I wish I'd seen it with a crowd. I'm still not convinced these characters alone are built for sustaining a feature film. At least not without more inspired writing.

I needed more "do you know how hard it is for a male duck to lay eggs?" moments, or choices like static Katamari Damacy-style Farmer Jim. We live in a post-Animaniacs, post-Gremlins 2 world. It doesn't betray the Looney Tunes to get weird with it.

That said, lovely cel animation. I want more of these made for theaters. Just...better.

Does Wes Anderson experience modern day newspaper stories through this whimsical a lens? Or perhaps that's why these last few films of his caricature the Cold War era: much easier to make a tidy cartoon of past farces than our unfolding present.

Anyway, there's an actually compelling relationship at the core, in addition to it being delightful in its zaniness. Myself, I feel perfectly safe saying this is among my favorite Anderson films.

I don't go to a lot of parties, and I'm feeling good about that choice.

Very funny vampires, great soundtrack, beautiful production. And the second movie I've seen this week that ends with a one-man massacre of a bunch of racists. 💜