FANTASTIC MR. FOX and WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE international voice casting notes
It’s nifty French movie info day at GATW! Well, maybe not for all of GATW, but for your erstwhile West Coast Editor (moi!), it certainly is. The Playlist has got a double header of international voice casting news for two of this year’s most exciting releases – FANTASTIC MR. FOX and WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE, specifically related to the upcoming French releases for both films.
Both MR. FOX and WILD THINGS benefited from exciting and different voice casting. Jason Schwartzman’s performance in MR. FOX as young Ash Fox particularly enthralled me (hell, Ash Fox in general enthralled me). And, hearing Schwartzman talk (at a Q&A a few weeks ago) about his experience with recording for MR. FOX made the whole thing even more magical and engaging. Very long story short (Jason does have a tendency to tell long stories, as enjoyable at they may be), Wes Anderson’s mighty voice cast recorded in very nontraditional ways – they did not do it separately in a recording booth, they did it together, and hands on. For instance, if a scene took place outside, they all went outside. If characters were conversing with each other, their voices were recorded in conversation, not just as one-sided bits. I hope that at least part of this style will be retained for the French versions, but we’ll just have to see.
The first voice casting news for FANTASTIC MR. FOX is for the parts of our FOX-y main couple, Mr. and Mrs. Fox. George Clooney’s role as our titular fantastic fox will be voiced in French by Mathieu Amalric (THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERLY), while Meryl Streep’s Felicity Fox will go to Isabelle Huppert (I HEART HUCKABEES). No word yet on who will play my beloved Ash or Kristofferson.
Spike Jonze’s WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE is also going to get French voice work for its release. ANTICHRIST’s Charlotte Gainsbourg is the first announced cast member, and she will be voicing KW (Lauren Ambrose in the English-speaking release). This seems like a fine choice for a French take on the slightly moody and overwhelmingly ennui-tastic bent that Ambrose used in her original work. No other casting information for the rest of the WILD THINGS was yet available.
FANTASTIC MR. FOX will be released in France on February 17. WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE is slated for a December 16 release in the land of baguettes and bouche de Noels.
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