Who hates dogs? I suppose this is one of those questions of which I both wish-to-know and not-wish-to-know the answer at the same time. Oh yeah, there are things about dogs of which I’m not fond, but what would make one discount entirely the personality, utility, and intelligence of dogs? All else being equal, I think you have to be a tad heartless to hate an entire species genetically bred to love you unconditionally. Perhaps it’s just too easy; you’d rather earn your love? I get that. Sort of. Good luck.
The fictional animated future city of Megasaki has a dog problem. The canine population is not only out-of-control, it’s diseased and slightly unstable. Lucky for Megasaki, the secret cult of cat people is in charge and they have decided it’s time to deport all dogs to a garbage island just far enough away to render homing paddles an impossibility. Mayor Kobayashi (voice of Kunichi Nomura) outlines the plan at a populist rally disguised as a debate. This is one of those moments in which you recognize the differences between the world you live in and the reality of other parts of the world. After Kobayashi’s applause-saturated bluster, he yields the floor for a dissenting opinion. (I assume this is a thing in Japan, no?) The dissenting opinion is passionate, yet completely out-of-place in the anti-dog venue. I can but describe it as … imagine if you were at the March for Our Lives rally and after an hour of speeches, the emcee opened the floor for a humble NRA spokesman. How do you suppose that would be received, huh?
And, yes, the most fantastical part of that fabricated scenario was the word “humble.”
Hate wins the day and all dogs are shipped to garbage island, which quickly becomes the Isle of Dogs. Six months later, the island has turned into a canine Lord of the Flies with packs of dogs roaming the landscape for protection and survival. And one day, 12-year-old Atari (Koyu Rankin), the adopted son of Mayor Kobayashi, steals a small plane a crash lands on the island in search of his own dog, Spots (Liev Schreiber). And the pack of dogs that greet him are four in favor of his quest –Rex, King, Boss, and Duke- and one not-so-in-favor –Chief (Bryan Cranston).
A boy in search of his dog is a classic movie plot. There’s no questioning motivation or desire. The genius of Isle of Dogs (aside from the excellent stop-motion animation, of course) is that the tale is told from the dogs’ perspective. The dogs speak English; everybody else is levels of incomprehensible. This phenomena lends itself to fair amount of subtle humor, including a dog named “Oracle” because she understands human television – specifically news programs. One of my favorite running gags among the pack is Duke (Jeff Goldblum) constantly spouting a rumor he’s heard. Where do dogs hear rumors? “I like gossip,” Duke responds. Sure, how is it any different from the human world?
I loved Isle of Dogs. I loved the plot; I loved the characters; I loved the Wes Anderson touch. I suppose it suffers from being a tad heavy-handed. There is, after all, little distinction between Kobayashi and his party of idiots and certain populist politicians and their sycophantic legions in real life. Normally, I have no problem with political allegory, but it seems mildly out-of-place as the backdrop for a boy and his dog. Overall, I only truly fault the film as being not quite as good as the last two Wes Anderson movies: The Grand Budapest Hotel and Moonrise Kingdom. That’s hardly a slight; both of those films rank among my 
favorites of all time. If you’ve ever loved a dog or known a person who has loved a dog, Isle of Dogs is a wonderful film and an easy one to cheer for.
Now, I wonder if cat people are up-in-arms about this film. “HEY! Once again, it’s nothing but canine-centric propaganda! Where is the animated cats film, huh?” Even the title itself phonetically says, “I love dogs.” i.e. every time you say the title of this film, you’re buying into Big Canine. I wonder if the motivated feline-biased lovers of this country are scheming, perhaps hoping Black Panther II can include some actual panthers. Well, if there’s one thing we can always rest assured on, it’s that cat lovers are reasonable, level-headed, and congenial; it’s impossible to see this film becoming a sore spot among feline-favoring fanatics.
♪It’s been a scarred, crazed flight, and I’ve been lookin’ for my dog
It’s been a charred, razed blight, and I got reviewed by the Frog
But when I get back to Spots, you know the treats that I gots
Will make him feel all right♫
Rated PG-13, 101 Minutes
Director: Wes Anderson
Writer: Wes Anderson
Genre: Who’s a good boy? Who’s a good boy?
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: Dog people
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: Authoritarians
♪ Parody Inspired by “A Hard Day’s Night”
