Fantastic Mr. Fox and Other Animal Stories recap

Four animal-centered stories follow schemes that end very differently. Mr Fox responds to a siege by Boggis, Bunce, and Bean by tunneling into their stores and creating an underground feast for the hungry animals, while the farmers remain waiting above. Mr Hoppy secretly swaps many tortoises to convince Mrs Silver that her pet is growing; after he admits the trick, she accepts his proposal. The Enormous Crocodile attempts to disguise himself and seize children, but the other animals spoil every trap and Trunky hurls him into the sun. Finally, Billy befriends a Giraffe, Pelican, and Monkey who form a ladderless window-cleaning team. Their first job leads to the capture of a jewel thief, generous rewards from the Duke of Hampshire, and the transformation of Billy's long-desired building into a sweet shop supplied by Willy Wonka.

Three unpleasant farmers share a grievance: Mr Fox regularly steals poultry and cider from their holdings. Boggis, Bunce, and Bean wait near the fox family's hole and shoot at Mr Fox when he emerges, taking off his tail but failing to kill him. They dig with shovels, then bring mechanical diggers to tear open the hill. Mr Fox and his family tunnel downward just ahead of the machines. When the farmers decide to surround the entire hill and wait indefinitely, the foxes begin to starve. By the ninth chapter, Mr Fox has stopped relying on simple escape and announced a new plan, though the family has not yet learned how he means to defeat a siege maintained from above.

Mr Fox tunnels sideways with his children and emerges beneath Boggis's chicken house, where they collect food without crossing the guarded surface. They next meet Badger, who explains that all the underground families are suffering because of the siege. Mr Fox brings Badger into a wider plan, taking supplies from Bunce's storehouse and Bean's cider cellar. When Badger questions the morality of stealing, Fox argues that they are taking what is necessary from men trying to kill them. The animals gather for a feast underground, and Mr Fox proposes building a permanent community linked by tunnels to the farms' supplies. Above ground, Boggis, Bunce, and Bean continue their hopeless vigil at the hole, unaware that their quarry can now live safely beneath them. This completes the first of the four stories.

After Mr Fox's underground victory, the collection turns to Mr Hoppy, a retired man who loves his upstairs neighbor, Mrs Silver, but cannot bring himself to say so. Mrs Silver is devoted to Alfie, her small tortoise, and wishes that he would grow. Mr Hoppy claims that a written formula, read regularly, will make this happen. His real plan requires buying a large number of tortoises and building a tool that can lift them between the two balconies. He begins replacing Alfie with slightly larger animals while Mrs Silver is away, making the change gradual enough that she believes the supposed formula is working.

Mr Hoppy continues the substitutions until Mrs Silver's apparent tortoise has become too large for its house. He then presents another supposed formula and replaces it with a somewhat smaller animal that fits perfectly. Delighted with what she believes he has achieved, Mrs Silver embraces him, and he proposes marriage. Mr Hoppy finally tells her how the trick worked; she forgives him, and they marry. The many unused tortoises are returned to the pet shops. The second story therefore ends with Mr Hoppy no longer watching Mrs Silver from a lonely balcony, although his success began with sustained deception about Alfie's growth.

The third story follows the Enormous Crocodile, who boasts that he will eat children and ignores every animal that condemns him. He leaves the river and tries several disguises near places where children play. The jungle animals recognize him and spoil each attempt before anyone is harmed. His final trap also fails, and Trunky the elephant seizes the crocodile by the tail, spins him with increasing force, and throws him so far that he reaches the sun. The heat destroys him. His intended victims remain safe because the animals he dismissed have cooperated against him.

Billy has long wanted to own an empty building called the Grubber and turn it into a sweet shop. He discovers that a Giraffe, a Pelican, and a Monkey have occupied it and founded a ladderless window-cleaning company. The Giraffe supplies the height, the Pelican carries water in his beak, and the Monkey washes the glass. Billy becomes their manager just as the Duke of Hampshire offers them a vast first assignment at his mansion. While the team works on the upper windows, the Pelican sees a burglar inside one of the rooms with the Duchess's jewels. The company shifts from cleaning to stopping the theft, using the same unusual abilities that got them to the high window.

The Pelican catches the jewel thief and holds him until the police can take him away. The Duke, grateful for the recovered jewels, asks how he can reward each member of the company. He provides the animals with a secure home and the particular food each needs. Billy receives the Grubber itself, which is renovated into the sweet shop he imagined before meeting them. The Duke also arranges for it to be stocked with extraordinary sweets from Willy Wonka's factory. Billy and the three animals settle into the transformed building as partners and friends. The collection closes on a shared new beginning: their window-cleaning work has succeeded, the Duke remains their supporter, and Billy's apparently impossible ambition has become a real business.

In the final story, Billy joins the Giraffe, Pelican, and Monkey on a window-cleaning job at the Duke of Hampshire's house. The Pelican spots a burglar taking jewels and catches him, allowing the police to recover the property. A grateful Duke rewards the animals with the special foods and home they need, while Billy receives the abandoned building he has always wanted. It is renovated as a sweet shop and stocked with remarkable confectionery from Willy Wonka's factory. Billy and the animals remain together in their new headquarters, with the window-cleaning company established and Billy's ambition fulfilled. Across the collection, Mr Fox has also secured food and an underground refuge for his community, Mr Hoppy has married Mrs Silver after confessing his tortoise scheme, and the Enormous Crocodile has been destroyed before he can eat any children.