In the fictional Japanese city of Megasaki, a canine influenza outbreak has occurred. Mayor Kenji Kobayashi (Kunichi Nomura) therefore decrees that all dogs are to be deported to nearby Trash Island, despite the mayor's political rival Professor Watanabe's (Akira Ito) insistence that he is about to find a cure. The first pooch dumped there is Spots (Liev Schreiber), whose owner is none other than Mayor Kobayashi's ten-year-old nephew and ward, Atari (Koyu Rankin). A quiet but adventurous boy, missing his pet, Atari now wastes no time in going away to find and rescue Spots, hijacking an aircraft to Trash Island, now known as "Isle of Dogs," where he meets and acquires the help of stray Chief (Bryan Cranston) and his pack.
This is a genuinely oddball film, but that's precisely what to expect from writer-director Wes Anderson. Nominated for the 2018 Best Animated Feature and Best Original Score Oscars, it's a stop-motion science fiction comedy and I don't quite know how I feel about it, if I'm completely honest, but it's undoubtedly original and unmistakable. I do know I don't think it's nearly as enjoyable as his live-action films Rushmore (1998) and The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014), but it's totally different to both those narratively, aesthetically and technically anyway. There's a real exactness and precision to how Anderson directs this tale and the humour in his screenplay is almost exclusively deadpan and very dry (another trademark of his work), with the visuals flowing very consistently from scene to scene with thorough attention to detail. And the voice cast (which also includes Harvey Keitel, Frances McDormand, Jeff Goldblum, Scarlett Johansson, Ken Watanabe, Greta Gerwig, F. Murray Abraham and even Yoko Ono) all provide fun and natural vocal turns. Alexandre Desplat's score also warranted its Oscar nod.
But as I said before, all things considered, I don't quite know what I think of Isle of Dogs, mainly because I'm still trying to identify exactly what its overall objectives are. However, I certainly do not hate it. I don't even dislike it.
This is a genuinely oddball film, but that's precisely what to expect from writer-director Wes Anderson. Nominated for the 2018 Best Animated Feature and Best Original Score Oscars, it's a stop-motion science fiction comedy and I don't quite know how I feel about it, if I'm completely honest, but it's undoubtedly original and unmistakable. I do know I don't think it's nearly as enjoyable as his live-action films Rushmore (1998) and The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014), but it's totally different to both those narratively, aesthetically and technically anyway. There's a real exactness and precision to how Anderson directs this tale and the humour in his screenplay is almost exclusively deadpan and very dry (another trademark of his work), with the visuals flowing very consistently from scene to scene with thorough attention to detail. And the voice cast (which also includes Harvey Keitel, Frances McDormand, Jeff Goldblum, Scarlett Johansson, Ken Watanabe, Greta Gerwig, F. Murray Abraham and even Yoko Ono) all provide fun and natural vocal turns. Alexandre Desplat's score also warranted its Oscar nod.
But as I said before, all things considered, I don't quite know what I think of Isle of Dogs, mainly because I'm still trying to identify exactly what its overall objectives are. However, I certainly do not hate it. I don't even dislike it.
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