Review of Isle of Dogs (2018) by Wayne W — 19 Apr 2018

Hyper-stylized auteur Wes Anderson is back in animation for the first time since Fantastic Mr. Fox with Isle of Dogs. This sci-fi-comedy-adventure touches on topics like political corruption, media, oppression, and even the Holocaust. However, the Mad-Gab-esque title ("I Love Dogs") really lets you know what the film's aims are. A visually captivating and heartfelt stop-motion film, it's main goal and success is as an unabashed rub-on-the-belly for man's best friend.

Set 20 years in the future, a young boy is goes searching for his beloved pet after all of Japan's dogs have been exiled to a garbage-dump-island. Full of deadpan humor and detailed history, the world-building is fantastic. As with many of Anderson's films, it's filled with small touches (hilarious haikus, surprisingly complex dog characters) that envelope an audience despite the intentional stiffness in the delivery. And of course, there's his signature visual style. Here we're given a technical adeptness in the animation styles that makes this even more aesthetically stunning than normal, along with the extreme symmetry and dry emotions.

For me, Anderson's style has always been one that I could never quite embrace the way others do. Where many see it as distinct and engaging, I often find it makes his films colder and more distant than they might otherwise feel. Those feelings still popped up here for me, an undeniable sense of cloying cuteness and self-parody. However, with Isle of Dogs those negatives only serve to highlight how great the visual achievements, subtle laughs and story constructs are here. Artfully attentive and original, this may not convert audiences either for or against Anderson, but it's still a cute entry into his unmistakable repertoire.