L'Île aux chiens

Isle of Dogs is Wes Anderson's love letter to Dogs and Japan, her aesthetic, her archetypes, and her culture. And it's in those respects where the movie flourishes, as Anderson lovingly and meticulously breathes life into his imagined Nippon of the future. If you love Wes Anderson and Dogs, you'll probably dig this movie. Furthermore, if you have an appreciation of Japan and its culture you might like it too...just don't expect anything more than a superficial treatment and you won't be disappointed.

I would also add that this superficiality, the elevation of style over substance, is what keeps this from being a great film, as the human characters were all flat. They were one-dimensional archetypes, and the lead, a boy named Atari felt more like a conglomeration of archetypes and quirks than anything else. Anderson didn't let me spend enough time with them, and Anderson didn't spend enough time developing them, for those characters and storylines to come together in a satisfying way.

Now the story involving the dogs was quite enjoyable, and had a pleasant enough conclusion, but it wasn't good enough to make up for the un-engaging humans we had to follow for much of the screen-time. They weighed the picture down, and it dragged...specifically the second act (a guy in my showing fell asleep about forty five minute in, and I must admit that my eye lids got heavy too).

Basically with Isle of Dogs, what you see is what you get. If you dig Wes Anderson, and his muses, you'll probably like this movie. It's a lovely looking movie with real moments of visual and atmospheric inspiration. Just keep your expectations low and don't expect any real depth.

Isle of Dogs (2018) Wes Anderson, I don"t know if you are like me you'll read Isle of Dogs to say "I love dogs" maybe it just me.

After a tedious discussion with a friend (acquaintance) who detests the work of Wes Anderson i have without realising become a big fan. This is similar to Fantastic Mr Fox in its animated style, featuring the big name voices of Bryan Cranston, Bill Murray, Scarlet Johnson etc etc etc, see if you can spot Yoko Ono, i did. The story is fairly straight forward, its a rescue mission akin to Escape From New York (not that ive seen that movie but I know of it) except its not the president of New York that needs to be rescued but a boys pet dog.

Do not listen to pretentious morons who detest Wes Anderson.

It is a great movie and a worthy 8/10.

I've just seen this movie at Berlinale and it is exactly what you would expect from Wes Anderson. I wasn't sure how he would do with a non-Western setting but he managed well.

He keeps his unique style and it works very well with the futuristic, but still traditional Japanese art. It also incorporates some cartooning along with interesting ideas - the Japanese dialogue is not always translated and when it is, it's by interpreters or foreign exchange students. Anderson manages to merge his style with the Japanese and it works seamlessly.

It's a very quirky film with an all too relatable story. I enjoyed the visuals more than the plot, I'll admit, but it was still a good movie, with the usual quick dialogues, jokes, strange characters - Tilda Swinton being the weirdest, no surprise there - and altogether it's a great experience.

Without spoilers, if you like Wes Anderson, you will like this movie. If you don't, buckle up, because this is jam-packed with everything that is his style, the quirky music works now fused with Japanese, Bill Murray, Jeff Goldblum and the usual cast having very well fitting characters (watch out for the credits Anjelica Huston is there as a Mute Poodle) and the cinematography being interesting and stunning.

P.S. It's still not a children's movie, don't let the format fool you.

In the city of Megasaki, Japan, Mayor Kobayashi has banished all dogs to Trash Island fearing an outbreak of dog flu. Scientist Watanabe insists that he will soon have a cure but he is ignored. Atari Kobayashi flies to the island to search for his dog Spots. The boy is an orphan and is a ward of distant uncle Mayor Kobayashi. He is assisted by 5 dogs who voted to help him find Spots. Tough street dog Chief refuses to have a master and is the only to vote no. They go on a journey while the cat loving mayor is planning a final solution.

Director Wes Anderson returns to stop-motion animation after Fantastic Mr Fox. While I've loved his movies, his stop-motion stuff is problematic personally. His deadpan structured filming style leaves me feeling tired from repetition. In live action, I can get involved with the actors but I'm less connected with these artificial figures. I did laugh several times for the first half but like before, the style does wear down on me slightly. Nevertheless, it is enjoyable and darn it, I laughed. It's fun while it lasts.

I really enjoyed this wonderful little film that was such a departure in a way for director Wes Anderson, yet his style is still readily obvious. I saw this at a midnight showing and I can tell you, everyone walking out of the theater was raving and talking about how great it was, And it was, such a charming a cute adventure of a story that was a total surprise, in the sense of a surprise to see Anderson making an animated film. I was so exited for the film and it really was in no way a disappointment, I thoroughly enjoyed his latest work, in fact, I might go see it twice, which is rare for me. In the second paragraph I will discuss a little more about what exactly I liked about it, but in general this was a damn good film that demands a viewing.

Wes Anderson's style is so honed in this film despite it being animated. The use of colors and symmetry are still plainly obvious, the color and design of things very consistent giving a believable world for the film to be set in. Each one of the characters was deeply developed and fascinating while also working off many of the other characters. The writing is sharp, intelligent, and very well written in the style of many of the other Anderson classics. So basically if you are a fan of his style, then you will be delighted to see this movie that is the personification of Wes Anderson's style.