THE WORLD OF WES ANDERSON
AN EXPLORATION FROM A TO Z BY MEGAN FIECHTER
A SIMPLE FILMOGRAPHY. Below are the films covered in this exploration of the Wes Anderson world.
Bottle Rocket (1996) Rushmore (1998) The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004) Hotel Chevalier (2007) The Darjeeling Limited (2007) Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009) Moonrise Kingdom (2012) The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)
A KEY FOR YOUR READING EXPERIENCE. Enjoy the exploration!
Elaborate, symmetrical shots, pastel colors, vintage costuming, a loving eye for the nostalgia of times past... This alphabetized resource explores the whimsical, wonderful world of Wes Anderson, an American filmmaker whose iconic style has become one of the most personal and recognizable aesthetics in cinema history. With this guide I hope to highlight his eccentric characters, unforgettable locales, and just a few of the many props and objects that enhance the immersive worlds that come to life in his films. I’ve noted on each page the title of the film the content appears in and whether you’re discovering a Person, a Place, or a Thing (or a combination thereof) by different icons as you’ll see in the key below.
person
place
thing
“That’s the kind of movie that I like to make, where there is an invented reality and the audience is going to go someplace where hopefully they’ve never been before. The details, that’s what the world is made of.” —Wes Anderson
THE WORLD OF WES ANDERSON
AN EXPLORATION FROM A TO Z BY MEGAN FIECHTER
AGATHA appears in . . .
Between her simple life as a baker’s daughter and her involvement in a crime involving a stolen painting and a misplaced will, Agatha is a shy girl with deceptive qualities. She is the intense love interest of Zero Moustafa, the Grand Budapest Hotel’s lobby boy.
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BOGGIS, BUNCE, AND BEAN appears in . . .
MR.FOX
Boggis, Bunce, and Bean / One fat, one short, one lean! / These menacing crooks / So different in looks / Are nonetheless equally mean! These three neighboring rural farmers team up to hunt down Mr. Fox after he steals one too many chickens from their stock.
Bb
MISS CROSS appears in . . .
R U S H M O R E
Harvard-educated first grade teacher at Rushmore Academy, Miss Cross is the target of 15-year-old Max Fischer’s infatuations. As he comes to discover, though, her kindness is a mask for deep loneliness in the loss of her late husband.
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DARJEELING LIMITED appears in . . .
This colorful luxury train traveling across India plays host to Peter, Jack, and Francis, three brothers making an effort to bond with one another after the death of their father.
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ELI CASH appears in . . .
T H E R O YA L TENENBAUMS
Childhood neighbor and close friend to the eccentric and talented Tenenbaum children, Eli Cash grows up to become a famous author of Westerns yet remains affected by jealousies and attractions of his youth.
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MR. AND MRS. FOX appears in . . .
MR.FOX
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Despite his inherent cleverness, thrill-seeking thief Mr. Fox finds himself locked in a fox trap and promises a pregnant Mrs. Fox that he’ll swear off his life of crime. Twelve “Fox Years” later, Mr. Fox works as a writer for a local newspaper by day and secretly steals from the local farmers, Boggis, Bunce, and Bean, by night. When the three farmers team up to hunt down Mr. Fox, he gathers up his family and, to the great disappointment of Mrs. Fox, leads them deep underground in an effort to escape.
GUSTAVE H. appears in . . .
Devilishly handsome and with an eye for all things elegant, Gustave H. is the esteemed concierge of the Grand Budapest Hotel. When Madame D, one of the women he offers his “services� to, dies under mysterious circumstances, Gustave becomes the primary murder suspect.
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HOTEL CHEVALIER appears in . . .
HOTEL CHEVALIER
In solid stone, Hotel Chevalier sits along a Parisian street. Inside, heartbreak and reconciliation between a man who has been living in the hotel for a month and the woman with whom he lost in the breakup that sent him there. Ambiguous in detail yet universal in unspoken emotion, their story is but one of countless narratives that have unfolded in the rooms of the hotel over time.Â
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INEZ appears in . . .
BOT T L E ROCKET
While hiding out at a motel, Anthony meets Inez the maid and, despite her lack of fluent English, falls for her. Romance sparks between the pair as they spend each day together and Anthony insists on helping her clean motel rooms while he tells stories.
Ii
JAGUAR SHARK appears in . . . THE
LIFE AQUATIC with
STEVE ZISSOU
When Steve Zissou’s best friend is eaten alive by an illusive, possibly imaginary jaguar shark, he makes the capturing and killing of the animal the next mission of documentary research crew Team Zissou.
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KHAKI SCOUTS appears in . . .
Based at Camp Ivanhoe during summers on New Penzance Island, the Khaki Scouts, under the guidance of Scout Master Randy Ward, are trained in all aspects of wilderness survival.
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LIONEL BISHOP appears in . . .
Lionel is Suzy’s younger brother who seems to love few things more than his record player. The film opens on Lionel listening to Benjamin Britten and Henry Purcell’s “The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra.” Frustration ensues later on when Suzy “borrows” his record player saying, in a note, that she will return the record player in ten days or less.
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MENDL’S appears in . . .
Mendl’s delectable Courtesan au Chocolat pastries, delivered fresh in a pale pink box with a baby blue bow, will cause even the most hardened opponents of dessert to swoon over the delightful craftsmanship and unmatched taste.
Mm
NEW PENZANCE ISLAND appears in . . .
Among those that call the lush, forested New Penzance Island home are an orphaned Khaki Scout, a 12-year-old girl living in a large and exceedingly symmetrical house called Summer’s End, a Police Captain engaging in a secret affair, and a mysterious, red-coated narrator.
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OCEANOGRAPHY appears in . . . THE
LIFE AQUATIC with
STEVE ZISSOU
Inspired by the life and work of the great Jacques Coustaeu, the Zissou Society is committed to the exploration and documentation of uncharted waters. Sailing on the iconic Belafonte, they make use of two albino research dolphins that swim with the boat (and haven’t quite proven their intelligence) – a technology that rivals the research turtles in use by their rival, Allistair Hennessey.
Oo
THE 75-YEAR PLAN appears in . . .
BOT T L E ROCKET
After would-be criminal Dignan stages a wild escape plan to bust best friend Anthony out of a psychiatric hospital (which he entered voluntarily), the two pour over his elaborate 75-year plan – one that begins with the burglarizing of their parents’ homes as practice for larger scores in the future.
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I CAN FIT THROUGH THERE. WANT TO KNOW WHY? –WHY? –BECAUSE I’M LITTLE. YOU CANNOT SIMPLY ARREST HIM BECAUSE HE IS A BLOODY IMMIGRANT.
QUOTES WHAT’S ON FIRE IN THAT HIDEOUS LITTLE FLOWER
POT? PEOPLE SAY THAT WHEN SOMEONE SAYS SOMETHING LIKE THAT, IT’S BECAUSE THEY’RE JEALOUS. BUT IT STILL HURTS. IT HURTS BAD. HE’S EMOTIONALLY DISTURBED, BUT HE’S ALSO A DISADVANTAGED ORPHAN. HOW WOULD YOU FEEL? WHEN ARE YOU COMING HOME? –GRACE, I CAN’T COME HOME. I’M AN ADULT. SHE’S IN LOVE WITH A DEAD GUY ANYWAY. I USED TO STEAL BIRDS, BUT NOW I’M A NEWSPAPER MAN. WHAT KIND OF BIRD ARE YOU? I DON’T UNDERSTAND, BUT I CAN TELL IT’S Qq BULLSHIT. I’M SORRY FOR YOUR LOSS. ANYWAY, THAT’S WHAT YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO SAY.
MY TOP SCHOOLS WHERE I WANT TO APPLY TO ARE OXFORD AND THE SORBONNE. MY SAFETY’S HARVARD. YOUR GIRLFRIEND STABBED ME IN THE BACK WITH LEFTY SCISSORS. –SHE’S MY WIFE NOW. –CONGRATULATIONS! BEAGLES LOVE BLUEBERRIES. I LIKE YOUR NURSE’S UNIFORM, GUY. –THEY’RE O.R. SCRUBS. –O, R THEY? I LOVE THE WAY THIS COUNTRY SMELLS. I’LL NEVER FORGET IT. IT’S KIND OF SPICY. THAT SOUNDS LIKE POETRY. POEMS DON’T ALWAYS HAVE TO RHYME, YOU KNOW. THEY’RE JUST SUPPOSED TO BE CREATIVE. SON OF A BITCH! BOB’S GONE! HE STOLE HIS CAR! I SAVED LATIN. WHAT DID YOU EVER DO? I WONDER IF IT REMEMBERS ME. SO, THIS IS WHERE IT ALL HAPPENS. –ALL WHAT HAPPENS? –I WOULDN’T KNOW. WAS HE A GOOD DOG? –WHO’S TO SAY? BUT HE DIDN’T DESERVE TO DIE. I WEIGH LESS THAN A SLICE OF BREAD.
RUSHMORE ACADEMY appears in . . .
R U S H M O R E
Max Fischer’s life revolves around his private school in Texas where he’s involved in countless, elaborate activities and clubs, yet named “one of the worst one’s we’ve got” by headmaster Guggenheim – teetering on the edge of academic probation and expulsion.
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SAM AND SUZY appears in . . .
Sam doesn’t have parents. Suzy only wishes she didn’t. Together, at twelve years old, they run away and use Sam’s skills a Khaki Scout to live off the land in the vast outdoors of New Penzance Island – running from a group of weapon-touting scouts, dancing in their underwear on a beach, and traveling to a neighboring island for a makeshift wedding ceremony.
Ss
TEAM ZISSOU appears in . . . THE
LIFE AQUATIC with
STEVE ZISSOU
Team Zissou makes up the crew aboard the Belafonte – a group of misfits led by oceanographer Steve Zissou. The eclectic group include a Brazilian musician, a second-in-command German who sees Zissou as a father figure, a script girl who is usually topless, and a group of unpaid college interns from the fictional University of North Alaska.
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UZI AND ARI TENENBAUM appears in . . .
T H E R O YA L TENENBAUMS
Uzi and Ari Tenenbaum are the track-suit-donning sons of Chas, and the survivors of a plane crash that took their mother’s life. As a result, Chas has descended into a terrible state of paranoia, keeping the boys on a tight 16-times weekly exercise regiment and conducting unannounced fire drills to test the boys’ disaster readiness.
Uu
VIKRAM RAY appears in . . . THE
LIFE AQUATIC with
STEVE ZISSOU
Vikram Ray is the camera operator aboard the Belafonte. He keeps the camera rolling and pointed at Team Zissou, whether they’re walking the decks of the ship or plumbing the depths of the ocean. He has been described as a man “born on the Ganges.”
Vv
WOLF appears in . . .
MR.FOX
The Lone Wolf: solitary, respected, mysterious. He’s everything the clever but domestic Mr. Fox dreams of being, and fears becoming. When he comes across a wolf in the wild, he can’t help but stare in awe before giving a moving silent salute of camaraderie.
Ww
SERGE X. appears in . . .
French butler Serge X. has possession of the second copy of the second will of Madame D., which will prove Gustave H.’s innocence regarding her sudden death.
Xx
YANKEE RACERS appears in . . .
R U S H M O R E
The Yankee Racers is just one of the many outlandish clubs that star student Max Fischer has founded or led during his time at Rushmore Academy. Others include the Calligraphy Club, the Stamp and Coin Club, the Astronomy Society, the Rushmore Beekeepers, Trap and Skeet Club, and the Bombardment Society.
Yy
ZUBROWKA appears in . . .
“Zubrowka was, at that time, the center of the greatest cosmopolitan culture in the Western Hemisphere.� Once the celebrated heart of Western luxury, esteem, and baked goods, Zubrowka would later become known for its totalitarianism at the hands of the reigning military dictatorship.
Zz
CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE.
Images were manually screen-captured from the original films or their trailers Designed by Megan Fiechter Cover and title page illustration by Megan Fiechter Copy written by Megan Fiechter and Taylor Sinople Hand icon designed by Jo達o Miranda Place marker icon designed by Michael Zenaty Book icon designed by Konstantin Velichko Typography includes Futura Book, Futura Medium Futura Bold, Futura Extra Bold, Futura Light Condensed, and Futura Medium Condensed