Bertille Noël-Bruneau, Isabelle Carré, Kate Winslet

A woman recounts her childhood friendship with a fox as a young girl.

Flixster Users

62% liked it

1,865 ratings

Critics

50% liked it

26 critics

G, 1 hr. 32 min.

Directed by: Luc Jacquet

Release Date: November 28, 2007

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DVD Release Date: April 7, 2009

Stats: 158 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (158)


  • May 26, 2009
    Children will undoubtedly adore the film
  • November 10, 2009
    its so amazing story
  • October 25, 2009
    This movie has a great look to it, made very well, storys not that hot but its worth seeing!
  • September 26, 2009
    "The Fox & the Child" should have been called "The Child and the Fox", because it shows more of the child than the fox, and the whole story is filtered through her own experience, as her adult self does the narration.

    The child in question is a red-haired little girl who wears...( read more) the same purple outfit throughout the film, giving her an almost medieval appearance, and blotting out all references to modern culture and logos. She has the kind of freckled face that is generally used to sell you strawberry-shaped candies or allegedly "natural" foods with 5.8% honey and 3.4% nuts. She is the child of an obviously wealthy family, living in the kind of countryside house generally used to sell you olive oil or other farm products, and she seems to have nature all to herself. Despite the splendour of her surroundings, there is not a single tourist in sight, nor are there any planes in the air, obnoxious teenagers riding cross country motorbikes, or nearby motorways. The only sound of a car you'll ever hear is daddy's as he comes back home in the distance. The girl's parents (heard but not seen) are so permissive and carefree that they let her roam all day in forests inhabited by bears and wolves, and never seem to worry about any human harming her.

    "The Fox & the Child", in other words, in not a nature documentary, it is not about reality: it is a fairy tale, and it has a very sound, if rather unpleasant, moral to deliver. It is almost spielbergian in its efforts to please the crowds, and it even recycles the Gospel borrowings Spielberg made in E.T.

    One of its flaws is that in its focus on the fox, it tends to belittle all other animals, who are either seen as evil predators or rightful preys (not a tear is shed over the mice that get eaten by Mrs fox and her cubs, or for the pigs that seem to have gone into the little girl's sandwiches, and frogs and hedgehogs are objects of derision.) And one thing that is left unexplained is how the little girl recognised "her" fox after months searching for her in vain.

    This said, the film has its touching moments, and even though the moral is a bit bleak and abrupt, it is the most honest aspect of the film, and can teach kids a thing or two about what animals are. However, I think children under five are probably too impressionable for the film, which often features a strong level of threat, and is not always tender with its audience.
  • August 29, 2009
    Free, heart-warming, and magical.
    I cannot get over how absolutely stunning all of the locations are for this movie. It's so mesmerizing and calming. But the story was adorable and I just loved it. Kids would adore this movie, I'm sure. Some said it was a cross between a n...( read more)ature documentary and a fairy tale and I would say that's exactly how it is. It gave me such a nice feeling after watching it and you can't go wrong with that. :) And it being narrated by Kate Winslet was pretty cool too.

    Lovely movie.
  • August 12, 2009
    This is a cute story of a child and a fox but the dialog is minimal and its extremely slow. However, clicks of the fast forward button through the slow bits you have a film that has set the story in gorgeous scenery and a brilliantly captured video of a the fox
  • August 12, 2009
    i didnt like march of the penguins which was directed or produced by the same person although interesting it just wasnt as good as i thought it might be and this is te same altough i love the relatioship and the scenery and the fantastic photography it just isnt my type of movie ...( read more)with nly winslet narrating and all scenes are a child a fox and a wood messing about although cute sweet and aww factor it just wasnt my type of movie and just bored me! If you like those type of movies then you'l love this !
  • August 7, 2009
    Charming and beautiful. A cinematic masterpiece. A superbly shot film with a heart warming story. Truly unique. It was a little slow in some parts but over all this is an enchanted film.
  • June 7, 2009
    (2007 Director: Luc Jacquet)
    ...( read more)ef="http://www.flixster.com">Flixster - Share Movies
  • April 21, 2009
    Wonderful images and sceneries ! Can be abit slow though.

Critic Reviews


August 8, 2008
Nigel Andrews, The Financial Times

There seems no other reason to tell this rambling, glutinous tale - other than for us to go "ooh, aah" at the scenery, the seasons and the melting-eyed close-ups of Reynard the heart-throb. full review

View more Le Renard et l'enfant (The Fox & the Child) reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

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