Wes Anderson's Roald Dahl Shorts: Review and Analysis

 

I recently watched Wes Anderson’s collection of 4 short films based on the works of Roald Dahl. They are: The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, The Swan, The Rat Catcher, and Poison. The collection includes a star-studded cast featuring Benedict Cumberbatch, Richard Ayoade, Dev Patel, Rupert Friend, Ben Kingsley, and featuring Ralph Fiennes as Roald Dahl who acts as a connecting point between the films often breaking the fourth wall to add context to the stories.

This collection features many of the staples associated with Wes Anderson’s directing. The character acting is quick-witted and dry. Most of the films are shot in a 4:3 aspect ratio giving it a classic movie feel. Adding to this is Anderson’s insistence on using traditional visual effects such as models and stop motion.

As a stylistic choice the sets are incredibly low budget by film standards, resembling the sets of a live stage performance. The film calls metacontextual reference to this by having the actors act as stagehands, moving sets around and adjusting props. A running gag throughout the films has the protagonists giving stage directions when the stagehands make a mistake.



The dialogue structure is quite abnormal. The protagonists speak as though reading directly from the pages of the original stories even voicing reported speech (I said, I exclaimed, etc.) aloud. Furthermore, the films place an emphasis on characters narrating everything they do. This is necessary given the limited set and prop design. Watching these films feels like watching a collection of audiobooks with added visuals.

While personally, I don’t feel that this collection is Wes Anderson’s best work, particularly compared to his previous Roald Dahl adaptation: Fantastic Mr. Fox. I do think they make for an interesting short-form experiment. These films offer a unique viewing experience which is fun for what it is. However, I could easily imagine it becoming grating in a feature length film as opposed to a collection of shorts. If you like Anderson’s work, I would give these shorts a look.

Have you seen this film? What did you think of it? Tell me in the comments below.

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