Isle of Dogs Review

I consider Wes Anderson to most certainly be a master of art in film and with this effort it continues that proud tradition. This is another stop motion film from him that aims to push the boundaries of what can be presented with the style and it's fantastic. Isle of Dogs follows a young ward that's gone out to find his dog within a banished landscape. This situation developed from a disease that has ravaged the canine population, things are grim but exciting. On this journey he comes into the care of an ensemble of incredible dogs that agree to help him out.

These characters are voiced by so many iconic actors, it's impressive like usual with Wes Anderson. This is a mix of adventure, bravery and comedy as the group attempts to deal with the problems that come across their path. To the side of things is an aggressive attempt at taking over the local mainland as one foreign exchange student aims to search for the truth. There isn't much of a twist here as it's fairly straight forward and laid out from the very start, but an engaging experience regardless.

Isle of Dogs carries a very distinct style to it from the way every scene is presented to how well the story is carried. It's a mix of the local language with English and that works for some interesting situations. I felt it presented the narrative well and did so in a way that was unique.

They do definitely aim to achieve something new within the genre and I was surprised by so many smaller details being present. At its core, it's about a boy and his dog though there's much more depth to it. The stop motion was incredible, every scene was stellar and the presentation was a pleasure to view. There are so many levels of complexity to each scene and it's amazing how realistic everything was for the format type.

The Conclusion

Isle of Dogs is an impressive film from its glorious ensemble cast to the stunning stop motion deployed across its exciting story. The voice work was great, yet a pale comparison to the amazing work to make this type of animation come to life as beautifully as it does. There were things in the movie that I didn't think you could even do with the format and that was impressive.

While it's visually good, the narrative is just as great being a solid tale of young people attempting to make a difference. This one young ward just wanted to find his dog and the adventure along the way is thrilling. It's a great watch for the unique style of art it presents and obviously if you're a fan of the director's previous work then this is another solid addition to that line-up.

Isle of Dogs Review at Theater with Standard Viewing
Screening Provided by Allied IM

Rating Overall: 8.3