Meryl Streep Got Foxy Even Before Her New Animated Film

11/28/2009 at 10:10 AM EST

How do you prepare to voice a fox in an animated film? If you're Meryl Streep, you use past experience.

In an exclusive video, Streep explains how an encounter with a fox in London helped her give life to Mrs. Fox in the new movie Fantastic Mr. Fox, which opened Thanksgiving Day and costars George Clooney. "We looked at each other for 12 minutes," Streep recalls. "I had my little clock and I kept looking ... I have never looked in an animal's eyes that long. My dog won't look at me that long."

Watch the exclusive video on PEOPLEPets.com!

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