"Fantastic Mr. Fox" to bow at London Film Festival

LONDON (Hollywood Reporter) - Wes Anderson's first animated film, "Fantastic Mr. Fox," will receive its world premiere as the opening-night selection of the Times BFI London Film Festival.

Based on the best-selling children's book by British author Roald Dahl, the movie, which Anderson co-wrote with Noah Baumbach, uses classic handmade stop-motion techniques.

The voice cast includes George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, Wally Wolodarsky, Eric Anderson, Michael Gambon, Willem Dafoe, Owen Wilson, Jarvis Cocker and Helen McCrory.

Mr. and Mrs. Fox (Clooney and Streep) live an idyllic life with their son, Ash (Schwartzman), and visiting young nephew, Kristopherson (Eric Anderson). But after 12 years, the bucolic existence proves too much for Mr. Fox's wild animal instincts, and he soon slips back into his old ways as a sneaky chicken thief, landing him and his family in a lot of trouble.

The film was shot at London's Three Mills Studios. Twentieth Century Fox plans to roll out the film in the UK in October and the following month in the U.S.

The London Film Festival runs October 14 through 29.

(Editing by Sheri Linden at Reuters)