Genre
Adventure, Magical Realism
Setting and Context
Near the present day, in the British countryside. Most of the story takes place on farms or underground.
Narrator and Point of View
The narrator is an unseen character, as the book is relayed in the third person. This allows both inner thought and outside speech to be observed by the reader.
Tone and Mood
Humorous, exciting, whimsical
Protagonist and Antagonist
Mr. Fox is the protagonist, and he is on a quest to embarrass the farmers and provide for his family. Boggis, Bunce, and Bean are the antagonists. They are all farmers, whose greed makes them want to kill Mr. Fox.
Major Conflict
Fox is trying to steal food from the farmers to feed his family and friends. The farmers are fed up with this and hatch a plot to capture and kill Mr. Fox.
Climax
The three farmers dig up Mr. Fox’s burrow with an excavator, forcing Mr. Fox and his family to make a daring escape. The trio of farmers then lie in wait for the Fox family, causing a tense standoff.
Foreshadowing
The farmers frequently scheme about capturing Mr. Fox, and this foreshadows their eventual plot. Additionally, their use of excavators and spades foreshadows Mr. Fox's escape underground by burrowing.
Understatement
There are no major understatements in Fantastic Mr. Fox.
Allusions
There are no major allusions in Fantastic Mr. Fox.
Imagery
The imagery of the farmers provides a large amount of humor and insight into the story. Boggis and Bunce are both grotesquely overweight, which represents their gluttony and greed. Conversely, Bean is painfully thin, to represent his miserly personality.
Paradox
The animals in the story are far more human than the humans, who are controlled by an animal greed.
Parallelism
There are many parallels between Fantastic Mr. Fox and other classic underdog stories, such as triumphing in the face of adversity.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
N/A
Personification
The story is filled with personification. Many of the characters are non-human animals. These animals have distinctly human traits, such as the ability to talk fluently, and possess personality traits. They are more human than animal, which is humorous, because the three human farmers can seem animalistic at times.
