Isle of Dogs

Wes Anderson is a director that I'm woefully uneducated on. 

Before Isle of Dogs, I've only seen one of his films: the utterly fantastic The Grand Budapest Hotel. It was one of my favorite films of 2014 and turned me on to the director whom I'd previously avoided (explained more in that review).

Unfortunately I've done a pretty poor job catching up with any of Anderson's films for really no good reason. While I hope to rectify that issue soon enough, I should open this review with the disclaimer that Isle of Dogs is Anderson through and through (by just the amount I know of him from 2 films and knowledge of his other stuff). 

If you previously disliked him, I don't think Isle of Dogs will do much to change that. The humor is still somewhat quirky, the overall colors are fun, but muted, and there is that air of hispter-chic throughout, whether intended or not, simply because it is an Anderson film.

Isle of Dogs is a stop-motion animation -- not always my favorite -- set in Japan where dogs have been banned due to their sickness (and a behind-the-scenes conspiracy) to an isle of trash. Here their sickness disintegrates and they become more hostile and desperate to find food and survive. Eventually a 12 year old boy comes to rescue his dog, Spots, and it sets a chain of events in motion that we follow for the 90ish minute film. 

The first thing you'll notice here is the impeccable animation. It's hard to get over how incredible (and cute) most of the animation is throughout. Dog fur is distinctly made up of separate strands and much of the environment is also impressive. Small details, like white "strings" for steam, are both funny and inventive while the ability for these designs to articulate movement as well as they do is equally as mesmerizing to watch. For example, during the opening credits there are Japanese musicians playing the intro music and I was watching their movements to see if they lined up with the quick beats. Astoundingly, they did and it makes Isle of Dogs eerie in its realism, but obvious animation. Small details like that add up and it truly is impressive. 

Awesome and colorful cinematography

"Say my name!"
"Chief"
"You're goddam right."

While Isle of Dogs may have that endearing Anderson charm, and it rarely lets up on that front, I truthfully didn't find it all that funny. The guy in front of me apparently did, but he was laughing at odd moments where no one else was. Perhaps this was intended to be less of a comedy than Grand Budapest (or previous Anderson films) were, but I didn't read it as such from the overall tone and marketing. There are "ha-ha" moments here and there but by and large this is more of an endearing film in the humor department; enough to put a consistent smile on your face, but rarely ever enough to have you laugh audibly. But it is amusing in several ways, mainly in those typical Anderson, witty scripts, as well as the simple fact that all of these recognizable voices are...well...dogs. Bryan Cranston has the most voice work here and he plays equal parts Walter White and Heisenberg to the delight of probably everyone. There's a lot of other strong work here, but the highlights are Jeff Goldblum as a gossip-loving pooch, Bill Murray as a super cute mascot dog, and Edward Norton as the self-proclaimed "leader" of the group. Some of the recurring gags -- "Did you guys hear about...?" or "Let's take a vote." are silly in the situations and the fact they're all dogs and the basic premise of the whole film is delightfully fun and genuine.

I'm guessing that, much like other Anderson films, Isle of Dogs is a visual and audible delight too. I won't go back into detail about the fun animation, but instead focus on the cinematography that Anderson is so well known for. He definitely has an eye for exactly how he wants his movies to look and Isle of Dogs, despite being animated, has some of the best shots of the year thus far. Also one of the best of the year is its Japanese-inspired original score and rarely-used, but perfect soundtrack. It's often loud with Japanese drums, but oddly fitting in its intensity while the more mellow moments are complimented well by the actual hipster songs. 

All of these heroes of the Wes Anderson Cinematic Universe (WACU) have joined forces!

Isle of Dogs has a lot going for it aesthetically that make it pretty unforgettable. This isn't an example of style over substance per say, but I did find it a little more in that balance than Grand Budapest was. When you stop to think about it though, we would never get a film like this from another director and the fact that Wes Anderson has found the success he has is surprising yet makes us some very lucky movie-goers indeed.

CONS

• Not as funny as I would have hoped. It's consistently amusing, rarely very funny
• Certain plot elements designed to have some political point fell pretty flat. There's a group of conspiracy theory-believing characters that could have been removed completely and the film would have survived
• I think because of this the film feels a little longer than it actually is

PROS

• As always, this is an awesome cast with lots of Anderson regulars. Cranston owns the most dialogue but Norton, Murray, Goldblum, and others all hit their beats here
• Truly impressive animation that is hard to tear your eyes away from. It's meticulous in its detail but quirky in its execution -- you wouldn't expect anything less from an Anderson film
• Easy, simple story that earns the emotional moments and is fresh and funny
• Colorful and eye-catching cinematography
• Wonderfully fitting original score and soundtrack
• A fun, memorable time at the movies that could really only be provided to us (and pulled off) by Wes Anderson

Rath's Review Score | 8.5/10