Isle of Dogs Review
Isle of Dogs (2018) Directed by Wes Anderson
Isle of Dogs is the ninth film from visionary director Wes Anderson. It follows a 12 year old boy named Atari Kobayashi as he sets to find his missing dog, Spots. But what happened to Spots? Same as every dog, unfortunately; he's been cast out to Trash Island with all the other dogs in Megasaki City. The evil Mayor Kobayashi has decreed that dogs are a menace to their society after a dog flu epidemic. So it's up to a mangy group of alpha dogs to help young Atari find his only companion.
Like all Wes Anderson movies, there is a plethora of style, color, and playful tone to Isle of Dogs. There's also one of the strongest casts ever to grace the big screen together (with one major exception). You have: Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton, Bob Balaban, Jeff Goldblum, Bill Murray, Greta Gerwig, Scarlett Johansson, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton, F. Murray Abraham, Fisher Stevens, Liev Schreiber, and even Harvey Keitel. But my major exception for all these wonderful actors is.....Yoko Ono as Yoko Ono. When her name is said, it's almost as a joke. Luckily her part is so small she says next to nothing. And she doesn't scream like a goat in this.
It's a joy to see such an odd animated movie with a silly story, but it doesn't do as good of a job balancing its style and substance. Isle of Dogs has a straight-forward story, with little to no twists. Not that it has to be complicated or convoluted, but almost the entire story was graphed out within the first half hour. There's little Wes Anderson flourishes here and there when he directs an animated movie, which is more than welcome. But I didn't get the emotional impact or child-like wonder that I had with Fantastic Mr. Fox. It is obvious that the two biggest things put in the forefront here is the gargantuan cast and the style of animation. Story is the first important thing in my mind when watching a movie, but I understand that it doesn't all depend on it. You have to have solid acting from believable characters and enough of a story to help the characters go from point a to point b.
And this is what Isle of Dogs is: a love letter to all of those who enjoys a Wes Anderson film. A love letter to all the long time collaborators of his. A love letter to people who enjoy a different, unforgiving animated movie (IOD is definitely not in the same category as a Disney movie). Don't get me wrong, Isle of Dogs is very enjoyable to watch. I'd even go as far as to say it's one of the best movies of 2018 so far. I just don't see it being dissected and praised as much as some of the other works of Wes Anderson.