Daily Dialogue — September 18, 2018

Mr. Fox on a motorcycle with Ash, Kris, and Kylie speaking to a wolf off on a distant ridge.

Mr. Fox: Where did you come from? What are you doing here? [to the others] I don’t think he speaks English or Latin. [to the wolf] Pensez-vous que l’hiver sera rude? [to the others] I’m asking if he thinks we’re in for a hard winter. [to the wolf] I have a phobia of wolves.

Through all this, the wolf has not responded.

Mr. Fox: What a beautiful creature. [to the others] Wish him luck boys.

— Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009), screenplay by Wes Anderson & Noah Baumbach, novel by Roald Dahl

The Daily Dialogue theme for the week: Wes Anderson.

Trivia: The original story was written at a dark time in Roald Dahl’s life. He had already lost one of his five children to measles and witnessed another one suffer from water on the brain as the result of a car accident. It was only natural that he would be spurred on to write a tale portraying the father as a protector of the family.

Dialogue On Dialogue: Such a lovely moment in the story depicting the momentary connection between Mr. Fox and the other critters, and the magnificent black wolf. This is arguably Wes Anderson’s best movie.