Who could pass up a quirky stop-motion animation by Wes Anderson? Not me! When I saw it come up on the one of our streaming services, I was quick to check it out.
After a deadly pandemic of canine flu, Mayor Kobayashi decrees that all dogs of the city must be moved to the nearby Trash Island. But what people don't know is that Kobayashi just hates dogs, like his father did, and his father, and so on back for generations. And now Kobayashi plans to create a no-win situation for all dogs and dog-lovers.
But then, Kobayashi's ward, Atari, enters the island in search of his own bodyguard dog. Five mutts help him along the way, all the time running from Kobayashi and his tech.
I was pulled in instantly with the Japanese music -- pretty intense -- and the overwhelming depiction of Japanese culture -- it almost felt like I were actually in Japan. I loved every minute of it.
Though -- a warning -- it does live up to its PG-13 rating. Though it looks kind of like a kid's movie, it may scare smaller kids. As you may tell from the trailer, the dogs are made to look really scrawny and suffering from malnutrition, so if you're a pet lover, it can certainly sadden you.
I love the movie's pace and dark humor. It's nearly difficult to predict what's coming next and Wes was really good at catching me off guard.
My only complaint ... in the title, the word "Isle" is on the Chinese character for "dog," and the word "dog" is on the "isle" character. My OCD goes bonkers every time I see it.
If you can find it, check it out. It was a pleasant surprise from 2018 -- something different, and I'm glad I caught it.
No comments:
Post a Comment