Joe Roth and Revolution Studios bought the rights to Roald Dahl's Fantastic Mr Fox in 2004, and Wes Anderson signed on as director because Dahl was one of his heroes. Henry Selick was initially animation director but left for Coraline, and Mark Gustafson replaced him. The film was taken over by 20th Century Fox Animation in 2006. Anderson chose to record the voices outside on location in a forest, an attic and a stable before any animation began, to capture spontaneity. The film is primarily stop motion, animated at 3 Mills Studios in London with puppets made by Mackinnon and Saunders. Anderson added new scenes at the start and end of the story, and Great Missenden, where Dahl lived, strongly shaped the look of the film.

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.