A fairy tale at heart

MANILA, Philippines — Showing exclusively at selected Ayala Cinemas, Wes Anderson’s stop animation feature, Isle of Dogs, earned him a Silver Bear Best Director earlier this year at the Berlin International Film Festival. True to his singular artistic vision, it’s a movie that was stylized to the max, detailed in an engrossing manner and showcases his deadpan dark humor, and penchant for off-the-wall storytelling. That it’s a throwback animation feature only adds to the irrepressible quality of this gift of a film.

Set in a near-future dystopian Japan, the story opens with a History lesson, detailing why one powerful political family would have an axe to grind against man’s best friend, dogs. When a suspicious outbreak of “dog flu” occurs in Megasaki City, it gives the Kobayashi family the perfect excuse to rid the city of its canine population, exiling all the mutts to an offshore Trash Island. When Spots, the pet of Mayor Kobayashi is the first dog banished to the island, it is only a matter of time before Atari Kobayashi, the orphan nephew and ward of the mayor, flies solo to rescue Spots, as the dog was his one true friend after Atari’s parents passed away in an accident.

From this deceptively simple storyline, Anderson weaves his magic, giving us a tale about the marginalized, the plucky heroism of the young and idealistic, and the nobility of the downtrodden and oppressed. Yes, it is at heart a fairy tale; with fabulist elements — like how all the dogs speak English, and the Japanese speak in their language without subtitles. But it is compelling, and has a message far larger than its context. It’s no surprise that the judges at Berlin awarded Anderson a Silver Bear to reminding us about the joy and power of filmmaking via this little masterpiece.

As can be expected with any Wes Anderson film, when he calls, his extended “family” of actors is ready to answer — in this case, with their voices. Bryan Cranston, Bill Murray, Tilda Swinton, Edward Norton, Ken Watanabe, Scarlett Johansson, Greta Gerwig, Jeff Goldblum, Frances McDormand and Liev Schreiber — these are just some of the “enlisted.” Jason Schwartzman, Roman Coppola and Kunichi Nomura assisted Anderson on the story and screenplay.

After such films as The Royal Tenenbaums, Moonrise Kingdom, and The Grand Budapest Hotel, it’s telling that returning to the form he used to give us The Fantastic Mr. Fox, Anderson goes stop animation and does so with a vengeance. More so than he did with Fox, the attention to detail, the little nuances created, all point to a more OC approach that luckily, translates into a truly joyous viewing experience for us. It may not be showing in several screens, but for any cinema lover, this film is worth seeking out.