For me, it is how he meticulously sets his shots. His use of symmetry and aesthetics and color are far more profound than other directors.
It is the quaint yet precise establishing shots that Wes uses in his work. The balanced shots and colors used always compliment each other in far more dynamic fashion than most directors out there.
His use of wardrobe and props are also clever and very well thought. While his shots are often very minimalist, yet they very much aid in establishing plot and character development.
Try to watch Grand Budapest and really observe the colors, signs, props, and the use of perfect symmetry in almost every single shot made. It's a bit "broadway" at times, but it is one of those things you just kind of get past so you can enjoy the whole film instead of minor components of the film.
Andersen's films are rich with aesthetic beauty. Many directors avoid this sort of "willy wonka" style and with good reason. It's often received very poorly by most which is why Andersen's work is
very
campy and cultish.

There are some videos that show how he relates to directors such as Kubrick with The Shining in TGBH. I can't really put my finger on it as some of his films are a bit too much (Darjeeling Unlimited was the first I ever saw, which I loved, then hated after watching it again) yet others are amazingly sweet (The Royal Tenenbaums). I can see why people adore Budapest Hotel but to me it was just a good comedy, it reminds me a bit of the Ancient Greek Theatre where comedy simply meant a story that ends well even when there are tragic events involved in the story and that is at the end of the day what I like about Anderson: he makes great comedies that give you something worth talking about. When the movie's going you don't get out of them so easily, yet when they're finished they leave an aftertaste of wonder and doubt.
Also to the hipster commenters, these "hipsters" you refer to will try to explain films with pseudo-intellectual beep Much like Anderson's films, their words are a world of their own with theories that don't obey universal physics. Please beware and don't confuse them with some of us who have actual knowledge of the arts. I thank you kindly.

What I like about his films: it's as if he preserved his inner childhood or something like that and you can see that in his films, but at the same time his films don't feel "quirky" in the sense of "childish" at all.

i guess if you don't get it, you don't get it; you aren't trying to 7echate, and so neither am I, but I don't see how an objective viewer could not "get it." the writing is good, they look fantastic, I get so excited for a new Wes Anderson film it's embarrassing even to myself. Different strokes, I suppose..

IMO the magic and the unique thing about Wes Anderson movies is that they look and feel like you are watching a theater play.
(by "theater" i mean actual theater not a cinema)

If you watch many movies you tend to get tired of the same movie repeating endlessly.
This is were Anderson comes in and shines he has a certain visual style and can sometimes create a feeling thats different then most other movies.
Ive been following him since i saw life aquatic which was a almost religious experience to me sadly his never repeated it since then to my taste.
Even when he fails miserably with his movies they are still "licorice" instead of normal "banana" or "apple".
Ive got him down as very uneven in quality but still worth watching his bad movies

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His films have some of the best shot composition I'2000ve ever seen. What I like about his films is how he blends lighthearted and quirky characters/situations with some very melancholic themes underneath.
Nailed it.

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Thank you, Sam. A hundred times thank you. What the hell is a "hipster" anyway? I call myself a latter day hippie, but "hipster" seems to be used on these boards as a slap. And I find Wes Anderson films to have a refreshing understanding of, and sympathy for, the human condition.
I'm only in Show Biz by injection

As soon as someone uses the word 'hipster' you know they're a pea-brained moron who cares too much about what other people do.

He's satisfying the hipsters' craze for cute quirky overly staged dramedies.

since you asked a legit and intelligent question i will give you my 2 cents.
i only watched 2 of his films (fantastic mr. fox and grand budapest hotel) and i can only speak of TGBH, because i feel that one is special.
why is TGBH special? firstly, it has a consistent visual style, we are all attracted to a certain ideal that we try to live up to whether its clothes we wear/buy or how we decorate rooms. i know i love the style of TGBH because i love the style of the late 19th century colored photographs and thats the style wes anderson imitates in this movie. long before TGBH i had this picture as my desktop http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e8/Neuschwanstein_Castle_LOC_print_rotated.jpg and if you take one look at it you would see it is precisely the thing anderson was going to.
in this sense, those who like that style will (most likely) like TGBH.
secondly, TGBH is a very clever film. in essence, it explores how a last remnant of 19th century view of life dies in the carnage of the 20th century. this is visible through the visual style of the film (the aforementioned 19th century colored photographs, romanticism landscape paintings mimicked throughout the film and finally p5b4oetry. poetry is very important in understanding the film, because ralph finnes quotes it all the time, but what is most important is its absence in the modern world. adorno once wrote: "to write a poem after Auschwitz is barbaric" and i think this is what wes anderson had in mind with the whole poetry quoting thing. poetry is marginal in our society. some might pretend its still alive, but nobody gives two shi*ts about contemporary poetry and it is consequentially irrelevant.
there are more points, but as i already wrote a wall of text on these two i will refrain from others from now.
now i believe not everybody will like this movie, because, as i said, not everyone enjoys the same style (which is a good thing) and if you dont like the films, thats great too, but make sure you dont like it for the 'right' reasons.

I agree. I don't think he's all that great. I think they are "artsy fartsy" lol
My husband watched Budapest Hotel and chuckled. He got into it I think. IMHO It's got a British humor feel to it. So maybe that's why I don't "get it" or enjoy it.
To each his own

Ac111ctually, that's what makes him special.
Aren't hipster by definition outside of what's mainstream and popular?
By definition, his movies are special.
Can't stop the signal.

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Bwuahahaahaha. You hipsters are so sensitive.

He makes artsy fartsy movies that people pretend to like so they can "interpret" them over brunch.
You're so important that people pretend to like stuff just to make you look dumb.

He makes artsy fartsy movies that people pretend to like so they can "interpret" them over brunch.

What I love about his moviesgoshI get pulled into his movies like I do a good book. You forget your surroundings and become enveloped in the movie. I like that he created quirky characters/places, that to me is more engaging than robots beating each other up over a planetdon't get me wrong I can enjoy Transformers like anyone else..but I don't get lost in them.
You can call me 'Mayor Chapstick.'

Yes, that's it, Dana. Well said. I'm reading through this thread, and (some of) his films have the feeling and texture of certain dreams I have not always beautiful but definitely eye-catching, mysterious at times, kind of incongruent in some of the content, and often oddly paced, but when I wake up from these really weird and memorable dreams, I wish I could go back into them immediately.

I don't know what it is. Wes Anderson movies are like dreams, or fairytales.
That's a really good way to put it.