects move of their own apparent accord will bring a smile to just about anyone’s face.
And that gleeful grin only spreads when the animals and toys of Starewicz’s world behave in recognizably human ways. Anthropomorphic exercises often tread an uncomfortable line between seeing their characters as human stand-ins and just plain animals. This is especially true when it comes to our heroes’ dietary habits. Story of the Fox faces this conundrum head-on by making its characters recognizably human animals who just happen to inconveniently eat one another.
The cannibalistic overtones, highlighted rather than elided, are even linked to sex: several times, romantic seduction lead not to the bedroom, but the kitchen. The film also bridges the gap between animal and human with cultural overtones – indeed, its types (the dull-witted peasant wolf, the groveling clerical rabbit, the double-talking bureaucratic badger, the preening tomcat minstrel) seem distinctively French, straight out of the tradition of provincial satire.
That said, the auteur was Russian and the finished soundtrack was financed by the Nazi German government. This lends a disturbing tenor to the movie’s nominal message: appease rather than resist your crafty opponents. However, this “if you can’t beat ‘em, have ‘em join you” finale is undercut by another instance of Starewicz’s deliciously saucy and silly humor – the baby fox’s diaper falls down several times, as if exposing this cynical conclusion as another act in the farce that preceded it. Then, quoting another animated animal, the naked little wretch spreads his limbs proudly, like a mini-emperor with no clothes, and bids us farewell: “That’s all, folks!”
“The cannibalistic overtones, highlighted rather than elided, are even linked to sex: several times, romantic seduction lead not to the bedroom, but the kitchen. The film also bridges the gap between animal and human with cultural overtones – indeed, its types (the dull-witted peasant wolf, the groveling clerical rabbit, the double-talking bureaucratic badger, the preening tomcat minstrel) seem distinctively French, straight out of the tradition of provincial satire.”
These are brilliant observations, and this magisterial piece ushers in a unique new series, and a selection that is a stroke of genius to open with, even if, sadly, few have seen it. It rivals THE CAMERAMAN’S REVENGE as it’s creator’s masterpiece. Yes we can be sure that Renard has the “least redeaming qualities” of all the November beasts. Ha! I am already formulating in my head what might be appearing in the series, but what a grand slam to start with for all kinds of reasons.
Yes, the next 3 entries will probably attract more readers, being more well-known, but to be honest this particular film is the reason I chose this month’s theme, it’s just one I wanted to talk about the most (and put up pictures from).
I didn’t mention it in the piece (I did originally, but cut it to keep the essay size down), but the film is obviously a huge influence on Fantastic Mr. Fox, to the point that that film almost feels more like an update of this than an adaptation of the Dahl book.
Another interesting aspect is the 1930/1937 date thing – I know Allan uses the former year, as do most critics and historians, but I go with the second as that’s apparently when the vocal soundtrack was finalized, which feels like an important part of the finished film.
I don’t know what it is about stop-motion but it just brings me instant delight. Something about the way it’s both animation and live-action all at once; I love it.
This sounds fascinating! Just found that this film is on Youtube – I’ll look forward to watching it in the next day or two and then come back to read your review, Joel.
Oh nice! I was wondering about that, I found it through torrents years ago and then was able to get a DVD recently, but this is not an easy film to find – or so I thought.
Hope others check it out as well, and can’t wait to hear your feedback!
I’ve now seen this – very interesting, and your comments add a lot, Joel. The story of how the wolf lost his tail by fishing, which features near the start, is a traditional tale I’ve heard before – I thought it was from Aesop but he has a different story where a wolf loses his tail! However here is a link to various versions of the tail-fishing story:
http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/type0002.html
I don’t recognise the other stories, but they might be traditional too.
The animation seems amazing for the period, though I’ve got to say I found some of the middle sections where they are all sitting around the lion’s court very slow – but it definitely picks up in the battle scene at the end. Your gloss on the nappy falling down is an interesting thought! Thanks for highlighting this rare movie.
You’re welcome, Judy. According to the credits the version of the fables showed here derives from some compilation by Goethe. I recognized some of the roots in Aesop too though. All in all, the storytelling is episodic (with some episodes better than others) but the animation is so entrancing I don’t mind. Glad you enjoyed it!
Thanks for such a great analysis of Starewicz’s film. I was really blown away when I was first introduced to his animations. Never imagined that the person who pioneered the form would also reach such a high level of technical accomplishment.
Yeah, it’s a pity Story of the Fox isn’t more well-known or widely available. Thanks for the comment!