Panida features Fantastic Mr. Fox as part of Wes Anderson series
January 10, 2026
By Zach Hagadone Reader Staff
Few authors’ works cry out more loudly for film adaptation than Roald Dahl’s, and few directors are more suited to the task than Wes Anderson.
The auteur made his animation debut in 2009 with Fantastic Mr. Fox, a stop-motion adventure comedy based on Dahl’s 1970 novel of the same name. Featuring the voice talents of George Clooney as the titular Mr. Fox, Meryl Streep as Mrs. Felicity Fox, Jason Schwartzman as their son Ash and a stable of other Andersonian actors including Bill Murray, Owen Wilson and Willem Dafoe, it’s as pleasurable to look at as it is expertly paced and faithful to Dahl’s signature wit.
Nominated for two Oscars in 2010 — including Best Original Score and Best Animated Feature Film — Fantastic Mr. Fox will screen Saturday, Jan. 10 as part of a Wes Anderson series at the Panida Theater (300 N. First Ave.). Tickets are $5 and available at the door or panida.org.
Courtesy photo
Those familiar with Dahl’s source material will recognize the basic plot, though charmed with the visual and dramatic twists supplied by Anderson.
Basically, it’s the tale of crafty but somewhat flighty and often unreliable Mr. Fox, who goes back on a promise to Mrs. Fox — and against the advice of his lawyer, Mr. Badger (Murray) — that he’ll refrain from filching food and beverages from their odious neighbors, the farmers Boggis, Bunce and Bean.
His thievery does not go unnoticed, as Boggis, Bunce and Bean join forces to run Mr. Fox to ground. The full-scale agricultural conflict ensnares not just the Fox family — including Mrs. Fox’s nephew, whose temporary residence spurs its own bitter cousin-rivalry with Ash — but all the other animals of the area, who must unite to defeat the gruesome trio of farmers.
Sponsored by La Chic Boutique and the Pend d’Oreille Winery, the Anderson series will also feature an art and fashion show Jan. 10 presented by the art students of Sandpoint High School.
Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and the screening starts at 7 p.m.
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Filmmaker Jimmy Matlosz of the Idaho Film Company has made a series of mini documentaries about influential Sandpoint locals, including the late Dann Hall and Erik Daarstad as well as icons Diane Michaels and Dan Shook. He is currently working on a series of interviews connected to the history of the Panida Theater. Jimmy is a 30-year veteran filmmaker who's work can be seen at dpmatlosz.com.
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