Wes Anderson's latest exercise in postmodern symmetrical cinema -- The Phoenician Scheme -- just hit theaters, boasting an all-star ensemble featuring Benicio del Toro, Tom Hanks, Bryan Cranston, Michael Cera, Jeffrey Wright, Scarlett Johansson, and more.
In celebration and anticipation of new Wes at the multiplex, we've ranked his many films here, going all the way back to his debut feature, and Wilson brother career-launcher, Bottle Rocket. Which subversive cluster of eccentricities and '70s rock is your favorite Wes Anderson movie? There are so many to choose from and all of them bring an unabashed grim whimsy to the table. Like if Edward Gorey wore suspenders and knitted bow ties.
Boats, trains, hotels, stop-motion animation, high school productions of Serpico... Wes Anderson's practically done it all. Which is your favorite of Anderson's twee storybook-style films? Are you a bigger fan of his earlier works or do you prefer his more recent offerings? See how your picks compare to our ranking of Wes Anderson's movies.*
*Note: The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, both the short film and the collection of four Roald Dahl shorts, of which it's the anchoring film, isn't included here as they were released separately on Netflix over the course of four days.
11. The Darjeeling Limited (2007)
In The Darjeeling Limited, Anderson faves Jason Schwartzman and Owen Wilson, along with Adrien Brody, star as three estranged brothers who embark on a cathartic journey in India following the death of their father. Filled with songs by The Kinks and The Rollings Stones, the film is the most hit-or-miss of Wes Anderson's extensive catalogue, probably also diminished by the fact that it followed The Royal Tenenbaums and The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, which also contained the same themes of disaffection, isolation, sibling rivalry, and father/son tension. Inspired by Indian filmmaker Satyajit Ray, Anderson uses a romanticized India as an effective backdrop, marking one his first dives into that recurring aesthetic.
10. The French Dispatch (2021)
The French Dispatch comes in the midst of Wes Anderson's more recent, later-stage films which seem to have ramped up characters' meticulous eccentricities and the director's full storybook/diorama-style visuals. The film, which is separated into titled segments, giving it even more of a pop-up book vibe, centers on the French news bureau of a fictional Kansas newspaper as the journalists there publish their final issue. Anderson players Benicio del Toro, Adrien Brody, Tilda Swinton and Léa Seydoux headline this charming-but-slight vignette anthology.
9. Isle of Dogs (2018)
Dogged (ha!) by some racial stereotypes and other dubious elements, Isle of Dogs still remains a beautifully dizzying display of stop-motion animation. It's Anderson's second stop-motion endeavor and one that makes you realize that this is what, over the years, he's basically transformed his human actors into: live versions of posable puppet animation. A ton of famous folks lend their voices to Isle of Dogs -- including Anderson squad members Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton, Bill Murray, Jeff Goldblum, and Scarlett Johansson -- as this ambitious American-German-British co-production tells the story of a Japanese mayor's nephew searching for his missing dog on a trash island populated by canines.
8. Bottle Rocket (1996)
While most other '90s indie directors were trying to make a splash with Tarantino-esque ensemble crime capers, Wes Anderson, along with Owen and Luke Wilson, put their own personal spin on the genre with Bottle Rocket -- the story of two friends who decide to embark on a petty robbery road trip. Bottle Rocket was a tremendous calling card for Anderson (who co-wrote the film with Owen Wilson), as well as the Wilson brothers, basically launching all three's careers. And in keeping with the '90s, it had a killer soundtrack featuring music by Devo's Mark Mothersbaugh. Anderson's films will morph into something very different over the following decades but the overall rich, dainty spirit is present here.
7. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004)
The first of Anderson's films to receive mixed reviews was Royal Tenenbaums follow-up The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, the director's personal, punchy tribute to oceanographer and TV personality Jacques Cousteau. Bill Murray stars as diver/documentarian Steve Zissou who, while seeking revenge on the shark that ate his friend, discovers a fan (Owen Wilson) who might be his secret son. The Life Aquatic definiately has its devotees, especially after undergoing a bit of retro-evaluation, but many at the time were growing weary of Anderson's increasingly mannered, deadpan showcases. The Life Aquatic is also the first film Anderson didn't co-write with Owen Wilson. Cate Blanchett, Willem Dafoe, Anjelica Huston, and Jeff Goldblum also star.
6. Moonrise Kingdom (2012)
Anderson explored young love, through his own whimsical, idiosyncratic lens of course, in Moonrise Kingdom, the adored Fantastic Mr. Fox follow-up. Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward play the young outcasts who run away to a hidden beach while their minders -- who include Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Bill Murray, Frances McDormand, and Tilda Swinton -- organize a search party. To this day, Moonrise Kingdom is seen as one of Anderson's strongest stagings, a leveling-up of his penchant for the poetically oddball and precociously droll.
5. Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)
For many, Fantastic Mr. Fox -- which was adapted from the famed Roald Dahl novel -- is the epitome of Wes Anderson. The film brought a realization to fans that the director's true love, and best-suited narrative delivery device, just may be stop-motion animation. Though this was technically Anderson's first children's film, or "family" film, it still included all his hallmarks and signature stylings, making you realize that all of his movies were, in a way, kid-like stories (featuring adults). George Clooney and Meryl Streep, along with Anderson accomplices Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, Willem Dafoe, and Owen Wilson, headlined this delightful detour into the world of a sly Fox whose choice to steal food from local farmers spells out harsh consequences for his family.
4. Asteroid City (2023)
Anderson's latest color-washed ensemble endeavor (before The Phoenician Scheme, of course) was a meta-textual marvel about a retro-futuristic Junior Stargazer convention in a desert town that gets visited by a UFO -- and, simultaneously, the documentary about the production of Asteroid City, which is a play, and the performers involved. You've got your Anderson enablers -- like Jason Schwartzman, Scarlett Johansson, Jeffrey Wright, Edward Norton, Willem, Dafoe, Liev Schreiber, and more -- with new faces added to the fold, like Tom Hanks, Margot Robbie, and Maya Hawke. Asteroid City might be Anderson's most indulgent film to date, but it's also gorgeously absurd and uniquely exhilarating.
3. The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)
Anderson's first truly massive ensemble came a little over a decade ago with the wondrous, thoughtful, and acclaimed film The Grand Budapest Hotel. It's one of his best films and a marvelous bridge between his earlier work and his ambitiously stylized recent projects. It's a sprawling, zany tale with a mid-century Hollywood-style European ski resort at the heart of it, containing even some meta elements that would be further explored in Asteroid City. Ralph Fiennes, the hotel's concierge, finds himself in the midst of a murder mystery -- and a cast of co-stars that includes Andersons' very finest colleagues. It's the only one of Anderson's movies to get a Best Picture Oscar nomination, and while it didn't win in that category it did pick up four different Oscars.
2. Rushmore (1998)
While Bottle Rocket was a good sampler of what Wes Anderson could do, the writer/director truly came into his own with his second feature, Rushmore, a hilariously off-kilter coming of age story that launched the career of Jason Schwartzman and gave Bill Murray his first foray into the acclaimed indie film scene that eventually got him an Oscar nomination with 2003's Lost in Translation. Rushmore is a vibrant, neurotic love triangle between Schwartzman's overly confident prep school student, Murray's lonely rich father of two of his classmates, and Olivia Williams' fetching first-grade teacher. It's a phenomenal, confident second feature for Anderson that laid the groundwork for the rest of his work going forward.
1. The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)
Wes Anderson's zenith came early in his career. Not that he didn't continue to make great films, but the stars all aligned for 2001's The Royal Tenenbaums. From Alec Baldwin's narration to the cosplay-ready costumes to the amazing music to the poignantly bizarre story of an estranged, narcissistic father (Gene Hackman) trying to find favor once more with his adult children -- all of whom were differently precocious at a young age -- it all clicked and became an immediately re-watchable masterpiece. The Royal Tenenbaums solidified the template for Anderson's use of a large cast, the storybook/fable quality, the eclectic soundtrack, and the blend of melancholy, quirky, and funny. These things were never done better than they were in The Royal Tenenbaums.
Which is your favorite Wes Anderson flick? Vote in our poll above and let's discuss in the comments...
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