Review of Isle of Dogs (2018) by Devyn W — 13 Dec 2018

Isle of Dogs is More Than Tricks.

Wes Anderson is a divisive director and Isle of Dogs is a divisive movie. Some critics say it holds up, some critics say it's too much, and everyone has an opinion on where it fits in the Anderson canon. As a Wes Anderson novice, here's my take; Isle of Dogs charms, pleases, and keeps you on the edge of your seat, often squinting at the excruciating detail. It's a thought provoking tale of childishness, exile, and most importantly, dogs,.

It is with incredible speed that Isle of Dogs diagrams itself out. A quick narrator (who is, of course, a dog) and explanatory inter-shot text cards waste no time setting the scene. The Kobayashi Dynasty, a vicious cat loving empire set on the annihilation of dog-kind, reigns over a feudal Japan. Dogs are on the cusp of extinction. Suddenly, a boy samurai appears, beheads the leader of the Kobayashi, and recites his haiku,.

"I turn my back.

On Mankind!

Frost on windowpane.".

The audience is given a moment to think about this. Then, a rapid cut reveals kids in a school auditorium, purposefully drumming. These kids serve as the score for much of film, to great effect until you start noticing it (If you haven't watched it yet, sorry!) but here, they stop. We're shown Megasaki, a wonderfully detailed city in a near-future Japan. Haunting singing and slow pans of empty streets build tension. Everyone's in the town hall. Mayor Kobayashi (we're told by an interpreter, only barking is translated.) unveils a decree; because of the rampant dog flu and overpopulation, all dogs in Megasaki will be banished to Trash Island, the Isle of Dogs. Professor Watanabe, desperately appeals to the crowd. He's nearly found a cure for the Dog Flu. After a somber "Whatever happened to 'man's best friend?" he's booed down. The audience calls for immediate ratification of the decree, and Spots, Kobayashi's dog, is wheeled out in a locked cage to be deported.

Six months pass. Atari Kobayashi, distant nephew and adopted ward to the Mayoral Household, has stolen a prop plane to go find Spots. He crashes and meets Rex, Duke, King, Boss and Chief. Four pets and a curmudgeonly stray, in that order. They're a rag-tag crew just trying to survive in their new harsh landscape. Atari doggedly gets up from the crash site, snaps off a piece of metal lodged in his head, the holds out a photo of Spots for the dogs to see. He's come prepared for the coming journey.

These opening shots are (from what I know) classic Anderson; sheer, diagraming angles, camera facing characters, rapid cuts; the cinematography in this film is Anderson untethered, and it comes out at crane-neck speeds. The first time through, I felt dragged; I was a toddler walking a mastiff. Gags and goofy lines like "beheaded the head of the head of the Kobayashi clan," kept me from being left in the stop-motion cotton ball dust, but I kept a far better pace the second time through. The atmosphere these shots provide is a perfect launchpad for most of the rest of the film, but a too-long ending sees that plane set a little too soon. Isle of Dogs is best when this momentum is present.

Isle of Dogs splays out some harsh realities of the world, starting with scheming, political corruption, and abandoning sick dogs to die on an island made out of trash. However, another point of view shows an Isle of Dogs about cat-lovers fighting dog-lovers with evil robot dogs and wasabi poison. It's childish, and that really makes the film. Even the animation contributes; it's a cartoon! Complete with explosions and dustball brawls. Just look at the title. These two faces play brilliant foils for one another, which becomes clearer and clearer as the film goes on. Atari risks everything to save the last friend he has. Mayor Kobayashi hates dogs because he's with the cats and cats must hate dogs. Atari hijacks an airplane to go visit an island full of dogs. Mayor Kobayashi struggles with the burden of following his family's way. All of the human plot-movers in Isle of Dogs are children acting like adults or adults acting like children.

The human cast of this movie may have a lot going on, but this movie stands on more that two legs. This movie is also about dogs, and in this case, outcasts. Many of the Isle's dogs lead lives very human lives back on the mainland; they were mascots, actors, bodyguards, and show dogs. Chief, our main pooch played by Bryan Cranston, was a stray. Before Atari's arrival and the subsequent adventure, a brief glimpse shows how life happens on the Isle of Dogs. Roving packs fight for every meal. It's dog-eat-dog anarchy. However, the pack we follow has built within itself an order. They're a democracy. There's no leader; they're all leaders. They vote one way while Chief disagrees and begrudgingly follows. When they all decide to help the little pilot, Chief growls and stands off. "I bite." he says when Atari tries to pet him. It might seem like being shipped off to a trash island might be an equalizer for the dogs, perhaps with the survival-savvy strays coming out on top, Chief is still in some ways the outcast of the party. Deep down, he does want to help Atari find his dog; in the same way, he wants to find a home too, however reluctant he is to admit it. So, when in the middle of another vote a trolley unexpectedly splits leaving Chief with Atari, it's one of the most interesting points of character development in the film. Chief has lost his pack, the only home he's ever known up until that point, and he's stuck with this kid who want him to act like his pet, which goes against everything he stands for. Eventually though, Chief finds his home through Atari. They play fetch. Atari gives Chief a comically effective bath. When they finally regroup with the rest of the pack for the main adventure to resume, we have a much better understanding of both Chief and Atari.

Wes Anderson's Isle of Dogs meticulous scrolls through a thousand beautiful dioramas. The stop-motion is immersive and the characters are full of life. Expect droll humor, novel shots, and visual gags. Under the surface? It's got themes and motifs worth gnawing on for a while. Isle of Dogs is solid. It's a little too long, but otherwise amazing.

(Note: All credit of this movie review is due to Ulysses S Hale.).