All Bite and All Bark
Dogs, I love them. You love them. Everybody loves them. It’s a fact. Wes Anderson loves dogs and it’s obvious. From the moment the movie started, it was obvious. Obvious it was a Wes Anderson film, obvious he loved dogs and obvious that everyone involved was committed to this film. Ever since I heard about this movie and then consequently, saw the trailer, I knew from the start that this movie was going to be great. The only thing I wasn’t sure about, was how it was going to be great and now that I’ve seen this movie. Let me tell you the ways. The short answer; everything. Long answer…
The introduction starts with a Japanese folktale, told by two dogs that are almost oracles and tells the tale that mirrors our more modern and current story. Right from the get-go, you see the effort it would’ve taken to animate this style of movie. Its stop-motion and I feel when I say this style of animation everyone knows the effort it takes (thanks to movies like Wallace & Gromit and Chicken Run). I caught myself just grinning like an idiot countless times throughout the movie and I know it was through just pure enjoyment. The visuals were charming and gorgeous and that never wavered and just knowing the skill it took for what I was seeing on screen to become a reality, just made it all the better.
That feeling, mixed with the audio just made this film a delight. Both the music and the voice acting were fantastic and again, never faulted. As always, like every Wes Anderson film, the cast is back to back amazing and they do an incredible job. Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton, Bill Murray, and the ever-amazing Jeff Goldblum, are some of those top-quality actors. That main cast mixed with traditionally Japanese actors to voice the human characters and then others in support such as Scarlett Johansson and Liev Schreiber help elevate this movie to another level. They put out such a performance that I honestly didn’t know that they weren’t real dogs with actual emotions and motives.
Which brings me to the plot itself, which was heartfelt, endearing, and sometimes ludicrous bordering on the utterly insane but if it wasn’t… would it be a Wes Anderson film? Young Atari has lost his dog Spots when an evil mayor and hater of dogs sends all dogs to trash island after an outbreak of dog flu sweeps Japan. After his dog is gone, the young Atari travels to the island to find his missing dog and gains the help from a pack of dogs named; Rex, King, Boss, Duke all lead by the old and gruff Chief. The story has many twist and turns, time skips backwards and forward and not once was I lost. It was easy to follow, and I was committed 110%.
This movie was fantastic, there was not a single second I didn’t like. Every single choice they made when making this film, was the right one. The acting was perfection, the humour was the right amount, the drama equally so. I haven’t seen many Wes Anderson films, but this is easily my favourite and not only that, it’s now one of my all-time favourites. It hits every button for me and I think it will for you too. Go see this film, it’s all bite AND all bark.