Review of The Plague Dogs (1982) by Greg P — 14 May 2008

With the success of "Watership Down" in the back pocket, Martin Rosen and his studio teamed up again for another Richard Adams adaptation a few years later. Like "Watership Down", "The Plague Dogs" is a dark and somber animated tale that really isn't suitable for children.

You will not find the colorful characters and joyful breaking into song in this one, but instead will be shoveled grim and hopeless despair. In a government research lab, two dogs named Snitter and Rowf, are able to escape torturous experiments, and begin looking for a safe new life.

After feeble attempts at finding a master to take care of them, the two decide to survive as wild dogs with the help of a sly fox named The Tod. The most common food for the dogs are sheep, but this makes matters worse for them as it triggers a panic of local residents demanding their termination by the authorities.

This as well as the suspicion that they may be carrying the bubonic plague has them targeted even by the military. It's obviously not your typical cartoon movie, and I really like the grittiness of it all.

There's even one scene in particular that caught me off guard with it's morbidity. From a stylistic point, there is some nicely done scenery and landscapes, but some of the animation feels quite sloppy; at least it gives the movie a distinctive look.

As far as the all important message goes, it's definitely dealing with animal cruelty with it's empathetic view point, but it isn't done in a manipulative, sappy, or over sentimental way, so it's not a PETA only movie.

As a whole this isn't quite as good as "Watership Down" but it has enough substance to stick.