Wes Anderson's 'Isle of Dogs' is so Wes Anderson
A movie like “Isle of Dogs” seems to made only for a special kind of viewer — namely those in love with everything from writer/director Wes Anderson (“The Grand Budapest Hotel”).
I am that viewer, so naturally I walked away as satisfied as ever with Anderson’s precise and eccentric brand of whimsy/melancholy.
The problem with “Isle of Dogs,” Anderson’s second stop-motion animated film following 2009’s “Fantastic Mr. Fox,” is figuring out what other audiences will connect with it. The movie tells the story of flu-stricken dogs banished to a trash island who decide to help a young boy find his lost pet. Corrupt mayoral politics and vicious robotic pet replacements stand in their way.
Anderson’s most commercially successful films — think “Rushmore,” “The Royal w” and “Budapest Hotel” — tend to find ways to satisfy a broader audience, including viewers who often reject the hyper-detailed fussiness of the “Wes Anderson Universe.”
“Isle of Dogs” doesn’t have much traditional broad appeal outside maybe the exploration of what it means for a dog to be Man’s Best Friend, though Anderson purposely avoids taking the sentimental route there too.
Set in Japan in the near future, nearly all of the human dialogue is spoken in Japanese, with only occasional subtitles and spoken translations. The dog characters speak English, and while they serve as the main characters, the humans influence the central drama and surrounding political intrigue.
While it’s fairly easy to decipher the communication (except when intentionally emphasizing the disconnect between humans and dogs), the movie repeatedly requires extra moments to gauge audience comprehension, especially in its human-centric final act. This can feel disrupting at times, though the pulsing score, led by “Shape of Water” Oscar winner Alexandre Desplat and featuring energetic taiko drumming, helps to power through some of the clumsier exposition dumps.
Anderson’s arsenal of voice actors, which includes Edward Norton, Scarlett Johansson, Bill Murray, Bob Balaban, Jeff Goldblum, Courtney B Vance, Frances McDormand and many more, provide the usual bone-dry humor, though the addition of a growling Bryan Cranston as the primary dog character, Chief, gives “Isle of Dogs” a necessary edge at its center.
The dogs make the movie. Unfortunately the third act jettisons most of these characters in favor of resolving the human conflict, with only Chief left to leave much of an impression. The movie also boasts a PG-13 rating, mostly for some amusing stop-motion animation violence, but younger kids wouldn’t be interested in the lack of slapstick and fart jokes in “Isle of Dogs” anyway.
A few critics have also accused “Isle of Dogs” of racial appropriation. To me, the depiction of Japanese culture seems to be coming from a place of warm admiration, and Anderson has specifically cited the cinematic influence of filmmaker Akira Kurosawa. Then again, I’m just a white guy and definitely don’t have any business deciding whether or not Anderson crossed a line here.
If forced to look at it objectively, “Isle of Dogs” seems more like a middle-of-the-road Anderson entry. I could see where “Isle of Dogs” worked for me where it might not work for others.
Really though, I’m just guessing. I’m the guy who defends “The Darjeeling Limited” and hails “The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou” as Anderson’s unappreciated masterwork. The attention to detail in almost every frame of “Isle of Dogs” puts to shame 90 percent of what gets released in theaters. I continue to be wowed by what Anderson brings to the screen, so maybe I’m still too wrapped up in all the whimsical melancholy to judge it honestly.
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Tyler Wilson can be reached at twilson@cdapress.com