Isle of Dogs movie: Review, cast, director

Film: Isle of Dogs

Cast (Voices):  Edward Norton, Bryan Cranston, Jeff Goldblum, Bill Murray, Tilda Swinton, Scarlett Johansson, Koyu Rankin, Liv Schreiber, Bob Balaban, Kunichi Nomura, Greta Gerwig, Yoko Ono

Director: Wes Anderson

Rating: * * * * *

Doggie barks rendered into English and a fab prologue set the tone for the Wes Anderson’s new stop-motion animated fable which boasts a bunch of lovable (CGI) pooches (never mind if they had never win a beauty contest). Voiced by an A-list cast addressing a range of contemporary affairs that will resonate with viewers: Issues like distrust, fear, deportations, exile, quarantines.

Also explored is the bond between humans and canines and the importance of introspection (ref. Rene Descartes’ Latin proposition Cogito, ergo sum which means “I think, therefore I am”) It is also about loyalty, contrition and bow wow, the marriage of true minds.

The setting is the fictional city of Megasaki headed by a corrupt Mayor Kobayashi (voiced by Kunichi Nomura) who has the ear of vampirish men. Megasaki is a cacophony of rumours that reach a crescendo in an imbroglio which results in the exaltation of cats and banishment of infected dogs to an island composed of garbage. There, their miserable existence is a constant battle with other feral dogs who are said (rather, rumoured) to be cannibals, not to speak of robotic dogs who are despatched for destruction by the gnomes who govern Megasaki.

All of the dogs are former pets but one, a stray dog called Chief (voiced by Bryan Cranston). Their lives (sorry, misery-ridden existence) are further complicated by the crash-landing of Atari (voiced by Koyu Rankin), the mayor’s 12-year-old orphaned ward, who has come to the island in search of his pet cum bodyguard, Spots (Liev Schreiber). This resonates with the dogs who yearn to return to their human Masters and, decide to help Atari in his quest. The boy also manages to win over Chief, who has struck up an unlikely friendship with a pretty former show dog named Nutmeg (Scarlett Johansson).

Back in Megasaki, dog lovers find an unexpected ally in an American exchange student Tracy (Greta Gerwig) who discovers that a cure for the canine disease has been suppressed by evil men who incite hatred and violence. Tracy rallies her fellow classmates to the cause and in turn, the populace. Narrated in chapters, Wes Anderson’s ninth feature film is beautifully rendered. Don’t miss the tokai drummers which many Mumbaikars may have heard at a Lower Parel mall during Japan Week. Isle of Dogs is wise, warm and witty, but also sad, sharp and severe.