Some long for a dog’s life, but this one is uniquely animated and laced with political overtones. What a cast of characters! Not only the stop-motion animated canines you see on the screen, but the cast of Oscar nominees and awards winners who voice them. There is a lot to digest in this film with several story lines running at once, a big cast and an exorbitant amount of detail. It’s about outcasts, flu epidemics, respect, tolerance, immigration, activism, fake news, politics, loyalty, and friendship. It’s relevant, a little confusing, but still entertaining.
Many tout the Writer/Director’s 2009 Fantastic Mr. Fox as a great stop action film. Here, Anderson goes for something quite different. He noticed a sign leading to a place called the Isle of Dogs outside of London, but there’s no resemblance to that location in this film. It’s set in dystopian future Japan and opens with Japanese drummers animated from different angles. Anderson has been criticized for portraying Japanese stereotypes in this one. Maybe he is trying to appeal to Asian movie goers, but the Writer/Director says it could have been set anywhere.
Anderson tossed this idea around with collaborators Jason Schwartzman and Roman Coppola to flesh out a dog story that’s much more than that. Then wrote the screenplay himself. The animators literally had to create something out of nothing using lumps of metal rubber and silicon and then make the faces have personalities and expressions which are fascinating to watch. The Japanese Drums and music by Alexandre Desplat add flavor to the settings.
Atari Kobyashi voiced by Koyu Rankin) is a 12-year-old boy whose parents died in a plane crash and his constant companion is Spots, the dog he loves. But Megasaki City Mayor Kobayashi (Kunichi Nomura, who also had some input in the story line) banishes all dogs to Trash Island because he says the canines have a disgusting, contagious disease, he dumps Atari’s beloved bodyguard dog, Spots (Liev Schreiber) first. Atari steals a plane which crash lands on the island. That’s where he runs into a pack of dogs who have since been dumped there and they all scour the island for Spots.
Imagine putting Bill Murray, (Boss- Dragons Mascot), Edward Norton (Rex, Middle Class), Bryan Cranston (Chief, the stray dog), Bob Balaban (King) all in the same London recording studio reading the script for 2 days together. Jeff Goldblum (Duke) couldn’t make it but recording it from a studio in LA. It was a new experience for they all loved. This dog patter is subtle but funny. And there are more! Anderson cast Harvey Keitel (Gondo) F. Murray Abraham (Jupiter), and lets not forget the females in the pack, Scarlett Johansson (Nutmeg), Tilda Swinton (Oracle the pug) .
Rounding out the all-star cast is Greta Gerwig as Tracy Walker, the young activist trying to expose the Mayor’s fake reason for exiling the dogs. Gerwig’s character doesn’t look like her at all, but the actress liked her character’s full face of freckles and the blond curly helmet of hair.
Frances McDormand is the voice of the Mayor’s interpreter. And Yoko Ono is the voice of the Assistant Scientists working in the lab analyzing the dog disease and it’s antidote. Even often a collaborator, Angelica Huston, gets into the act, but only in the credits listed as “Mute poodle.” Anderson possesses a good sense of humor as well as also loyalty to his stars.
The writer/director grew up with a dog named Chief, which is Cranston’s characters’s name, but admits not really being a dog person. He considers the dogs in this film more people. Their dialogue, thoughts, and expressions show this to be true, especially with how the faces and eyes are animated to show emotion. The movement of the fur on all of the dogs is fluid and life-like as the dogs talk, often directly at you.
Can’t say the same for the human characters in the film, but their stiffness is likely the juxtaposition Anderson intended. The Mayor, especially, is dark, cold, angular and exudes power. Even Atari is stiff in his movements and not very expressive. The dogs are much more human than the people.
There are some sickening scenes in this film of the filth and rotting garbage on Trash Island making a statement about the filth and corruption of society in the future. The animation is unusual and the characters are engaging. But if you think this film is only about the dogs, you’re barking up the wrong tree.
Fox Searchlight Pictures 1 hour 41 minutes PG-13 Reviewed March 27, 2018
