From the fantastic and creative mind of Wes Anderson, this film is another timeless masterpiece. Isle of Dogs is a charming and humorous animated film about a young boy who goes looking for his pet after all dogs from Japan are banished to an island of trash. This movie contains all the same charm as Fantastic Mr. Fox, Moonrise Kingdom, etc., yet still maintains its own independence from other Anderson works. The story is wildly original, the voice cast is amazing, and it is impossible not to get entrenched in this cute, canine-driven world.
This film succeeds in almost every piece of the puzzle that makes a movie memorable. Every aspect of this film was done very well and there is not much that I would change about it. The aesthetic in this movie was, as expected, very Wes Anderson-like. It was awkward, fun, and charming, which seems to be his classic and signature style. Another of Anderson's cinematic quirks is that he is a master of using animation and close-up scenes to build his settings. Even though the scene with the chef preparing the poisoned sushi was a bit long, it just adds to his unique techniques throughout that were mesmerizing. The transitions that are used aid the discomfort of the extended shots, but that only adds to the dry humor. This is my favorite part of Anderson's filmmaking because it is so original and no other director could pull it off with such loveliness. The animation in this film was absolutely amazing too, as I am always impressed with stop-motion films. Especially one of this caliber, where you could see each individual hair on the dogs moving in the wind or covered with dirt. The amount of detail put in is astounding and I do not know how people have the patience for that kind of animation, but I have the utmost of respect for them. I also loved how there were a few different animation styles within the stop-motion world. In the flashback scenes, a 2-D animation styles was briefly used and in the shots on the TV, there was a certain "paper-and-pen" style that was beautiful as well.
The voice cast in this film was largely impressive, as is most of Anderson's films. This film was led by Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton, Bill Murray, Jeff Goldblum, Greta Gerwig, Frances McDormand, and Scarlett Johansson. Of course, these are all the white actors and actresses who voiced the dogs and a few minor human characters, but the real talent from this film came from the Japanese voice cast who brought so much life into their characters. Koyu Rankin, Kunichi Nomura, Akira Takayama, Akira Ito, and even a cameo voice appearance from Yoko Ono were all amazing. As for the Japanese characters in the film, there was great representation with all of them and I am glad that Anderson was able to beautifully incorporate another culture into this film. One nice touch that I enjoyed was there were no subtitles for when the Japanese people were speaking, only a translator during certain scenes that was utilized very well. I also loved how this movie efficiently used a PG-13 rating to blend a lot of adult content with enough jokes and silliness to appeal to children as well. There are only a few minor things that irked me about this film, and that was the generalized story and a particular character. Even though the story had a very nice message about loyalty and love, it was still very bland. The journey of the boy and the dogs felt a bit empty and more focused on the design of everything. Which I can't say I'm mad about, though. The other part that I did not like was Greta Gerwig's character Tracy. Greta Gerwig is an extraordinary filmmaker and I am honestly surprised that she took this voice role. I'm surprised because this character was a white girl set in Japan as a foreign exchange student. She was the leader and face of the children's revolution to get their dogs back, but I did not like how a white girl had to be the main focus of this revolution while the other Japanese students barely participated. I agree that Tracy should have been included, but I feel that an actual Japanese child would have worked better for the face of that group.
Even though I did not gravitate towards this film as much as I did with Fantastic Mr. Fox, Isle of Dogs is a magical movie that rivals many of the animated films geared towards children nowadays. A compelling story and memorable casts makes this movie one of the best in a long time. Even though the rating was PG-13, this movie has enough varied content to make any age happy. I would strongly recommend this film for its pure message, beautiful animation, and of course, GOOD BOIS.
My Rating: ★★★★
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