The Big Bad Fox – Le grand méchant renard et autres contes… (2017)

Directed by: Patrick Imbert, Benjamin Renner | 83 minutes | animation, adventure | Dutch voice cast: Ruth Beeckmans, Jan Schepens, Gène Bervoets, David Davidse

The children’s book “The Big Bad Fox” has been widely acclaimed, both for its style of prints and for the story. Both elements are well preserved in the adaptation of the book to film.

Three stories are told in ‘The Big Bad Fox’. The first is about a somewhat unexpected collaboration between a duck, a rabbit and a pig who together have to take over the role of the stork and thus deliver a baby. The second story is the namesake of the film and is about the fox, who, despite everything, can’t be big and angry. In the final part, duck and rabbit try to save Christmas.

One story is a bit stronger than the other, but on the whole ‘The big bad fox’ is certainly a success. The film is aimed at young viewers and for them the story is more than easy to follow. Don’t expect too difficult metaphors, because the film manages to strike the right tone to convey the story. Even the younger viewers will understand that they are mainly stories about friendship and (self-) acceptance. So the fox isn’t big and angry at all and that’s okay. His inner struggle is clear enough and of course there are consequences for his bad behavior. The story of saving Christmas is also about accepting the special nature of friends. For example, duck and rabbit are not the smartest characters and they constantly choose the least good option, but as a friend you go along with it.

The danger in these kinds of films is too exaggerated sentimentality and morality: the lessons are then too thick on top. This is where ‘The big bad fox’ knows how to distinguish itself. It never gets cheap emotionally, but the tone mainly remains sober and constant. The moral is in line with the way of telling and that makes the viewer feel taken seriously.

The other strong point, besides the stories, is the way of drawing. ‘The big bad fox’ has adopted the style of the books and watching the film feels like reading a picture book. They are static backgrounds with moving characters and therefore the emphasis is mainly on the characters. This also ties in with the fact that the stories are presented as plays, because around the stories the audience is literally in a stage setting.

All these factors make the 82 minutes that this film lasts a nice whole of fun stories and beautiful animations that are not only fun to watch for the very young. Despite the Christmas character, ‘The big bad fox’ can also be watched at other times.