'Isle of Dogs' A Review

Isle of Dogs is a stop-motion comedy from writer/director Wes Anderson that takes place twenty years in the future in a fictional Japan. The film follows the beginning of the dog deportation to Trash Island, a policy enacted by mayor of Megasaki City, Kobayashi(Kunichi Nomura). His ward Atari(Koyu Rankin) steals a bi-plane and crash lands on Trash Island in search of his lost dog Spots(Liev Schreiber). He meets a pack of dogs lead by Chief(Bryan Cranston) and they set out to find the missing Spots.

Cranston puts in an exceptional vocal performance, gruff yet emotional with great chemistry with Rankin. And Schreiber too brings something fresh, almost a flat affect, to the cadre of stars that pop-up during the film. Although none of the performances are weak it quickly gets to the point of diminishing returns after the 10th supporting/minor character is an A-list star. They are all servicable but the incessant pararde of fame becomes distracting, and mostly unnecessary.

The real performances are done by the figures themselves and their animators. The amount of nuance and subtly they are able to impart, the emotion, the humor, the playfulness, its stunning. This paired
with the beautiful, sometimes haunting, production design makes for a stunning transportive journey. The music also compliments the story wonderfully with a handful of 60's pop songs and a couple sequences of Japanese percussion, the soundtrack is the most balanced and effective of Anderson's career, it also shows the most restraint.

The film does have some issues. There is a psuedo "white savior" character that is at the very least out of placed and ill conceived. The only female dogs are there as mates to the male dogs, the film even goes so far at one point to directly call one a "bitch". There's also the choice to leave the spoken Japanese unsubtitled. On the other hand there is some clear reverence for the Japanese people and Japanese culture on display- an extended meticulous sushi scene, the story and structure itself inspired by folklore. It's not something that should condemn the film however it is important to be aware of and question.

Gorgeous and compelling despite the potential for cultural appropriation.

See It.