STARRING George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzman, Owen Wilson, Bill Murray
WRITTEN BY Wes Anderson, Noah Baumbach
DIRECTED BY Wes Anderson

Since it's technically a stop-motion-animated kids' movie, this adaptation of Roald Dahl's beloved children's book would seem to be a major departure for Wes Anderson, best known for his funny-sad stories of eccentric dreamers (The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou) and alienated families (The Royal Tenenbaums). But Anderson approached Mr. Fox as if he were making a live-action ensemble film. ''There are things in this that you don't typically find in animated films, like characters cutting each other off and being really raw and human,'' says Jason Schwartzman, who voices the pint-size son of Mr. and Mrs. Fox (George Clooney and Meryl Streep) in a story about a family of foxes digging their way out of trouble when local farmers set out to get rid of them. Anderson, a big Dahl fan, modeled Mr. Fox on the notoriously prickly author himself. ''I always saw him as Dahl,'' says the director. ''He has this darkness about him.''

Anderson refused to pander to children — or the conventions of animated filmmaking. He bypassed the usual recording booths for real locations such as a farm in Connecticut. ''Rather than having perfect technical recordings,'' says Anderson, ''I wanted to have the actors in a place where maybe they're inspired by the atmosphere.'' According to Schwartzman, those instincts were dead-on. ''Wes not only makes movies, but he makes real experiences for the people making them,'' says the actor. ''How often do you get to work with all these great people, eat and live together, and run around and dig in the ground with a guy chasing after you with a microphone?''

STARRING John Travolta, Robin Williams, Seth Green
WRITTEN BY David Diamond, David Weissman
DIRECTED BY Walt Becker

Don't let the title fool you: Old Dogs is not a sequel to Wild Hogs, the surprise 2007 hit that also starred John Travolta and was also directed by Walt Becker. No, this film stars Travolta and Robin Williams as business partners whose lives are upended when Williams' workaholic character learns he's the father of an ex-girlfriend's 6-year-old twins. ''John and Robin had never worked together before,'' says Seth Green, who plays the duo's overwhelmed protégé. ''Just getting to watch them play together was the coolest thing.'' Cooler than the scene in which Green has to serenade a gorilla? ''Becker was like, 'Ha, ha, ha, let's make Seth sing this,''' says Green, who croons an Air Supply tune to soothe a savage beast. ''They know I'll do anything.''

STARRING Viggo Mortensen, Charlize Theron
WRITTEN BY Joe Penhall
DIRECTED BY John Hillcoat

A full year after its scheduled release, the $20 million adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's best-selling, Oprah-endorsed novel — about a man (Viggo Mortensen) and his son (Kodi Smit-McPhee) struggling to stay alive in a brutal postapocalyptic world — is finally hitting theaters. According to director John Hillcoat, the film simply wasn't finished last fall: Perfecting the devastated landscapes required extensive digital tinkering. But will moviegoers pay to face such grim subject matter? ''It's tough material,'' admits Hillcoat. ''But audiences are sophisticated these days. And the book did well, so to me that's an indication that not everyone goes for superheroes and comedies.''