Wolfing Down Aesthetics Won't Make Me Full: A Review on Isle of Dogs

Isle of Dogs (2018), directed by Wes Anderson, is a stop-motion animation film set in dystopian near-future Japan about a young boy who begins a search for his dog after all canines are banished to an island following a massive outbreak of canine flu. It is, as all films directed by Wes Anderson tend to be, an aesthetically pleasing feast for the eyes. The cinematography was beautiful, and the intricate patterns and details in the set were especially noteworthy. It is a pretty film, no doubt, and a touching one, but personally, I was disappointed by how shallow it was compared to Wes Anderson's other work.

I would like to contrast this stop-motion animation with his other one, Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009), based on Roald Dahl's novel of the same title. Both are created with the same art style and studio. Both films are shot in warm tones, both stories are told through an anthropomorphic cast, and both worlds have a sense of nitty-gritty realism to them. However, the way Wes Anderson chose to tell the story of both made a stark contrast in their abilities to reach out beyond the screen and touch the viewers.

In Isle of Dogs, a good chunk of the dialogue is in Japanese. (Another question that came up was why Japan was used, out of all places, when the setting did absolutely nothing to drive the storyline, but that's a topic for another day.)This worked to create a sense of mystery but also worked to create a sense of disconnect with the audience. Because we are not able to understand what is being said, we are not able to relate to the main character and the human ones that interact with him. The characters seemed disjointed and strange, and while the audience can sympathize with the main character, it is more difficult for us to relate to him.

In Fantastic Mr. Fox, the film uses only English and incorporates distinct catchphrases and mannerisms that serve to flesh out the character. Additionally, we see a wide variety of characters that a wide variety of people can relate to. We have Mr. Fox, who is impulsive, bold, and reckless, but also restless and unsatisfied with the life he feels he is destined to live. We have Ash, his son, and Kristofferson, his nephew, each going through their own issues as they go through adolescence. We have Mrs. Fox, who craves simplicity but is dragged into the consequences of her husband's scheming. We have side characters with their own habits, personalities, and families. This is a sense of realism that I personally could relate to, much more than I could with the characters from Isle of Dogs, whose strange setting and quirky characters made it more difficult for them to feel real.

That isn't to say, of course, that Isle of Dogs is a bad film. In fact, it is a delightful one. I enjoyed it, and so did many others I know. Watch it, please, for the aesthetics and the cinematography. Personally, though, I felt that it was more of a feast for the eyes that left me otherwise unsatisfied, and while aesthetics are pretty, they don't make me full. 

- Jenny Kheng (10/09/18)