Isle Of Dogs (2018) Dir: Wes Anderson
- Ridley Coote
- 2 days ago
- 2 min read
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This 2018 animated comedy, from the iconic Wes Anderson, is the filmmaker's second stop motion feature film, with his first being the beloved 'Fantastic Mr. Fox' from nine years earlier. This effort is far less well-known than that aforementioned modern classic, but those who have seen it, seem to like it a lot, which was certainly encouraging. By the time I watched this, I had seen the vast majority of Anderson's filmography, but even so, I didn't know what to expect, beyond the classically Wes Anderson cinematography.
The film had a very interesting animation style, which certainly appealed to me, especially because of the use of miniatures and animatronics - something we don't see enough of in feature films, in my opinion. Much like with the aforementioned 'Fantastic Mr. Fox', this form of animation allowed the animal characters to really come alive on the screen - it gave them so much personality.
The narrative was extremely wholesome and emotional, at points, though perhaps not quite as compelling as other Anderson films. I enjoyed the wholesome relationship between the two protagonists, at least, but some of the side characters felt a little irrelevant and unneeded. That aside, however, this was a very enjoyable little adventure, which felt a little different from a lot of other Anderson films.
Bryan Cranston gave a typically competent and emotive voice performance, which conveyed the nuanced, traumatised mind of his character brilliantly. I usually have a lot of time for Cranston, and this was another example of why I enjoy his work so much. The other notable standout was Koyu Rankin, whose performance as the young 'Atari' was very endearing, but the likes of Bob Balaban, Edward Norton, Bill Murray, Jeff Goldblum, and way too many other big names in small roles to name, deserved credit too.
Overall, I found this to be a unique and heartwarming little adventure comedy, which felt very much in keeping with the emotional and visual style that has made Wes Anderson so popular. As far as where it sits amongst the many films of the popular filmmaker, I'd say this was around the middle of the pack, but that's not a bad place to be, considering how good some of those other films are. Either way, fans of both animation and Anderson himself should find this one very agreeable.
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