'Isle of Dogs' review: Wes Anderson's stop-motion flick is all about loving your dog

Movie: Isle of Dogs

Cast: Bryan Cranston, Koyu Rankin, Edward Norton, Bob Balaban, Bill Murray, Jeff Goldblum, Greta Gerwig, Frances McDormand, Scarlett Johansson, and Kunichi Nomura

Director: Wes Anderson

Genre: Animation, Adventure

Duration: 1hr 41min

Story: 

After an epidemic of snout fever and dog flu, the mayor of a fictional Japanese city Megasaki, Kobayashi (Kunichi Nomura), passes a resolution to banish all dogs to a dumping ground called Trash Island. The first dog to be dumped there is the protection companion of the mayor's nephew, Atari (Koyu Rankin). Atari musters up the courage to hijack a plane and rescue his dog. He crash-lands at Trash Island and meets five alpha dogs who are described as a 'pack of scary, indestructible dogs,' but are supremely democratic in their ways -- they call for a vote on every single decision! Rex (Edward Norton) is the one calling for vote, Duke (Jeff Goldblum) loves to gossip, Boss (Bill Murray) used to be a baseball team mascot, King (Bob Balaban) is an ex-spokesdog for a dog food brand, and Chief (Bryan Cranston) is a stray who bites and will take no authority.

Together they search Trash Island to find Spot (Liev Schreiber). During their search, it comes to light that Mayor Kobayashi's dynasty had been hatching the plan to permanently banish dogs for centuries. The conspiracy theory is unravelled by an exchange student named Tracy Walker (Greta Gerwig). The students and dogs together plan to overthrow Kobayashi's regime and unite man with his best friend.

Review:

Isle of Dogs is a thoroughly Wes Anderson movie. From its dry humour to the symmetry of its frames to the awkward love story. All his usual favourites are part of the voice cast. The wordplay of 'Isle of Dogs' (say it fast enough and it sounds like 'I love dogs') forms the crux of the story. It is largely a tale of friendship and bonding between the man and his animal. The movie is open to interpretation like his previous work, The Grand Budapest Hotel, which showed how mankind is capable of evil.

The movie's strength lies in its stop-motion animation, and its sets and props. The frames boast connections to the movies of Akira Kurosawa and Hayao Miyazaki. There is a den made of discarded sake bottles that illuminate the screen and is a silver lining in the sad tale about losing your dog. Rivers are made of cellophane, the trash piles are arranged with meticulous precision. What is most striking is the mannerism of the dogs. Abandoned and starved, their fur loses shine and bodies are skeletons. Their howling, sneezing, scratching behind the ear is uncannily similar to real dogs. 

Anderson's movie does not shy away from pushing the boundaries of what you can show. The dogs fight in the cloud of smoke while a few limbs are visible. They bite off ears, get bloodshot eyes too. That's not all. A meticulous scene showing the preparation of a lethal sushi order will captivate you. And for the first time in the history of stop-motion animation, you will see a kidney transplant done.

Songs in the movie -- 'I Won't Hurt You' by The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band, a few pieces from the Seven Samurai, and whistling like in Fantastic Mr Fox --  emphasize the undercurrent of sadness that is trademark Wes Anderson.

Wes Anderson begins the movie with an announcement -- 'All barks have been rendered into English.' The move certainly helps the audience but there comes a point when Gerwig's Tracy Walker and a translator, voiced by Frances McDormand, start speaking in English and this is when the Japanese start to feel foreigners in their own story. The setting is Japanese, the rituals, sets, attires, everything. But why does it have to be an exchange student from Cincinnati, Ohio to start a rebellion to get justice for dogs?

Verdict:

One can interpret the movie to be about deportation, political scapegoating, and what have you. But in the end, it's a story about dogs loving their masters and Wes Anderson delivers a beautiful spectacle.

Critic's Rating: 4/5