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Jul 15, 2019 Web Exclusive By Austin Trunick

Three charming short tales are brought together under the framework of a stage production put on by a troupe of talking animals in The Big Bad Fox and Other Tales, a new animated feature from the French team behind 2013’s Oscar-nominated Ernest & Celestine. Like its predecessor, Big Bad Fox is drawn with soft lines and colors which wash out along the edges. It’s a cozy style that recalls old-fashioned children’s books, and sitting down to watch the movie can feel like pulling on a warm, comfy sweater. (Think: E.H. Shepard’s original illustrations for Winnie the Pooh.) The movie is delightfully soothing, even in its most manic or madcap moments.

All three stories revolve around the inhabitants of a countryside barnyard. The first tale, “A Baby to Deliver,” involves a stork crash-landing in the area and asking a pig, rabbit, and duck – Moe, Curly, and Larry, to a degree – to take over the delivery of the human baby in its care. The title tale earns the movie’s middle position, about a gentle fox who longs to be as fearsome as the Big Bad Wolf. He takes in a trio of chicks with a design to eat them, but instead becomes their protector. Finally comes “We Must Save Christmas,” which returns viewers to the daft pig-rabbit-duck team of the first short, in which our heroes head off on a quest to save a Christmas that never needed saving in the first place. All three stories are fun, but “The Big Bad Fox” is the best. These were originally conceived as half-hour TV specials, and you can tell: the framing structure feels painted on, and one gets the sense that other stories were potentially planned for this group of characters. Still, what’s here is a lightweight, charming little anthology which will entertain children and their parents alike.

GKIDS’ and Shout! Factory’s Blu-ray release comes with an admirable number of bonus features, including a Making Of, interviews with the filmmakers, and a featurette about the movie’s English voiceover production.

(www.shoutfactory.com/product/the-big-bad-fox-and-other-tales)