MOVIE REVIEW by Lucas Allen: ‘Isle of Dogs’ is refreshing, fun

Isle of Dogs
(Fox Searchlight Pictures)
By Lucas Allen

Director Wes Anderson first took a stab at stop-motion animation with his oft-quirky but colorful adaptation of Roald Dahl’s children’s book “The Fantastic Mr. Fox.”
His second attempt, “Isle of Dogs,” is more of an original story that he wrote and directed with the same trademark qualities of his live-action movies.

In this case, it takes elements from Japanese cinema like Akira Kurosawa with the essence of a Tim Burton animated movie. One of the great things about a film like this is the chance for general audiences to try something that’s different than the usual summer fare.
As told by the movie’s narrator (Courtney B. Vance), the Japanese government has banned all dogs from Trash Island because of a dog flu that could spread among humans. It’s there that a stray dog named Chief (Bryan Cranston) leads a small group of survivors including Rex (Edward Norton), Boss (Bill Murray), Duke (Jeff Goldblum) and King (Bob Balaban), who are trying to make a living. A 12-year old boy, Atari, (Koyu Rankin) crash-lands on the island while looking for his pet/bodyguard Spots (Live Schreiber). It turns out that he’s the nephew of Mayor Kobayashi (Kunchi Nomura), who was responsible for the ban.
Back in Megasaki City, foreign exchange student Tracy (Greta Gerwig) believes that the mayor is corrupt and used the ban as a way to get re-elected. She also believes that he’s been preventing the cure for the dog flu from getting out when it’s most needed. Meanwhile, Atari and the dogs enter the other side of Trash Island to find Spot’s whereabouts. Only half-blind Jupiter (F. Murray Abraham) and telepathic Oracle (Tilda Swinton) knows where he may be.
Anderson’s storytelling abilities may not be for everybody in the general sense, but he still manages to find different layers to add to his characters and situations. With this film, he delivers the same sensibilities to any foreign-language film, brings a darkly almost-Looney Tunes style comedy to the story, and divides it into chapters like a Quentin Tarantino film. By putting everything together, he creates a sensational world that’s rarely ever seen on screen and succeeds at it.
Much like “Fantastic Mr. Fox,” the film is gorgeously animated with sets, fur and effects all perfectly molded and brought to life with movement. In fact, the fur on the dogs looks so lifelike that you want to reach out to the screen and pat it. Influences from Japanese art and literature are evident throughout the film, and they play well into the overall storyline.
All in all, the director deserves kudos for making a movie that helps shed light on culture and arts from the land of the rising sun to our eyes. The highlight is the all-star voice cast thanks to Anderson’s usual display of talented actors voicing the dogs. Cranston is very believable, while Norton, Murray and Goldblum offer the most laughs.
Other highlights from the cast include Scarlett Johansson as Nutmeg, Harvey Keitel as cannibalistic Gondo, Oscar-winner Frances McDormand as the interpreter and Yoko Ono as an assistant scientist.
“Isle of Dogs” can be seen as a loving tribute to man’s best friend, but it’s also a welcome addition to Wes Anderson’s growing filmography of quite interesting films. If you need something different, or just because you had a blockbuster overload, this is a refreshing adventure worth going to.
THE MOVIE’S RATING: PG-13 (for thematic elements and violent images)
THE CRITIC’S RATING: 3.75 Stars (Out of Four)