Isle of Dogs (2018)

Director: Wes Anderson

Story: Wes Anderson, Roman Coppola Jason Schwartzman, Kunichi Nomura

Cast: Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton, Bill Murray, Greta Gerwig

Music: Alexandre Desplat

Time: 101 minutes

Bottom-line: Typical Wes Anderson; an absolute delight!

Wes Anderson’s much-awaited stop-motion animation film is here, and it is one hell of a ride. To those of you who are used to his idiosyncrasies and style, this will be a delight, and to the others, this is as good a film as any to get you acquainted with the mastery of Anderson. This is his second stop-motion animation film after The Fantastic Mr. Fox.

Japan: In a dystopian futuristic setting, an influenza virus spreads throughout the canine population. The new mayor of Megasaki City, Kobayashi, signs a decree banishing all dogs to Trash Island, despite one scientist waging a lone battle to find a cure. One such dog is Spots (Liev Schreiber) – that of the Mayor’s orphaned ward, Atari, who goes in search of it. Atari crashes on the island, and is rescued by a pack of four dogs (Norton, Murray, Jeff Goldblum, Bob Balaban), led by Chief (Cranston). The four dogs are ready to help Atari, but Chief, being a stray, has a dislike towards all humans. After persuasion from a female, Nutmeg (Scarlett Johansson), Chief also agrees to help. Meanwhile, the scientist does find a cure, but Kobayashi poisons him. An American exchange student, Tracy (Gerwig) starts to fish out the story, having a hunch that the entire scheme of banishing dogs is part of a conspiracy. What’s the real story?

 

The five dogs and Atari; leftmost is Chief 

Wes Anderson has a knack for beautifully bringing together a huge ensemble cast, and still making every role unique. No one is overshadowed by another, and everyone has their moments. Bryan Cranston voices the rebellious Chief (I was hoping for some subtle Breaking Bad reference but didn’t get any) and Norton voices Rex, whose repetitive “Let’s take a vote!” is always timed perfectly to give the effect of humour; they were the highlights. Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton and Ken Watanabe also have cameo roles.

 

Mayor Kobayashi

The best part of the film – apart from the marvellous animation work – is the deadpan humour: from the subtle visual jokes to the cleverly timed lines and body language, Isle of Dogs is full of it. The other Anderson characteristic – the dazzling use of colour – is also prevalent. Alexander Desplat’s eccentric music suits the film and the atmosphere perfectly too. One issue that people protested against was that it was too racist with regard to the Japanese, but if that’s not an issue for you, this is a non-stop joyride. I liked the way Anderson translates the characters’ Japanese using interpreters or text instead of a running subtitle – a new type of quirk this time (so if you feel you don't follow what the characters are saying, it is intended to be that way)! The way fights are shown – with the white cloud of smoke – is nicely done too!

 

Tracy 

Unlike most of his films, Isle of Dogs has more emotional content – the bond between Atari and Chief (and Spots) and that between Chief and Nutmeg, for example. The character of Tracy Walker is well-developed – an unusual hero indeed! With excellently written humour, a superb voice cast, and skilful animation, this film is a must-watch!

My Rating: 4/5

Rotten Tomatoes rating: 89%