Isle of Dogs

Super cute Japenese culture film of precious dogs and rescuing friends. Wes Anderson's masterpieces of ensemble cast deserves better; all his films are unique and lovable! This one especially is full of great vibes, incredible music, and a very heartwarming story! I originally saw Isle of Dogs in the theater with my mom cause she's a huge Wes Anderson fan so that was a blast, today watched with my sister in the living room that was cute.

I love Wes Anderson's films and I love animation films. 'Isle of Dogs' was absolutely incredible! It is a demented, unsympathetic and uniquely different film that is completely and utterly stunning! The stop-motion animation is great. The script and dialogue is very good, and you gotta love the (dog) characters!

The film featured some moments that had me belly-laughing and moments that just melted my heart. It never became sentimental or overly comical. The comedic moments were seriously funny. Wes Anderson pays great attention to detail and he obviously had a clear vision of what he wanted to portray. We don't always understand what the Japanese are saying, as they are not accompanied by subtitles, but that never mattered and - in fact - made it even more interesting, funny and unique.

'Isle of Dogs' will go down as one of my all-time favorite movies.

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.

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.