Stop-motion films have captivated audiences since they were created, and Laika’s polished films like Kubo and The Two Strings and Paranorman, Wes Anderson’s Isle of Dogs is a rough stop-motion picture poised to be a classic. The movie is set in Japan as a bout of dog flu creates a panic, and the mayor banishes all dogs to a trash island dubbed the Isle of Dogs. Only one little boy hijacks a plane and flies to the island to find his dog Spots, and a pack of strong alpha dogs, voiced by Bryan Cranston, Bob Balaban, Bill Murray, Edward Norton and Jeff Goldblum, help the little pilot.
Courtesy: Fandango
The movie itself has a star-studded cast that love their roles and the process of this entire film. Fox Searchlight released an amazing interview with the main cast earlier in March and the entire interview is animated. The cast speaks through the dogs’ play and each dog is on a different set, and this gives you quite the scope of the scale of this film. Trash Island alone had twelve unique sets, and the movie had over 1000 puppets, 500 dogs and 500 humans.
The film was shot like an illustrated book, and scenes had a sharp, yet somber and glum air about them. Wide angles showing the scope of the set helps establish the world, the dogs and the tone of the film. And it’s a beautiful looking film, you can clearly see the detail, the effort and the love that went into making this idea become a living work of art. Only 27 animators worked on the entirety of the film, with special effects such as explosions made from cotton balls and stop-motion.
Courtesy: Vox
Many of the minute details in the dogs themselves show a tragic pattern of abuse before their exile into Trash Island such as matted fur, patchy fur, open wounds and the simple sense of abandonment from owners who couldn’t care less about them now. The sets throughout the movie were made to represent a style akin to Japan in the 60s, but with technological advancements like in Godzilla. Everything was painstakingly made to create such a realistic world, but the time and effort it took really paid off.
I am a huge fan of animation, and the moment the first trailer for this movie came out, I was absolutely dying to see it. It’s eccentric, quirky, beautifully and symmetrically shot with amazing sets and characters built from scratch; each main character, despite there being quite a few, stands out in their own unique way. From the alpha pack to Jupiter, Oracle, Nutmeg, Mayor Kobayashi and his son, Atari, the little pilot, the characters have unique designs and personalities as the dogs themselves dish out clever commentary.
Isle of Dogs is rated PG-13, and I think it’s another amazing step in taking animation seriously as an art form and not just something to put on for the kids. This movie is a classic in the making, and I cannot wait to see it.