The Big Bad Fox and Other Tales (2017)

The eponymous critter takes centre stage as if he were leading a Scaramouche-style commedia dell'arte, the curtains draw back and after a few false starts, we are now in for eighty minutes of family animation that follows the tales of his and his companions. We begin with the weary stork that's fed up flying around trying to deliver a baby and so he deposits it with the fox, the pig, the rabbit and the duck. Can they repatriate the baby with her folks? Chickens? Why not pinch some eggs and let them hatch? Three new friends for our fox - except, well they take to him like he's their mother. Not great for when the real mother comes around to collect her offspring! Finally, Christmas looks doomed. "Santa Claus" isn't able to deliver the gifts and it's down to the intrepidity of the rabbit and the duck to save the day and get the man in red back on course. All of their antics are done amidst a fear of the big bad wolf (usually accompanied by the briefest of musical excerpts from Prokoviev's famous lupine score) which is never far away and always hungry! The animation is simple yet effective and engaging. The characters - usually with huge great eyes - come across amiably presenting a well written series of fun stories that will keep the youngsters at bay whilst we grown ups can enjoy a little of more substance. It's got all the usual messages of integrity, loyalty and teamwork - but those are delivered here in a much more relaxed and entertaining fashion with lots of daftness thrown in for good measure. It might read a bit incongruous, but these stories come across as a little more real than many of their more commercially successful and brash contemporaries, and I really did quite enjoy it - especially the mother hen!