The Fantastic Mr Fox is go at last

After years spent wandering in the tangled undergrowth we like to call Development Hell, the adaptation of Roald Dahl’s The Fantastic Mr Fox is ready to emerge, blinking and scared, into the greenlight of production.

Yes, having already tried to get moving at Sony and falling apart, the film is now ready to get started at 20th Century Fox. Fortunately for Mr Fox, he’s got a quality director attached, as Wes Anderson is still involved.

He’s already written an adaptation of the book with Noah Baumbach, and will start work on the film even as he shoots his next comedy, The Darjeeling Limited.

And The Fantastic Mr Fox will be animated. Anderson plans to use several techniques to bring the story (sly woodland beast battles idiot farmers) to life, including stop-motion.

Fox aims to have the film ready for release by 2008.