Charming and unoffensive, The Big Bad Fox and Other Tales plays it safe for television distribution

Back in 2013, while Disney’s Frozen took the world by perpetual snowstorm, French animation studio Folivari quietly released a film entitled Ernest et Celestine.  Based on a children’s book by Gabrielle Vincent, Ernest et Celestine follows the friendship in crime between a bear and a mouse in a charming story that went on to receive critical acclaim and a nomination at the American Academy Awards for Best Animated Feature.  Lifted by fluid traditional animation, an adorable cast, and an inspiring message, Ernest et Celestine raised Folivari to an international market with a formidable audience in children’s film.

With its newest project, the animation studio and its returning director Benjamin Renner seem to have taken a step back.  Intentionally made for television and already acquired by Studiocanal for French distribution, The Big Bad Fox & Other Tales (Le Grand Méchant Renard et autres contes), has debuted in safe waters.  To that same extent, the film’s narrative is as unoffensive as it is simple, despite the potential it had to further expand on traditional animation and storytelling.

The Big Bad Fox is set up as a frame story in three parts; a group of farm animals are professional actors in theatre, putting on a show for the audience.  Using this narrative, they tell three short stories.  The first, A Baby to Deliver, tells the story of a Pig who unfortunately receives a baby from a Stork who refuses to do his job.  Partnered with an incompetent pair of a Duck and a Rabbit, he must deliver the baby to Avignon, hopefully without killing it.  The second story is The Big Bad Fox, which follows the eponymous Fox as he tries to steal chickens to feed himself and his malevolent friend Wolf.  Since eggs are easier to steal, he decides to steal them and raise the chickens as his own to eat, with hilarious results.  The final story is titled Saving Christmas, which returns the audience to the trio of Pig, Duck, and Rabbit.  The latter two, believing that they have killed Santa, decide that they must deliver the presents themselves, no matter what Pig does to try and convince them to stop with their antics.

Between each of these performances, the animals all come together to present the next short story on the stage, cracking jokes and slipping up.  The film is silly, harmless, and has the same charm as Renner’s previous films, thanks in large part to its flawless animation and character design.  The production value is only helped by a superb voice cast, both in French and English, that helps to immerse the audience into the moving pictures.

Despite all of this, however, the film lacks substance, and floats on the surface of the themes that it had achieved so strongly with Ernest et Celestine.  It’s hard not to compare the two, as the earlier film had relished in its own chaotic charm throughout its narrative.  It also remained consistent, and it set a standard for the studio that one could only hope to see again.  That being said, The Big Bad Fox was made specifically for television.  Renner never had the intention for large theatrical release, and perhaps that can explain some of the lapses in this newest film that are found predominantly in the frame narrative.

The idea of the animals being actors presenting these short stories is hilarious, in a good way.  The Fox doubles as the main presenter of the stories as well, and the writing for the film highlights the differences between the actor and the roles he plays.  There is a palpable confidence that appears when the Fox plays his character, but as the host he has a nervous energy that just begs for approval.  It only adds to the charm and depth of these characters, and at some points adds an extra bit of humor.

For example, the Stork is seen as a traditional, egotistical Shakespearian actor, and it shows as he plays his character.  With bombast pronunciation and a deep, booming voice, he dominates the stage during his performance.  However, in the frame narrative between the shows, the Stork asks the audience if they enjoyed his performance.  “Unlike these other actors, I am classically trained!  You should come see my performance in-“ he declares before he is tugged off the stage.  It’s amusing, with a smart humor that takes advantage of the film’s premise.

Unfortunately, The Big Bad Fox doesn’t do this enough.  Instead, the intermissions become shorter and shorter, with the finale being a single sentence before the curtain call.  In fact, by the end of the film, there is little justification for the frame narrative at all; the stories, despite having the same characters, feel like isolated episodes in Renner’s own creation.

Given the irresistible charm of Ernest et Celestine, there is no disappointment to be found in the style and humor of The Big Bad Fox.  However, there is little keeping this film afloat except for this charm, and it’s clear that it’s not looking for that praise either.  With The Big Bad Fox, Renner presents an inoffensive, cute, and ultimately harmless animated storybook, which, while perhaps not captivating enough for a theatrical release, is perfect for the television release it was intended for.  In the future, one can only hope for another powerhouse from Folivari.

The Big Bad Fox & Other Tales

Directors Benjamin Renner, Patrick Imbert

Writers Jean Regnaud, Benjamin Renner

Stars Guillaume Dernault, Guillaume Bouchede, Jules Bienvenu
Producers Folivari

Running Time 1h 19

Genre Animation