Wesley Mortimer Wales Anderson, born in Houston (United States) and better known as Wes Anderson, is an American film director, screenwriter, actor, and film producer. He is best known for directing the stop-motion animated film Fantastic Mr. Fox, as well as the films The Royal Tenenbaums, The Darjeeling Limited, Hotel Chevalier, Moonrise Kingdom, and The Grand Budapest Hotel, among others.
A praised and respected director with whom, however, many ARISTOPARENTS have a love-hate relationship because of the bad luck his dogs suffer in his films. It may be a matter of script requirements, as he has explained at times, since dogs often suffer collateral damage because of the practical and moral ineptitude of adult human beings —as happens in real life, unfortunately. But the truth is that he makes it hard for us, so much so that rumors have circulated that Anderson hates dogs. Something he has repeatedly denied, with great conviction.
The fact is that, whether by coincidence or not, and whether out of a need for redemption or not, the filmmaker announced that his new film would be a stop-motion animated film (a frame-by-frame technique) and would give absolute prominence to dogs. In fact, the film is titled Isle of Dogs, and more details about it are gradually emerging.
For example, the plot is already clear. Nagasaki is in crisis: it has been ravaged by an outbreak of canine flu. Panic spreads among the population, and the mayor, Mr. Kobayashi, decides that all the city's dogs should be sent to the city dump (Trash Island), an island where all the dogs must survive. Isolated. Among waste. And it ends up becoming the Isle of Dogs. (Note the parallel with this true story that came to us from Pakistan.)
Of course, the starting point is once again hostile to dogs. But this time Anderson assures us that he will tell an adventure story and declare a dog-owner love letter.
Another attraction of the film is that it features many familiar voices bringing the furry protagonists to life. Bryan Cranston (the unforgettable Walter White), Edward Norton, Yoko Ono, Scarlett Johansson, Bill Murray, Tilda Swinton…
On the island, the dogs try to survive. There, Bryan Cranston (voicing Chief) proclaims himself leader of the pack, and when all seemed lost… a boy appears on the scene in search of his dog. A boy, accompanied by five dogs, against the system, injustice, and corruption. Five dogs named Chief, Rex, Boss, Duke, and King. Sounds promising, doesn't it?
We will have to wait for the film's release (April 23 in the United States) to finally settle our doubts. For now, we leave you with the trailer so you can see with your own eyes whether this new film is what we expect from Anderson or not (aesthetically, of course it is, as always):
If you don't want to wait to watch a film starring ARISTOPETS, we recommend reading this post about pets in cinema.