One cast member I didn't mention above was the soundtrack. If you have ever seen any Wes Anderson films, you know that the music soundtrack is an integral part to the overall essence of the film. His ability to take semi-obscure songs and give them eye-popping moments in his films is a testament to his talent. The way he was able to weave the Who's "A Quick One While He's Away" in Rushmore gripped you in slow motion form and the way he dexterously placed The Rolling Stones "She Smiled Sweetly" in The Royal Tenenbaums made your heart a tad more tender. Up until this moment, I knew of the song from Between the Buttons but I had never really listened to it closely, but Anderson opened my eyes to the song in a light I had never viewed it before. Anderson has collected an cast of actors who regularly appear in his films (Angelica Huston, Owen & Luke Wilson, Bill Murray) and one of the other integral characteristics of his films is the music and The Fantastic Mr. Fox is no different.

Alexandre Desplat scored the film that compliments the aura of the film. "Mr. Fox in the Fields" sounds like it could fit in any Anderson film and there is a sense of Mark Mothersbaugh in its sound (use of string and xylophone). The Wellington's "The Ballad of Davy Crockett" which may seem to be a peculiar inclusion, but the truth is no other song ever written could have captured the quintessence of who Mr. Fox is better than this one. The Beach Boys make a few appearances with "Heroes & Villains" and "Ol' Man River" while the nostalgic whim of Burl Ives voice evokes innocence. Nancy Adams helps define the characters in different ways evoking vivid emotions whether it's love, chance or fear. Jarvis Cocker (who voiced one of the characters) adds a song as well, the side splitting "Fantastic Mr. Fox AKA Petey's Song". Georges Delerue "Le Grand Choral" is an instrumental but one can't help but sense the ambitious nature of the song as it takes you on a sweeping romantic adventure. The Rolling Stones make another appearance in the world of Wes Anderson with the marching and triumphant feeling "Street Fighting Man". The film and soundtrack end on a riotous and upbeat note with The Bobby Fuller Four's "Let Her Dance". The soundtrack houses twenty five tracks in all. These are more than random mixtapes or playlists, but well thought out and executed choices that serve the story of Fantastic Mr. Fox.

Sometimes it's a themed score and another time it's a song plucked from obscurity that Wes Anderson utilizes to flesh these characters and the feel of the film out. On paper some of these choices may appear eccentric at best, but if you have seen the film, you know the wonder they take on in an indescribable manner. Eschewing modern popular music, Anderson's films pull from an eclectic selection of music spanning decades, yet when you hear them assorted and compiled together, they feel completely resounding and relevant. Everyone missed out on the film earlier this year, so be ahead of the curve and nab the soundtrack before the film arrives on DVD later this spring.

Anthony Kuzminski is a Chicago based writer and Special Features Editor for the antiMusic Network and his daily writings can be read at The Screen Door and can be contacted at thescreendoor AT gmail DOT com.