Which Wes Anderson film was his first stop-motion feature?

Fantastic Mr. Fox was Wes Anderson’s first stop-motion feature film.

Released in 2009, the movie adapts Roald Dahl’s 1970 children’s novel Fantastic Mr Fox. The story follows Mr. Fox as he returns to stealing from three farmers, Boggis, Bunce, and Bean, despite promising his wife that he will live a safer life.

George Clooney voices Mr. Fox, while Meryl Streep voices Mrs. Fox. The cast also includes Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, Willem Dafoe, and Michael Gambon. Anderson co-wrote the screenplay with Noah Baumbach, adapting Dahl’s compact story into a larger family adventure.

The film was made with hand-operated puppets and miniature sets rather than computer-generated animation. Its visible fur, replacement facial elements, and carefully controlled movements are part of its visual identity. Anderson later made another stop-motion feature, Isle of Dogs, but Fantastic Mr. Fox came first and introduced this animation method into his filmography.