Isle of Dogs (PG) ****
Dir: Wes Anderson
Voices: Bryan Cranston, Koyu Rankin, Edward Norton
Runtime: 101 minutes
SPECIAL dog-friendly previews took place at the weekend of Wes Anderson’s charmer about a boy’s quest to find his lost dog.
Perhaps the film will indeed be catnip to your four-legged pal, much in the way some dogs like to curl up on the sofa to watch Countryfile and Crufts. In which case good luck tracking down a dog-friendly screening near you.
Isle of Dogs could equally be recommended to fans of stop-motion animation, the kookier and more hand-knitted looking the better.
Moreover, with its Japanese setting and focus on a group of noble warriors lending their support to a just cause, students of Akira Kurosawa will find much to admire and chew over here.
If all that fails to float your cinema-going boat, we could spend a couple of hundred words discussing Isle of Dogs’ worth as a modern morality tale about the dangers of populist politics and those who would set one group in society against another.
Isle of Dogs is all of the above, but who am I kidding? The clue is in the title if you say it slowly. Like some guided missile packed with wet noses, damp fur and sloppy kisses, Isle of Dogs is targeted at fully paid up members of the I Love Dogs club, especially those who reckon that the only possible way that mutts could be improved is to give them the power of speech.
Anderson’s tale is set in a Japan of the future where resources are overstretched and life has become a dog eat dog existence. To make matters worse, a new type of lurgy, canine flu, is doing the rounds. The mayor of Megasaki City decrees that all dogs will be sent into exile on Trash Island, much to the delight of cat owners and the consternation of 12-year-old Atari (voiced by Koyu Rankin). Instead of accepting the possibility of never seeing his beloved Spots (Liev Schreiber) again, Atari decides to launch a rescue mission.
Anderson, writing and directing, sets his story up swiftly so we can get to the titular isle as quickly as possible. It is not a pretty place. Between packs of dogs scrapping over fetid scraps, raging illness, and a complete absence of the creature comforts these former pets once took for granted, the isle has gone full-blown Lord of the Flies.
It takes a tough dog to survive this life, and few come more no-nonsense than Chief (Bryan Cranston). Chief (“I don’t sit”) has seen the worst of humans, and won’t forget it. He tries to instil the same clear-eyed view in his pack, Boss (Bill Murray), Rex (Edward Norton), Duke (Jeff Goldblum), King (Bob Balaban) with varying degrees of success.
When a plane crash lands on the island and a little human emerges asking about Spots, why should any dog help him? Can the sacred bond between the two species ever be mended?
The answer will not surprise you, but there is a lot of fun to be had along the way. With such a strong voice cast each dog in Chief’s pack quickly assumes a distinctive character of his own. Ditto the females who get in on the action later via the voices of Tilda Swinton, Greta Gerwig, Scarlett Johansson, and not forgetting one Yoko Ono. Frances McDormand, double Oscar-winner, plays a Japanese-English translator who has the job of explaining the mayor’s latest anti-dog initiative.
It has been 20 years since Anderson made his debut as a writer-director with Rushmore. The stories may change, he may slip into animation every now and then, but his films have essentially stuck with the same blend of eccentricity, gentle wit and sly charm, with, increasingly, sprinkles of politics for those who like their whimsy a little chewier.
As a result of sticking to what pleases him, Anderson is something of a Marmite director. He has taken legions of fans with him, but he has lost a few along the way too. At times (The Darjeeling Limited, Fantastic Mr Fox) his pictures can seem like an exclusive club of famous pals making childish films for adults.
But when he gets the blend of light and shade right (Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums, and here) one falls hard for his charms all over again.
On general release. Dog-friendly screening at The Cameo, Edinburgh, on April 1 sold out, but check for returns.
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