Things are ‘ruff’ for these canines in this 2018 stop motion film called Isle of Dogs.
Taking place in the fictional Japanese city of Megasaki, things are off to a hairy start for the dogs of the film. All dogs of the city have been banished to Trash Island due to a disease named ‘snout fever’. A young boy, Atari, goes looking for his dog, ensuing adventure on this ‘paw-ful’ island.
Isle of Dogs, directed by Wes Anderson, has recently made its way around tiktok. Clips of the movie have been circulating in this past month, causing a resurgence of interest in this doggy movie. A certain scene between two characters named “Nutmeg” and “Chief” have been among the most popular of the tiktok videos.
On the subject of characters, the cast of individuals is vast with each of their own unique personalities. The most interesting of these characters being Chief, the stray dog, Oracle, the future seeing pug and Tracy Walker, the only english-speaking human character within the movie. This wide range of characters better immerse the viewer into the world of Isle of Dogs.
The overall plot of the movie is charming and easy to follow. Following in acts, the movie sets up titles for the viewer to follow along and clearly shows when the viewer is seeing a flashback. Along with this, the movie uses simple, everyday things for dogs like fetch and snacks in a much more meaningful way within the context of the movie.
Despite being a completely fictional movie, there are some truths to the warnings that the film lays the groundwork for. A common theme throughout the movie is media misinformation about a certain group. In this case, that certain group is dogs. It really does pose the question of how easy it would be for humans to turn on our animal companions.
For instance, mistreatment of animals already exists in the form of dog fighting and puppy mills. With this in mind, it isn’t too far off to speculate a future in which man’s best friend is abandoned.
In words of the Isle of Dogs, a haiku within and read multiple times in the movie, “Whatever happened/ To Man’s best friend/ Falling spring blossom”.