Line #38 Creator/WesAnderson


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4	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/wesanderson.png]]
5	[[caption-width-right:350:''"I don't think any of us are normal people."'']]
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7	->''"I want to try not to repeat myself. But then I seem to do it continuously in my films. It's not something I make any effort to do. I just want to make films that are personal, but interesting to an audience. I feel I get criticized for style over substance, and for details that get in the way of the characters. But every decision I make is how to bring those characters forward."''
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9	Wesley Wales Anderson (born May 1, 1969) is an American director and filmmaker.
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11	Anderson's films can be generally summarized as weird, quirky and fast-paced comedies loaded with dramatic elements revolving around [[DysfunctionJunction dysfunctional characters]] (usually [[DysfunctionalFamily whole families of them]]), with ParentalAbandonment being a typical theme. His films often utilize [[ProductionPosse the same actors]] and the same techniques, including symmetrical compositions, limited color palettes, the use of wide-angle anamorphic lenses, and sparing but effective use of slow motion, resulting in a distinctive SignatureStyle that makes it [[CreatorThumbprint very clear that you're watching a film by him]].
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13	While Anderson's first films were more grounded in real settings and showcased his artistic sensibilities in a more latent form (understandably so due to relatively smaller budgets and less filmmaking experience), his later career made his name synonymous with ornate, imaginative, and originally designed settings that coincided with increasing levels of precision in his films' cinematography and acting performances.
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15	Frequent collaborators in Anderson's films include Creator/EricChaseAnderson (his kid brother), Creator/SeymourCassel, Creator/BillMurray, [[Music/{{Devo}} Mark Mothersbaugh]], Music/AlexandreDesplat and Creator/OwenWilson (a full list can be found on [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wes_Anderson_filmography#Frequent_collaborators Wikipedia]]).
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17	Creator/MartinScorsese reportedly [[http://www.esquire.com/features/wes-anderson-0300 really likes]] Anderson's work, and even once called him "the next Martin Scorsese." His first eight films are additionally part of Creator/TheCriterionCollection.
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19	He's also not [[Music/NeutralMilkHotel Jeff Mangum]], [[IdenticalStranger believe it or not]], but he is the great-grandnephew of Creator/EdgarRiceBurroughs.
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21	You can now vote for your favourite Wes Anderson flick [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/crowner.php/Sandbox/BestFilmWesAnderson HERE!]]
22	----
23	!!'''Filmography''':
24	[[index]]
25	* ''Film/BottleRocket'' (1996)
26	* ''Film/{{Rushmore}}'' (1998)
27	* ''Film/TheRoyalTenenbaums'' (2001)
28	* ''Film/TheLifeAquaticWithSteveZissou'' (2004)
29	* ''Film/TheDarjeelingLimited'' (2007)
30	** ''Hotel Chevalier'' (2007) - short prequel film with characters from ''The Darjeeling Limited'' that was featured before the film during its theatrical run
31	* ''WesternAnimation/FantasticMrFox'' (2009) - his debut foray into StopMotionAnimation and based on [[Literature/FantasticMrFox the book of the same name]] by Creator/RoaldDahl.
32	* ''Film/MoonriseKingdom'' (2012)
33	* ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b87B7zyucgI Castello Cavalcanti]]'' (2013) - short film about a racecar driver (played by Jason Schwartzman) who crashes in a small Italian village.
34	* ''Film/TheGrandBudapestHotel'' (2014)[[/index]]
35	* ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXLO2dFfwLE Come Together]]'' (2016) - Christmas commercial short film for the brand H&M, starring Creator/AdrienBrody.[[index]]
36	* ''WesternAnimation/IsleOfDogs'' (2018) - his second stop-motion animation film after ''Fantastic Mr. Fox''
37	* ''Film/TheFrenchDispatch'' (2021)
38	* ''Film/AsteroidCity'' (2023)[[/index]]
39	* A series of short films based on short stories by Creator/RoaldDahl, released in 2023 on Creator/{{Netflix}}:
40	[[index]]
41	** ''Film/TheWonderfulStoryOfHenrySugar''
42	** ''Film/{{The Swan\|2023}}''
43	** ''Film/TheRatCatcher''
44	** ''Film/{{Poison\|2023}}''
45	[[/index]]
46	----
47	!!Wes Anderson and his works provide examples of:
48
49	* AllStarCast: Since the 2010s, his films have been ludicrously packed with big names of acting (from his own ProductionPosse and with newcomers each time).
50	* AmbiguousTimePeriod: A lot of Anderson's works feature either retro settings that feel slightly modern or modern settings that feel very retro. Good examples are ''Budapest'', which is primarily set in the 30s but has a number of [[AnachronismStew modern touches]], ''Isle of Dogs'', which takes place [[TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture a few decades into the future]] but with a very {{Dieselpunk}}, {{Zeerust}} aesthetic to it, and ''Mr. Fox'', whose timeline is simply unclear, although it seems like the '60s or '70s.
51	* BittersweetEnding: The main characters of Anderson films usually end the film happier than they started, but still suffering from loss or regret.
52	* TheCaper: Most of Anderson's films involve a plan to steal something, infiltrate somewhere, or escape something.
53	* CentralTheme: Or themes. His films focus on themes of grief, loss, parental abandonment, dysfunctional families, sibling rivalries, unlikely friendships, and love.
54	* TheComicallySerious: One of Anderson's trademarks is putting characters in very absurd, whimsical, or cartoonish surroundings and setting and having them deliver very silly lines in a completely serious and unflinching tone.
55	* CostumePorn: Characters tend to each have their own stylized, colorful, and highly distinguishable costume. By contrast, identical (but still stylized) uniforms are also common. Anderson is sometimes said to treat his characters like dolls.
56	* CreatorThumbprint:
57	** Anderson's films are characterized by a preoccupation (some would say an obsession) with framing his scenes symmetrically and at flat, straight angles. The camera is always oriented at right angles to the action, and he ''never'' uses {{Dutch angle}}s.
58	** Another common trait of Anderson's films is that characters will often look straight into the camera while doing their parts, yet it's not done as an attempt to break the fourth wall but it's just the direction the person happens to be looking at right at that particular moment.
59	* DramaticDeadpan: Despite being in such fanciful, whimsical worlds and having absurd yet revealing lines of dialogue, his characters are performed with the driest of deliveries. Usually PlayedForLaughs and occasionally for [[PlayedForDrama drama.]]
60	* DysfunctionalFamily: Characters typically suffer from an unhappy family life.
61	* EpisodeTitleCard: His films are often divided into chapters.
62	* FatalFlaw: His characters usually have one.
63	* FreezeFrameBonus: Rest assured; if he ever includes something with writing (most often a newspaper), it will always contain legible writing.
64	* FunnyBackgroundEvent: Is known to use this on occasion, particularly during a scene where something important is happening in the foreground.
65	* ImpoverishedPatrician: Many of his characters are from wealthy backgrounds, but lack any real income.
66	* HumansAreFlawed: The theme of most of his stories.
67	* MotorMouth: His characters tend to deliver dialogue very quickly.
68	* ParentalAbandonment: Most of his characters lack parental role models. Their parents are dead or simply distant.
69	* ThePlan: Anderson's characters are as meticulous as he is. Almost every film will feature characters giving very precise instructions or laying out a very detailed plan for the events to follow. In ''Film/BottleRocket'', Dignan's plan maps out the group's entire lives.
70	* ProductionPosse: Anderson has invoked a large and loyal posse of go-to actors who fill out all of his films (including but not limited to Creator/AdrienBrody, Creator/OwenWilson, Creator/BillMurray, Creator/JasonSchwartzman, Creator/WillemDafoe, Creator/TildaSwinton, Creator/SaoirseRonan, Creator/AnjelicaHuston, Creator/BobBalaban, Creator/MathieuAmalric, Creator/LeaSeydoux, Creator/EdwardNorton, Creator/JeffGoldblum Creator/TonyRevolori...). He also tends to collaborate behind the scenes with the same loose group of people as well, including AssociatedComposer Music/AlexandreDesplat.
71	* RealisticDictionIsUnrealistic: Characters in Anderson's films always have perfect diction. They never stutter, repeat themselves, struggle to find a word or pause mid-sentence, and can run through long sections of details without skipping a beat.
72	* RichBoredom: Almost all of his early films focus on the ennui of the wealthy class, usually contrasted by one lower-class go-getter.
73	* SceneryPorn: Anderson's films are all meticulously shot and costumed in a very stylized manner. Critics have described/accused his characters of looking like dolls in a doll house.
74	* ShadesOfConflict: Most of his films are towards GreyAndGrayMorality.
75	** ''WesternAnimation/FantasticMrFox'' and ''Film/TheGrandBudapestHotel'' are closer to BlackAndGrayMorality due to having flawed but endearing heroes and clearcut villains.
76	** ''WesternAnimation/IsleOfDogs'' goes to the traditional BlackAndWhiteMorality. However, it then goes to ''WhiteAndGreyMorality'' later on when [[spoiler:the main antagonist gives away one of his kidneys in order to save his nephew's life, whom he loves dearly]].
77	* SignatureStyle: Very much so, to the point that you can usually figure out he's the director of a film almost instantly. His trademark details include characters speaking directly ahead and positioned in the exact middle of the shot, bright colors, narration, extreme attention to background details, wealthy characters who are extremely dysfunctional at best, actors deliberately understating or delivering silly lines in a completely deadpan way and with little emotion, characters who aren't nearly as smart or impressive as they think they are, use of wide lenses, less than stellar parental figures and a number of actors who reoccur throughout his work.
78	* SlidingScaleOfIdealismVsCynicism: Somewhere in the middle leaning closer to the idealistic side. While his films focus on difficult themes like [[DysfunctionalFamily dysfunctional families]], loss of innocence, grief, adultery, parental abandonment, and sibling rivalry, they also carry a fair amount of heart, whimsy, and comfort.
79	* SmokingIsCool: Most, if not all, of his films to date include at least one character who smokes, or at the very least, develops a smoking habit (Bob from ''Bottle Rocket''; the three central characters from ''Rushmore''; Royal and Margot from ''The Royal Tenenbaums''; Bean from ''Fantastic Mr. Fox''; etc...)
80	* StorybookOpening: Most of his films tend to open/close with a book cover, which suits his literary style of filmmaking.
81	* UnsympatheticComedyProtagonist: Most of the heroes in Anderson's earlier films are examples of this from Max in ''Rushmore'' to Royal in ''The Royal Tenenbaums'' to Steve in ''The Life Aquatic of Steve Zissou'', but averted for his child protagonists in ''Moonrise Kingdom'' and ''The Grand Budapest Hotel.''
82	* WidescreenShot: He's known for using ''very'' wide lenses.

Context Creator / WesAnderson