Inside the Wes Anderson Universe

By Kevin Claiborne, Rueben Miller, Zachary Brown

I guarantee, you can tell in 30 seconds if a movie was directed by Wes Anderson. Wes
Anderson easily has one of the most recognizable styles in Hollywood. He is a writer and
director and incorporates a wide array of awkward quirky traits that make him a distinguishable
auteur. Some of these traits are a strict hazy pastel color palette, uncomfortable center shots, and
reoccurring actors. A Wes Anderson Film is unique and definitive. We will dive into his defining
traits and, a few of his movies in this paper. So grab a red cap and Speedo and get ready to
explore the awkward comedic mind and methods of Wes Anderson.
Wesley "Wes" Wales Anderson was born on May 1, 1969, in Houston, Texas. He grew
up with his two brothers Eric and Mel, but their parents divorced when Anderson was eight.
While trying to cope with the disintegration of his parent's marriage, Anderson often misbehaved
at school. His misbehavior in school could have led to his mischievous and dry humor later in
his films. In time, he turned his energies from mischief making to artistic endeavors. Anderson
directed movies starring himself and his brothers, filming them with a Super 8mm camera. He
read avidly, developing a passion for novels and finding himself consumed by storytelling. He
attended St. John's School in Houston, where he became known for his large and complex play
productions. Wes Anderson enrolled at the University of Texas at Austin to study philosophy.
There he met Owen Wilson, who has been a writing partner or cast member in almost every film
Anderson has made since.
Wes Anderson is known for the quirky and humorous films which include The Royal
Tenenbaums, The Darjeeling Limited, Fantastic Mr. Fox and The Grand Budapest Hotel.

Bottle Rocket was planned as a serious movie starring Owen Wilson and his two brothers
Luke and Andrew but it became apparent that the realm of serious drama was not for them, and
they began to focus more on comedic plot elements, and thus the script for Bottle Rocket became
a hard-to-label mix of comedy, romance and crime. After Bottle Rocket, Anderson and Owen
Wilson went to work a second film, Rushmore. Disney chairman Joe Roth agreed to fund the
Rushmore project, and the final version of the film generated far more pre-release buzz than had
Bottle Rocket. The Critics Associations of both New York and Los Angeles declared Bill Murray
best supporting actor for his role as a wistful businessman who strikes up an unlikely friendship
with Max.
Wes Anderson has a definite troupe of actors he favors and picks to play his ridiculous
and quirky characters. Jason Schwartzman appears in seven separate movies. Bill Murray
appears six times and is often a leading character with humorous dialogue. Owen Wilson and
Warris Ahluwalia both appear in five movies. Some other actors that appear multiple of his
movies include; Willem Defoe, Jeff Goldblum, Tilda Swinton, Edward Norton, Luke Wilson, and
Adrien Brody. Wes Anderson uses these actors because he says they are "Imaginative, creative,
honest, open actors." whenever he brings a new face on to match a character, he generally tries to
cast by the actors "spirit" they put into a character.
Another trait of a Wes Anderson film is his camera work. Anderson likes to have long
shots where the camera pans to one character to the next. He also has a very distinct trait with
centering his shots. While most directors generally stick to the rule of thirds, Anderson ignores
this. He uses wide angles and tends to center majority of his shots. This adds a very two
dimensional feel to his movies. You can even see the edges of some of his shots to bow or curve,
adding a very awkward and quirky feel to it. In most of these shots the characters won't be

talking or moving to give a very awkward and slightly uncomfortable comedic feel. It's even
more awkward and uncomfortable since we stay in these shots just a little too long. Anderson
reportedly doesn't do this on purpose as a "trademark" he says it feels natural to his script and
story in his movies.
Anderson also chooses very precise colors for his films. Every shot in his films is
matched to the precise color palette. The colors are almost always pastel colors, which gives a
unique and kind of retro feel to his films. These colors are what movie goers and Anderson fans
have come to expect from his films. Each movie feels like they're apart of the same universe
because of this. The colorists in his films use post production hazy hues to his strict color palette
to give the analog effect we've come to love. Besides this however, Wes Anderson does not use
CGI effects at all. Anderson loves the use of stop motion and models. In The Life Aquatic with
Steve Zissou he uses stop motion to show the quaint and bizarre creatures he shows us. He uses
stop motion again, and the use of models in the critically acclaimed Grand Budapest Hotel.
Fantastic Mr. Fox was his first full length animated film using traditional stop motion methods.
He is also well known for his distinct music choice. All directors strive to match up their
soundtrack or music choice to the feel or style of their film. Wes Anderson excels at this, with his
distinct music selection. His music choice is so iconic that there are dozens of playlists on
Spotify dedicated to him. One called 'Wes Anderson' music has over 22,000 followers. Wes
Anderson chooses great music in his films that match his retro feel. Since Moonrise Kingdom, he
made a transition from choosing great music to using composed music by Alexandre Desplat.
Alexandre Desplat made up the entire soundtrack of Grand Budapest hotel.
Moonrise Kingdom is a perfect example of all these traits and isms combined into a film.
Moonrise Kingdom is a story of two adolescents named Sam and Suzy who meet during a play.

They fall in love over correspondence, of the letters they send to each other, and decide to run
away. Sam is a member of the Khaki Scouts and intends on using this knowledge to survive in
the wilds. Over time they relationship grows to be more romantic. They are eventually found and
are separated. While Suzy is taken home, it turns out Sam is not welcome with his foster family.
Sam is invited to live with Captain Duffy Sharp, until social services (a character played by Tilda
Swinton) comes and takes him away. Taking pity on the two, the other scouts devise a plan to
sneak them onto a crabbing vessel in order to escape. This leads to a massive search to find them
until a massive storm strikes the island.
The colors used in 'Moonrise Kingdom' are in line with the pastel color palette Wes
Anderson utilizes so often. After the initial credits the film opens up with an awkward and quirky
documentary style narration. Wes Anderson employs a variety of shots throughout this film but
as usual with his films, the focal point of most shots is drawn to the center of the frame. The
opening scene of the scouts sets the dry tone of humor that will be used throughout the film.
Things such as a young boy being allowed to ride a motorcycle but getting pulled over, and
warned for speeding. There is another scene where the scouts (unaccompanied by adults) attempt
to capture Sam and Suzy. The scene then cuts and we are taken to the scouts running away
bloody and screaming wildly. We only see the aftermath and we are left "wondering what
transpired?" It is this randomness and timing that make up the dry humor used in a Wes
Anderson film. Anderson also uses panning frequently in Moonrise Kingdom. Shots from one
person to another, with little to no cuts in between, are used frequently in this film. Moonrise
kingdom is one of many Wes Anderson films that embosses his style and output on the cinema
world.

His latest work 'Grand Budapest Hotel' has all of the traits a "regular" Wes Anderson film
has, as well as some new innovations Wes Anderson decides to try. The majority of the movie is
set in the 1930s. The Grand Budapest Hotel is a popular European ski resort, presided over by
concierge Gustave H. (Ralph Fiennes). Zero, a junior lobby boy, becomes Gustave's friend and
protg. Gustave prides himself on providing first-class service to the hotel's guests, including
satisfying the sexual needs of the many elderly women who stay there. When one of Gustave's
lovers dies mysteriously, Gustave finds himself the recipient of a priceless painting and the chief
suspect in her murder.
The film has a gigantic cast, and many are beloved reoccurring actors that Wes Anderson
uses in so many of his films (Jeff Goldblum, Jason Schwartzman, Willem Dafoe, Bill Murray,
Owen Wilson, are some.) He uses center shots, and artistic backgrounds. Anderson also had
Alexandre Desplat compose the soundtrack for Grand Budapest. The film also had the
unmistakable comedic awkward humor Wes Anderson stamps his films with. These are all the
common traits we've learned about the Writer/Director, however this film we start to see Wes
Anderson explore a bit. It has the most vivid color scheme of any of his films, as well as the use
of some new modeling effects. There's several scenes where physical models were used with
practical effects, such as the trolley to the hotel itself. The camera work in here also has a large
portion of his shots as over the head shots from the perspective of one character. It has some of
the most ridiculous, outrageous and animated characters Anderson has put on screen for us. It's
exciting to see how Andersons films will evolve over the years.
In conclusion what makes a Wes Anderson film a Wes Anderson film is his unique style
of filming and ignoring the rule of thirds. His comedic and awkward plots and situations, make
his works unique. There's not quite any writing like it. He also uses a pastel color palette that he

utilizes in all his films, that bring you to a retro quirky universe. He continually casts reoccurring
actors from his troupe, who enjoy playing his quirky characters. His unique music choice, though
it has changed from using diverse artists that fit his style to using composed music, has remained
fun and iconic for all of his works. I guarantee you can spot a Wes Anderson film in 30 seconds.

Works Cited

www. http://the-talks.com/interview/wes-anderson/
www.avclub.com/article/grand-budapest-hotel-special-effects-demo-reveals--203928
www.backstage.com/interview/how-wes-andersons-universe-cast/
www.imdb.com/title/tt2278388/plotsummary?ref_=tt_stry_pl
www.biography.com/people/wes-anderson-20617561#-early-films
www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/film/movie/contents/notes_on_quirky.pdf