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Animals
Mr. Fox
Mr. Fox
"Honey, I am seven non-fox years old. My father died at seven and a half. I don't want to live in a hole anymore, and I'm going to do something about it."
Voiced by: George Clooney
- 10-Minute Retirement: For two years (twelve fox years), Mr. Fox was (moderately) content with his life writing newspaper columns. However, when he decides to move his family to a bigger house and sees the three farms outside his window, he starts stealing livestock again.
- The Ace: He's known as Fantastic Mr. Fox for good reason. The film shows him to be cunning, intelligent, charismatic, a master thief, and, according to Coach Skip, the best athlete in the local school's history — to the point that Ash really shouldn't bother to compare himself to his father. This is Deconstructed, as the film shows that it's impossible for him to live up to his own curated reputation; many (fox) years of trying has only given him severe self-esteem issues, which he passes onto his son.
- Affectionate Nickname: Mrs. Fox and their friends call him "Foxy."
- Alliterative Name: The school's records indicate his name is F.F. Fox.
- Appeal to Inherent Nature: His only half-hearted excuse for his selfish and reckless behaviour endangering his family is the same simple warning he gave to his wife years ago: he's a wild animal.
- Badass Boast: "Your tractors uprooted my tree. Your posse hunted my family. Your gunmen kidnapped my nephew. Your rat insulted my wife — and you shot off my tail. I’m not leaving here without that necktie."
- Character Tics: Whistles and clicks his tongue as his "trademark".
- Cunning Like a Fox: It's downplayed, but he's actually very intelligent. He knows the Latin names of all but one of the main characters' species, speaks at least some French and plans his escapades like a Chess Master.
- Fantastic Foxes: An otherwise normal fox with the ability to talk and walk on two legs.
- Fatal Flaw: His refusal to listen to the advice of others.
- Glasgow Grin: The scar given to him by his wife looks like this in some shots.
- Happily Married: For all the hardships and trouble they have to face, Mr. Fox loves his wife dearly and is willing to do anything for her.
- Heroic Self-Deprecation: He may not look it, but Mr. Fox has self-esteem issues. If he doesn't have everyone thinking he's "fantastic", he feels like there's nothing to him.
- Ink-Suit Actor: Basically George Clooney as a fox.
- It's All About Me: It's no wonder Wes Anderson directed the adaptation; as a character Fox is not unlike many other egotistical antiheroes in Wes Anderson movies, and his character development turns on even being able to admit that he's wrong.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He has a hard time listening to others and has on various occasions gone behind his wife's back to get back into the feel of robbing. However, he loves her and the rest of his family and friends very much and is more than willing to risk his own life to save theirs.
- Loveable Rogue: He’s a thief, but his kind, charismatic personality makes him likable.
- Off the Wagon: Actually stated by Mr. Fox when he's apologizing to his wife about stealing birds again.
- Papa Wolf: He's overall a very mellow guy, but you don't want to mess with his family. When he returns to the sewers and finds Rat trying to kidnap his son, he immediately gives him a vicious fight that ends in his opponent getting electrocuted to death.
- The Promise: Mr. Fox swears to Mrs. Fox that he'll find another line of work if they escape the trap they find themselves in at the movie's start; he ends up breaking it and goes back to stealing farmer livestock.
- Scars Are Forever: Mr Fox's tail becomes detachable, permanently. Also the cut Mrs. Fox gives him that remains throughout the film.
- Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: The Manly Man to Kylie's Sensitive Guy.
- Significant Green-Eyed Redhead: Fox's fur is red so he technically counts for this trope.
- Small Name, Big Ego: He's an local newspaper columnist, and perpetually frustrated that nobody reads his column, and, in general, feels a need to be perceived as "fantastic", or he doesn't feel good about himself, even before he's done anything particularly heroic.
- Too Dumb to Live: Mr. Fox gets carried away sometimes, edging into this trope.
- Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: He has lupophobia (fear of wolves) and gets apprehensive at the mere mention of them.
Mrs. Fox
Mrs. Fox
"If what I think is happening, is happening...it better not be."
Voiced by: Meryl Streep
- Adaptational Personality Change: In the book, Mrs. Fox had no issue with her husband stealing from the three farmers, and in fact was encouraging of it, since the food he brought back was to provide for the whole family. Here, Mrs. Fox immediately tells Mr. Fox that she wants him to find a new line of work the second they get caught in a trap, and in her own words "loses her temper" when she finds out he's been stealing livestock again behind her back.
- All Girls Want Bad Boys: Partly. Though it made her regret marrying him, Felicity can't help falling for his "fantastic" wild animal nature.
- Alliterative Name: Felicity Fox.
- Beware the Nice Ones: She viciously scratches Mr. Fox's face after it's revealed that he lied to her.
- Good Parents: Mrs. Fox is a good mother, handling Ash's moods very well, though she has moments where she must warn Ash to mind his tongue.
- The Conscience: She acts as the voice of reason and conscience to her husband's more reckless ways.
- Mama Bear: When Ash is being kidnapped by Rat, Mrs. Fox shows a courageous motherly attitude, even to the point of using violence to protect her son, if necessary.
- My Girl Is Not a Slut: Heavily implied that before she settled down with Mr. Fox, Mrs. Fox averted this, though the situation is implied to be more complicated.Rat: She was the town tart in her day. Wild and footloose and as pretty as a mink stole...
Kylie: Is that true?
Mr. Fox: No. I mean, she lived, we all lived. It was a different time. Let's not use the double standard. She marched against the-
Kylie: The town tart?
Mr. Fox: Shut up. - Named by the Adaptation: Mrs. Fox has Felicity as her first name in the movie, whereas the book didn't give her one.
- Nice Girl: She is cautious and responsible in her personality.
- One-Track-Minded Artist: All of Mrs. Fox's paintings involve stormy weather (usually lightning, but in one instance a tornado).
- Only Sane Woman: In the opening, Mrs. Fox suggested the smartest routes that would get her and Mr. Fox to the birds faster.
- Smurfette Principle: The only one of the main characters who's a female.
- Stacy's Mom: Some of Ash's classmates have commented on her attractiveness.
Ash Fox
Ash Fox
Voiced by: Jason Schwartzman
- Bratty Half-Pint: To Kristofferson at first, even though Ash is older.
- Character Tics: Twitches his ear and/or spits when aggravated.
- Dude Looks Like a Lady: He wears a feminine sweater and a cape made of lace. Also, when his father is talking about his mother being pregnant with him, Ash awkwardly points out that the baby could have been a girl. He even has markings on his fur that resemble eyeshadow or eyeliner, and when he has a lipstick-looking grape juice smear on his mouth in the ending, he looks completely feminine.
- Emo Teen: Before the Character Development.
- Expressive Ears: His ear wiggles whenever something bothers him.
- Goofy Print Underwear: Wears white underwear with the red dots when he's not wearing his usual cape, pajamas and socks tucked into his pajama pants.
- Green-Eyed Monster: The main reason for his initial dislike of Kristofferson is because he’s taller and more athletic than him, and everyone, including his father, describes him as a natural.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He's not nice to Kristofferson at all and is clearly going through some stuff, but warms up to and apologizes to him at the end.
- Kiai: Ash lets out such noise when he whacks down the handle of the door keeping the rabid dog at bay, setting it free on Bean and his posse.
- Kubrick Stare: He does this at one point in the sewers while Mr. Fox talks to him. It is quite unsettling.
- Named by the Adaptation: In the book, none of Mr. Fox's children ever had names. Here, his one son is named Ash.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Ash's hare-brained scheme to steal his dad's tail back causes Kristofferson to get kidnapped, which only makes things worse when Bean floods the underground area the animals are in with cider to separate them further.
- Pet the Dog:
- When his jerkish behavior towards Kristofferson actually causes him to break down in tears early in the film, Ash gets out of bed and turns on his train set, sitting next to his cousin as they watch it go round and round.
- When Ash later goes to rescue his cousin from Bean's attic during the film's climax, he gives him a genuine apology for his terrible behavior towards him. Kristofferson is genuinely touch.
- Ridiculously Cute Critter: He's one of the cutest characters in the film in spite of his personal problems.
- Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: Zig-Zagged, to say the least. See Kristofferson's folder.
- Super Heroes Wear Capes: His white outfit with a towel cape seems to be based on the White Cape comics he's seen reading.
- Took a Level in Badass: When Mr. Fox is intimidated by Bean's More Dakka, Ash bravely goes out dodging all the bullets with Whack-Bat moves before unleashing the rabid beagle dog against the humans themselves, thus allowing the escape for his dad and the others. It's this particular moment that finally makes his dad openly proud of him.
- The Unfavorite: Ash considers himself this, seeing himself inferior to his athletic and more popular cousin, and his father's attitude towards said cousin doesn't help.
- "Well Done, Son" Guy: All he ever wanted was his father's approval.
- Wholesome Crossdresser: Ash enjoys wearing a feminine wool sweater and a lacy cape.
Kristofferson Silverfox
Kristofferson Silverfox
"I must say, I'm pleased to be invited but I'm not sure I should be doing this, Uncle Foxy."
Voiced by: Eric Chase Anderson
Kristofferson is Mr. Fox's nephew (from his wife's side) and cousin to their son Ash. He stays with his aunt and uncle due to his father having double pneumonia.
- The Ace: To put it simply, he's a natural.
- Compared to his uncle, he almost Reconstructs the trope by showcasing that someone with immense natural talent and charisma can still be kind, modest, and fundamentally good-natured (even if he uses his gifts to semi-reluctantly assist his uncle's thieving escapades). Although, the fact that Kristofferson is almost oblivious to how much better he is than everyone else drives a huge wedge between him and Ash.
- Badass Adorable: It turns out that on top of being a skilled diver, prodigious whackbatter, eligible bachelor, etc. etc., he's also a karate master, as he demonstrates on one of Ash's bullies.
- Big Brother Instinct: Despite being the younger cousin, Kristofferson beats up a bully who was messing with Ash.
- Big Little Brother: Noticeably taller and more mature than his older cousin Ash.
- Brutal Honesty: Tends to do this sometimes.Ash: (After Kristofferson fights off a bully for him) I can fight my own fights.
Kristofferson: ... No, you can't. - Bully Hunter: When one of Ash's classmates starts to make fun of Ash to Kris, Kris warns him off saying he doesn't like bullies. Later, when that bully tries to take his frustrations out on Ash, Kris beats on him until the bully runs off crying.
- Canon Foreigner: Kristofferson never appeared in the book, being created specifically for the movie adaptation.
- Fully-Dressed Cartoon Animal
- Meaningful Name: His last name, "Silverfox", references his gray/silver fur.
- Nice Guy: A consistently polite person, who at one point states he hates being dishonest to people.
- The One Who Wears Shoes: Out of the entire cast, Kristofferson is the only one to wear shoes.
- Pretty Boy: Kristofferson is somewhat like the fox version of this.
- Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: Zig-Zagged like crazy. Ash and Kristofferson practically take turns being the sensitive one to the other's manly man. Kristofferson is a polite, soft-spoken pretty boy, and meditates hours a day, but he also knows karate and he's extremely athletic. On the other hand, Ash is more emotionally delicate, border-line cross-dresses, and is described as "just different", but he also spits constantly, chases Agnes and strives to be the better athlete and earn his father's approval. Character development rounds them both out.
- Waif-Fu: He knows karate and is shown to be very skilled in it, in one instance using it to defend his cousin.
Kylie Sven Opossum
Kylie Sven Opossum
"I don't know what you're talking about, but it sounds illegal."
Voiced by: Wally Wolodarsky
- Canon Foreigner: Kylie never appeared in the book, being created specifically for the movie adapatation.
- Cloudcuckoolander: Perhaps the most blatant example of several.
- Gender-Blender Name: Though almost unheard of as being used for males.
- Hidden Depths: He apparently qualifies for incredible credit scores on his card because of how reliably he pays his bills.
- Misplaced Wildlife: A North American opossum in what appears to be the English countryside.
- Nice Guy: Mr. Fox basically calls this out as his special talent in the "Latin names" scene.
- Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: The Sensitive Guy to Mr. Fox' Manly Man.
- Thousand-Yard Stare: Kylie occasionally goes into some kind of semi-catatonic state when other people are talking to him, signified by his eyes becoming like black-and-white dartboards and his lack of verbal response for a few seconds.Mr. Fox: ...Are you listening to me? I look into your eyes and I can't tell whether you're getting anything I'm saying.
Kylie: (Shrugs slightly) - Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: He admits to having a fear of thunder.
- Wingding Eyes: His eyes become black-and-white dartboards whenever he goes into his semi-catatonic state.
Badger
Patrick Badger
"If you're gonna cuss with somebody, you're not gonna cuss with me, you little cuss!"
Voiced by: Bill Murray
Mr. Fox's attorney, and owner of the flint mine.
- Adaptational Jerkass: In the book, Badger and Mr. Fox were genuinely loyal and friendly to one another for the entire adventure, and never once had ill feelings for one another. Here, Badger is significantly more unpleasant to Mr. Fox for the most part, often putting him down for his poor decisions and at one point getting into an animalistic snarling match with him. That said, they still work together well, and Badger even shows sympathy for Mr. Fox losing his tail.
- Hidden Depths: In Badger's office, he has a picture of a group of badgers in soldier uniform. Badger's skills with explosives might come from this military heritage.
- Mad Bomber: Becomes one during the climax, though he admits to having experience in demolition.
- Mr. Exposition: He gives the description of the main antagonists.
- Pyromaniac: He enthusiastically claims to be an expert in explosives, and he's not wrong.
- Undying Loyalty: He is very loyal to Mr. Fox, who considers him to be his best friend.
- Vitriolic Best Buds: Despite his arguing with Mr. Fox about his reckless behavior, he nonetheless trusts him and they are best friends.
Rat
Rat
"Y'all are trespassin' now. Illegally."
Voiced by: Willem Dafoe
Hired by Bean as his Secret Cider Cellar security guard. Maybe.
- Adaptational Badass: In contrast to his wimpy nature in the book, Rat proves to be one of the best fighters in the entire film, being able to go toe-to-toe with Mr. Fox with a hostage in hand, and is able to push past Stan Weasel and a chain-wielding Mrs. Fox with no trouble at all. The only reason Rat loses both fights he participates in is due to the environment around him.
- Adaptational Villainy: In the novel, Rat is cowardly, ruder and a reclusive drunk. He also had no connections to Bean, other than just living in his cellar. In the film, he and Mr. Fox have history, wields a switchblade and works for Bean as a guard of his cider. Rat is also sexist as he regards Mrs. Fox as the town tart "back in the day". He easily gets past Mrs. Fox and Weasel to kidnap Ash but is stopped by Mr. Fox after putting up a decent fight against him.
- The Alcoholic: Rat ended up getting so addicted to Bean's cider that he decided to take up a job protecting it.
- Badass Fingersnap: He's overly fond of using this to draw attention to himself.
- The Dragon: Fills this role for Boggis, Bunce, and Bean after they flush Mr. Fox and the other animals into the sewers.
- Death by Adaptation: He got away clean in the book, where his last scene is him screeching at Mr. Fox and Mr. Badger for stealing the cider as they leave. The movie gives him a High-Voltage Death while fighting Mr. Fox.
- Death Equals Redemption: Discussed, even though Rat redeemed himself in the end by revealing the location of Kristofferson, his redemption was only seen by a handful of people and everyone else will still see him as the villain because he died before he could fully atone.Mr. Fox: Redemption? Sure. But in the end, he's just another dead rat in a garbage pail behind a Chinese restaurant.
- Evil Sounds Raspy: As is typical for Willem Dafoe.
- Getting High on Their Own Supply: Or in this case, drunk. Rat's Establishing Character Moment has him taking a sip of some of the cider that he's supposed to be guarding, and apparently drank enough of it to degrade his appearance if Mr. Fox's words are anything to go by.
- High-Voltage Death: Rat ends up getting electrocuted while battling Mr. Fox in the sewers. Though he hangs on long enough to taste what he thinks is Bean's finest cider, and to tell Mr. Fox where Kristofferson is being held.
- Hypocrite: In the book, he shrieks at Mr. Fox and Mr. Badger for being thieves and burglars when they steal a few jars of cider, even though he's doing it himself.
- I Work Alone: Unlike the other henchmen the three farmers have, Rat always goes after Mr. Fox and company by himself. Likely justified, as he's the only animal in the film that's in league with Boggis, Bunce, and Bean.
- Loners Are Freaks: In the words of Mrs. Fox, he's a psychotic rat.
- Near-Villain Victory: He likely would've gotten away from the other animals with Ash in tow if Mr. Fox hadn't shown up to confront him.
- Pet Rat: Taken quite literally. Rat gladly serves Bean despite being an animal (and a species that's considered a vermin no less) and the man has even tailored him a "Bean Security" badge for his shirt.
- Rodents of Unusual Size: Given that Rat TOWERS Mr. Fox in height, one must assume that he's an unusually big rat.
- Sinister Switchblade: His weapon of choice.
- Tall, Dark, and Snarky: Rat seems to consider himself this, though how much the third requirement (or the first) actually applies is questionable.
- Verbal Tic: As fond of similes as a pig is fond of mud.
- Would Hurt a Child: Rat's more than willing to kidnap Ash and take him to Boggis, Bunce, and Bean without a second thought.
- You Dirty Rat!
Weasel
Coach Skip
Coach Skip
"Well, you sure as cuss aren't getting any worse."
Voiced by: Owen Wilson
- All There in the Script: His name is only mentioned in the credits, but it can be seen in a name tag he's wearing.
- Fully-Dressed Cartoon Animal: He's dressed as, well, a coach.
- Innocently Insensitive: Unintentionally rubs Kris's natural athleticism in Ash's face when he compares him to Mr. Fox.
- Motor Mouth: While explaining the rules of "Whack Bat".
- What Happened to the Mouse?: Only appears during the Whack Bat scene, and doesn't appear for the rest of the film.
Beaver's son
Beaver's son
"We don't like you, and we hate your dad. Now grab some of that mud, chew it in your mouth and swallow it."
Voiced by: Jeremy Dawson
- The Bully: His role in the movie.
- Fully-Dressed Cartoon Animal: Like nearly every other character, with the only major difference being that he is...
- The One Who Wears Shoes: Unlike almost every other character, who walks around barefoot, he wears shoes to go along with his Whack Bat uniform.
- Unusual Euphemism: He calls Ash a wet sandwich as if it's a common insult.Beaver's Son: Why's your cousin such a wet sandwich?
Kristofferson: I beg your pardon?
Beaver's Son: What's that mean?
Kristofferson: It means I didn't understand what you just said, a wet sandwich?
Beaver's Son: Yeah, a wet sandwich. He's too short, he dresses like a girl, he's...(Gestures his hands) different.
Agnes
Agnes
"We're going steady."
Voiced by: Juman Malouf
A young girl fox in Ash's class. She has a crush on Kristofferson.
- Bad Liar: When Ash sees her holding a sign with a K on it to cheer on Kristofferson, she tries lying that the K stand for “pep”.
- Nice Girl: She has a sweet personality and doesn’t pick on Ash for wearing a cape to school.
- Only Friend: To Ash, before he becomes friends with Kristofferson.
- Puppy Love: Has a pretty blatant crush on Kristofferson, and later admits to Ash that they're "going steady".
- Youthful Freckles: She has spots across her face and neck area.
Rabbit
Rabbit
Voiced by: Mario Batali
- Real Men Love Jesus: Before the rescue mission, he crosses himself and prays in Latin.
- Supreme Chef: He can micromanage a large kitchen with lightning efficiency.
The Wolf
The Wolf
- Dark Is Not Evil: His fur might be black as night, but he has no ill will towards foxes or opossums. In fact, he seems taken aback when Mr. Fox tells him that he's afraid of wolves.
- "Good Luck" Gesture: The Wolf raises one of his front paws in response to Mr. Fox does the same to him.
- Noble Wolf: He never tries to attack Mr. Fox and his crew, and goes on his own path after a brief interaction with them.
- No Name Given: He's only ever referred to as "The Wolf".
- The Speechless: The Wolf doesn't verbally respond to any of Mr. Fox's questions, due to supposedly not speaking English or Latin.
Humans
Boggis, Bunce, and Bean
Walt Boggis, Nate Bunce, and Frank Bean
From left to right: Bunce, Boggis, and Bean.
Three farmers that soon become antagonistic towards Mr. Fox after he steals from them. They are the main antagonists of the film.
- Adaptational Attractiveness: In the book, they are described as three of the ugliest and filthiest people ever. Their film counterparts are more decent looking for middle-aged men, with Boggis looking the most orderly.
- Adaptational Nice Guy: Downplayed, in that they are more friendly with each other rather than arguing.
- Adaptational Villainy: Also downplayed. While they still went to extremes in the book, Mr. Fox had been robbing them for years. In the film, they gain an unhealthy obsession to kill him after he robbed them exactly once each.
- The Alcoholic: Although he never appears drunk, Bean drinks a lot of the strong alcoholic apple cider he produces, with Badger saying that he lives on a liquid diet.
- Bald of Evil: Bunce and Bean are both bald up top, although Bunce mostly hides this by wearing a hat.
- Berserk Button: Bean does not like the idea of giving up against a fox.
- Big Bad: Bean is clearly the leader of the three, and is much more intelligent, competent and intimidating than his cohorts.
- Big Bad Duumvirate: Well, Triumvirate. Despite Bean being the most antagonistic, in the eyes of the animals, all three are their greatest enemies.
- Big Eater: In the book, Boggis eats 9 chickens every day. Three for breakfast, three for lunch, three for supper. The film adds three more accounting for dessert, bumping it up to 12 chickens per day.
- Big, Thin, Short Trio: Boggis, Bunce and Bean (one fat, one short, one lean).
- Depraved Dwarf: Bunce is described as being around the size of a potbellied dwarf and his chin would be underwater in the shallow end of any swimming pool on the planet.
- Determinator: They really want to kill that fox. First they tried ambushing him with firearms, digging under the hill with pickaxes and shovels, bought construction vehicles to uproot the tree, detonated hole they dug with construction vehicles, called all 108 men under their farms to lay siege to the hill, and then flooded the animal's burrows with apple cider to flush them into the sewers, took Kris hostage, Bean's security Rat attacks the protagonists in the sewers, and ultimately try to stop Mr. Fox back at Bean's own farm before they escape. The trio finally seemed to give up at the end, but they are anything but done, and remain vigilant for the foxes return, as shown by the news.
- Disproportionate Retribution: Farmers trying to kill a fox that steals their livestock is not an unusual occurrence in itself, but their response, which includes leveling an entire hill with construction equipment, besieging its remains, and flooding the remaining tunnels with apple cider, is absurd overkill to an insane degree.
- Evil Smells Bad: With his keen sense of smell, Mr. Fox can easily smell them out and run if they're too close. Boggis reeks of rotten chicken skins, Bunce stinks of goose livers, and Bean is always surrounded by the fumes of apple cider. Heck, Bean is the smelliest of the trio since he's never bathed in a long time and his hearing is bad due to earwax clogging his ears.
- Fat Bastard: Boggis. He is described to be as heavy as a young rhinoceros. The film shows his weight to be 339 lbs.
- Flat Character: In the film, Boggis and Bunce who receive very little characterization and even fewer lines. They really just act as Bean's cohorts, agreeing to him, and acting as allies to pool their resources toward a mutual goal.
- Gargle Blaster: Bean's apple cider is described as "a homebrewed fiery liquor that burned in your throat and boiled in your stomach." It's also Impossibly Delicious Food, and Badger says it's like drinking melted gold, sunbeams and rainbows all at once.
- Gross-Up Close-Up: In the montage introducing the farmers, Boggis' feet are shown when he's standing on a scale, showing them to be veiny, warty and with cracked yellow nails.
- Hair-Trigger Temper: Bean trashes an entire trailer when he finds out he's been outsmarted by Mr. Fox.
- Hypocrite: Amusingly, despite Bean considering Mr. Fox and his family to be disgusting animals for stealing his produce, he has no problem with hiring a literal rat to guard his cider, and has no issues with him drinking the stuff while on the job.
- Informed Flaw: Badger, in addition to calling them the meanest and the nastiest, he also calls them the ugliest farmers in the history of the valley, when in all honesty, they don't look too much of an eyesore and actually look rather distinguished, especially compared to how they look in the book. Them being mean and nasty is true, though.
- Improbable Aiming Skills: Downplayed with Bean. When he first suggests to Boggis and Bunce that they kill Mr. Fox, he demonstrates some impeccable aim with his pistol, shooting out a bug zapper, porch light, and three faraway street lights in a matter of seconds with no missed shots. Of course, when it comes time to actually aim at Mr. Fox, he and the others only manage to shoot his tail off.
- Ink-Suit Actor: In the movie, Bean looks a lot like Michael Gambon, only skinnier.
- Jabba Table Manners: Averted with Boggis. While he hits a number of the common tropes being a Villainous Glutton and Fat Bastard who is snacking most of the time, he's not shown to be a particularly messy eater especially when compared to the animalistic sloppy eating of the protagonists.
- Jerkass Has a Point: Although they may have gone overboard, they weren't wrong in trying to get Mr. Fox, since he was stealing from them.
- Lean and Mean: Bean never eats any food at all and subsists entirely on his homemade apple cider. In both the book and the film, he's said to be "as thin as a pencil".
- Masochist's Meal: Bunce's food of choice is donuts filled with a paste made of mashed goose livers, which gives him "a tummy-ache and a beastly temper."
- More Dakka: The amount of ammunition they shot at the fox in the film is uncounted for.
- Named by the Adaptation: The book simply refers to them by surname, while the film adds given names: Walt Boggis, Nate Bunce, and Frank Bean.
- The Napoleon: Zigzagged with Bunce. He is described as being so short, "his chin would have been under water in the shallow end of any swimming pool in the world". Despite that, he's also The Stoic.
- Playground Song: The local children made up a rhyme about them that stuck. "Boggis, Bunce and Bean / One fat, one short, one lean / These horrible crooks / So different in looks / Were nonetheless equally mean."
- The Stoic: Bunce maintains his sour expression throughout the movie. It's especially noticeable when Bean realizes they've been outsmarted and starts wrecking their trailer in a tantrum. Boggis is surprised at the outburst while Bunce is just sitting unmoved waiting for the Tantrum to subside.
- Terrible Trio: They are played like this, with Bean being the Big Bad, and Boggis and Bunce his sidekicks.
- Trademark Favorite Food: Boggis - boiled chicken smothered with dumplingsnote ; Bunce - homemade doughnuts with smashed up goose livers injected into them; Bean - strong alcoholic apple cider.
- Uncleanliness Is Next to Ungodliness: According to the narration, Bean never bathes ("he never even washed"), and he's hard of hearing because his ears are clogged with residue. (The other two are probably unhygienic too; Mr. Fox says in an early chapter that he can smell them so easily because they stunk.)
- Villain Song: The Playground Song mocking them appears repeatedly throughout the soundtrack, even getting a full orchestral backing and children's choir in the climax, making this their Leitmotif.
- Villainous Breakdown: Bean's reaction to finding out Mr. Fox stole all his food is to trash his caravan. He then goes outside and likely would've gone on to destroy more stuff if he didn't see his cider making machine, and get an idea...
- Villainous Friendship: Only in the movie, in the book they can't go a minute without arguing with each other.
- Villainous Glutton: Boggis and Bunce (arguably Bean, as he drinks a lot of cider), but especially Boggis, who eats three boiled chickens for every square meal of the day (plus dessert)."That's twelve in total, per diem."
- Weapon-Based Characterization: All three wield weapons that obliquely allude to their personal attributes: Bean carries a Luger pistol, which is skinny and long much like himself. Boggis is armed with a double barrel shotgun, a large firearm fit for someone accustomed to excess. Bunce carries a long range hunting rifle to accommodate his own small stature.
