Even The Dogfights And Rotting Food Are Charming In Wes Anderson's 'Isle Of Dogs'

By Tori Preston | Film | February 8, 2018 |

By Tori Preston | Film | February 8, 2018 |

You know, I used to pull promotional clips from TV shows as part of my job. Ideally you look for brief moments that are self-contained, intriguing, and hopefully will appeal to a broad audience. Or at least not actively turn anyone off. And in my job, I also usually looked for moments that included whale sex. But hey! That’s just me.

What I’m getting at is that THIS clip, from Wes Anderson’s upcoming stop-motion animation film Isle of Dogs, features a dogfight over a bag of rotting food. None of which seems particularly appealing. And yet… it works. It’s a perfect encapsulation of Anderson’s trademark aesthetic style (oh so symmetrically framed!) and nonchalant comedic timing, and prepares you for the fact that while this may be animated, it’s definitely not just some kid’s flick.

Check it out:

And here’s the synopsis, in case you’re wondering why a bunch of quirky dogs are hanging out in a trashscape:

ISLE OF DOGS tells the story of ATARI KOBAYASHI, 12-year-old ward to corrupt Mayor Kobayashi. When, by Executive Decree, all the canine pets of Megasaki City are exiled to a vast garbage-dump called Trash Island, Atari sets off alone in a miniature Junior-Turbo Prop and flies across the river in search of his bodyguard-dog, Spots. There, with the assistance of a pack of newly-found mongrel friends, he begins an epic journey that will decide the fate and future of the entire Prefecture.

Isle of Dogs comes out March 23rd. And the cast features basically everyone, including (deep inhale…) F. Murray Abraham, Bob Balaban, Bryan Cranston, Greta Gerwig, Jeff Goldblum, Akira Ito, Scarlett Johansson, Harvey Keitel, Frances McDormand, Bill Murray, Mari Natsuki, Yojiro Noda, Kunichi Nomura, Edward Norton, Yoko Ono, Koyu Rankin, Liev Schreiber, Fisher Stevens, Tilda Swinton, Akira Takayama, Courtney B. Vance, and Frank Wood.