Alexandre Desplat composed his first of several Wes Anderson film scores for Fantastic Mr. Fox. This marked the first time that either Desplat or Anderson had worked on an animated movie, but if the universal critical acclaim is anything to go by, they both proved to have a natural talent for the medium.
Desplat was nominated for an Oscar for the original music he composed for Fantastic Mr. Fox. But the movie’s soundtrack also contains plenty of Anderson’s signature needle-drops – including three songs by the Beach Boys.
“The Ballad Of Davy Crockett” By The Wellingtons
The Wellingtons’ “The Ballad of Davy Crockett” is the first song that plays on the Fantastic Mr. Fox soundtrack. It plays over the beautiful opening shot of Mr. Fox standing at the top of a hill.
This quiet opening scene sets the perfect tone for the movie and establishes the casual, laidback approach that Anderson takes with the storytelling.
“Heroes And Villains” By The Beach Boys
Anderson’s soundtracks tend to focus on one artist above all the others. The Darjeeling Limited has a bunch of Kinks songs, The Life Aquatic has a bunch of David Bowie songs (including some Portuguese-language covers), and Fantastic Mr. Fox has a bunch of Beach Boys songs.
The first of a few Beach Boys songs on the soundtrack, “Heroes and Villains,” plays near the beginning of the movie when Mr. and Mrs. Fox sneak onto a squab farm and get caught. Mrs. Fox reveals she’s pregnant and makes Mr. Fox promise to give up his life of crime if they make it out of the farm alive – but that turns out to be easier said than done.
“Love” By Nancy Adams
After Mr. Fox has settled into a mundane life as a newspaper reporter and left his thieving days behind him, he initially enjoys his tranquil new existence.
As his son Ash and his nephew Kristofferson are playing in the pool, Mr. Fox lies under a tree and eats an apple. The happiness of suburban family life is reflected in Nancy Adams’ “Love” on the soundtrack.
“Petey’s Song” By Jarvis Cocker
Petey is a minor but memorable character in Fantastic Mr. Fox. He’s a singer-songwriter clearly based on Jarvis Cocker, who provided his voice. In one scene, Petey improvises a song about Mr. Fox around a campfire.
Bean asks what he’s singing and Petey explains, “I just kind of made it up as I went along, really.” Bean quips, “That’s just weak songwriting! You wrote a bad song, Petey!”
“Ol’ Man River” By The Beach Boys
After “Heroes and Villains” gets Anderson’s Beach Boys playlist off to a strong start, he closes it out with “Ol’ Man River.” As the animals settle into their new lives, the camera pans around their rooms to show the audience where they ended up.
Mr. Fox gathers his family for a sweet surprise. He takes them back up to the surface, where he’s found a way into a supermarket full of produce and juice boxes.
“Night And Day” By Art Tatum
When Badger sets up a refugee camp for the survivors of the farmers’ attack, the animals band together to prepare a festive dinner. Art Tatum’s “Night and Day” plays on the soundtrack.
“Night and Day” sets the right emotional tone for this scene. Morale is low. Everybody is mad at Mr. Fox for endangering their lives – especially his wife, who made him promise never to commit another crime.
“Horn Concerto No. 4 In E Flat Major” By Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Tired of his mundane life, Mr. Fox decides to return to his old criminal ways against his wife’s wishes. He teams up with Kylie to rob all the local farmers in quick succession.
As Mr. Fox and Kylie are breaking into Bunce’s smokehouse, Bunce sits in his surveillance room, completely unaware of the break-in. The Mozart classic “Horn Concerto No. 4 in E Flat Major” creates a hilarious juxtaposition on the soundtrack.
“Street Fighting Man” By The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones have been featured in a bunch of Anderson’s soundtracks. Anderson is as prolific a Stones fan as Martin Scorsese. “2000 Man” was in Bottle Rocket, “I Am Waiting” was in The Royal Tenenbaums, “Play with Fire” was in The Darjeeling Limited, and “Street Fighting Man” was in Fantastic Mr. Fox.
After Boggis, Bunce, and Bean realize they’ve been robbed by Mr. Fox and figure out the tree where he lives, they show up with diggers, forcing the Fox family to flee further underground.
“I Get Around” By The Beach Boys
In between “Heroes and Villains” at the beginning of the movie and “Ol’ Man River” at the end of the movie, Anderson plays a third Beach Boys song in the middle of Fantastic Mr. Fox.
As Mr. Fox plans his final stand against the farmers based on all his friends and family’s hidden talents, “I Get Around” plays on the soundtrack.
“Let Her Dance” By The Bobby Fuller Four
After putting his family through the wringer, Mr. Fox earns redemption by the end of the movie by finding them a new home underneath a supermarket. He takes his family up to the supermarket, where they toast their victory with juice boxes.
Ash compliments Mr. Fox’s toast before the Bobby Fuller Four’s “Let Her Dance” kicks in and the characters start dancing. This ends the movie on a delightfully uplifting note.
