Wes Anderson's​ Isle of Dogs

brevity

http://www.itsnicethat.com/news/wes-anderson-isle-of-dogs-film-launch-poster-260417

"Wes Anderson has announced the release date of his upcoming stop motion animated film Isle of Dogs with the official poster. Inspired by the film’s setting in Japan, the poster features the title in English and Japanese characters, as well as the star-studded cast list including Yoko Ono, Tilda Swinton, Harvey Keitel, Scarlett Johansson, Jeff Goldblum, Edward Norton, Bryan Cranston and Bill Murray.

Due out 20 April 2018, the film follows a “boy’s odyssey in search of his dog”. It is written and directed by Wes Anderson, and produced by Wes, Scott Rudin, Steven Rales and Jeremy Dawson. The cast also includes F. Murray Abraham, Bob Balaban, Greta Gerwig, Akira Ito, Frances McDormand, Mari Natsuki, Yojiro Noda, Kunichi Nomura, Koyu Rankin, Liev Schreiber, Fisher Stevens, Akira Takayama, Courtney B. Vance and Frank Wood."

I love Wes Anderson movies - he's probably my favourite director.

brevity

Trailer is out:

https://twitter.com/isleofdogsmovie/status/910881075223609344

Looks amazing - typical Wes Anderson shots and framing.

Can't wait.

brevity

Even the poster looks great:

https://twitter.com/isleofdogsmovie/status/910880062794170368

johnny_ultimate

Is that trailer eligible for best film at the Oscars next year?

Because it goddamn should be.

S.M.B.

Love him or hate him (and I am in the former camp), Anderson is the epitome of an auteur.

Nobody could look at that trailer and think it's from anyone but Wes Anderson.

Disposable1

Trailer is enchanting. I have a warm fuzzy feeling inside. Really looking forward to seeing this now.

mfceiling

Brilliant. Just showed it to my middle daughter and she gave it a double thumbs up.

Considering we watched Fantastic Mr Fox about 100 times (all the family) then this looks like it'll be a firm favourite too.

elWizard

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

Is that trailer eligible for best film at the Oscars next year?

Because it goddamn should be.

Cuss yeah!

Mickeroo

Whats the release date for this?

Kiith

Saw the trailer last night, and loved it. Gone right up my list of films i can't wait to see.

elWizard

Mickeroo wrote: »

Whats the release date for this?

Think not till next March, unfortunately.

Mickeroo

elWizard wrote: »

Think not till next March, unfortunately.

Boo urns

Wheety

S.M.B. wrote: »

Love him or hate him (and I am in the former camp), Anderson is the epitome of an auteur.

Nobody could look at that trailer and think it's from anyone but Wes Anderson.

Got home from college last night and the wife was watching something. I immediately said "Is that a Wes Anderson movie?". It was Moonrise Kingdom. Never seen it but his style is so distinguishable. Just the look of the movies.

This was spot on.
Ed Norton - SNL Wes Anderson

pixelburp

Any other director & a repeated creative style might have begun to tire, but no matter how jaded I become with Andersons singular sense of whimsy, I always come back in a shot and find myself falling in love all over again. That trailer was a joy to watch in of itself - how often can you say that about a promo?

I contrived to miss Fantastic Mr. Fox when it came out & only finally caught it a couple of months back on Netflix. Wonderful stuff & even though I got the tiniest bit tired with Grand Budapest Hotel's frosted cake of a film, Mr. Fox was just a blast all the way through. I vaguely recall a story that the animators never actually met Anderson during production, that it was all done on a wink & a nod; not sure how true it is...

homerun_homer

pixelburp wrote: »

I vaguely recall a story that the animators never actually met Anderson during production, that it was all done on a wink & a nod; not sure how true it is...

Not sure about saying "never" but there was definitely some hostility and bitterness over how little he was around to actually direct the work. From what I remember hearing they were left alone for the most part of the creation of the film.

tricky D

Wheety wrote: »

This was spot on.
Ed Norton - SNL Wes Anderson

Love it. Let's make this happen.

Can we agree to that?

bnt

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXLkzNomL2o

johnny_ultimate

Sigh... another bloody masterpiece from Wes Anderson :rolleyes:

Diving ever deeper into the seemingly boundless possibilities afforded by his singular filmmaking approach, Isle of Dogs is a whirlwind of ideas. It's extremely funny, astoundingly crafted, and easily one of his most moving efforts at times.

It makes perfect sense that Japan proves an ideal setting for Anderson's sensibilities. He embraces the cultural and artistic history of the country in a way that is far, far from mere tokenism, with various styles from No theatre to traditional paintings working their way into the frames. It also allows him to wreak havoc with language in ways that are delightfully playful - from the use of parenthetical text translations to pivotal emotional scenes that include largely untranslated stretches of Japanese language (or, in the film's world, barking / English). Plenty of cinema homages too - from music cues from classic Kurosawa to a few shots that could have come straight out of the Japanese New Wave.

The unmistakable signature in terms of framing is present, correct and enhanced, with lots of additional flourishes - such as copious use of split-screen to complicate the compositions further. Some of the stylistic decisions highlight that extra layer of artistry that goes into an Anderson film - I was particularly smitten with the use of an entirely different style of animation for the frequent TV inserts. The stop-motion stuff has a pleasing physicality to it as well - from ruffled fur to some memorably expressive & grotesque character designs. The two montages scored to The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band are absurdly good.

The humour is everywhere, from overt gags, to jokes based on framing choices, to little witty asides in on-screen titles ('flashback ends'). The action sequences are thrillingly crafted (the use of

cartoon dust clouds for fights

is an inspired repurposing of a classic animation trope). But, perhaps more potently than Grand Budapest, there's a whole lot of heart here. The extended

'fetch' and grooming sequence

is among one of the warmest in Anderson's oeuvre, and there's equally strong bits towards the story's end.

Really, the whole thing was so dense with magnificent detail that I'm already itching to see it again. I wasn't sure a director this deep into his own style could follow-up Grand Budapest with an even deeper dive into his aesthetic fascinations, but here we are. This is the second-time now using animation has allowed Anderson to indulge in all manner of wild concepts that live action can't allow. It's 100% Wes Anderson, and it's a ****ing blast.

Mickeroo

Is this actually out now? Probably just a limited release I suppose

brevity

I have to get to this.

pixelburp

Is this out already? How did you get to see it Johnny Uboat?

I'll be honest, I wasn't a totally signed up fan of Budapest Hotel, being so quintessentially an Anderson film it almost passed into cliché. At the same time though, there's no one else so deft and talented for that kind of whimsy that I'll likely beat down the doors to see a new film of his - ESPECIALLY an animated one. Fantastic Mr. Fox is his best film and I'll fight whoever says otherwise.

johnny_ultimate

Mickeroo wrote: »

Is this actually out now? Probably just a limited release I suppose

Premiered at the Dublin Film Festival last night, out on general release at the end of March AFAIK.

OwaynOTT

That's great. Can't wait to see this!

p to the e

Not a fan of the whole seemingly forced quirkiness of Anderson's films. The Grand Budapest Hotel irritated me from start to finish. And the Darjeeling Limited? Faw gedda bowd it.

However, I really enjoyed Fantastic Mr. Fox so I'm looking forward to this. Maybe his quips and jokes translate to animation better for me. Who knows?!

ancapailldorcha

I saw this at an Unlimited screening last night and I absolutely loved it. Great cast, fantastic humour balanced with the right amount of heart. I felt a lot like I was watching The Grand Budapest Hotel again. Even the information slides and expository segments of the thing was hilarious. The detail in many of the scenes is a great feast for the eyes without being overwhelming. Superb and probably the best thing I will see this year.

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ancapailldorcha

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Maybe it's because I watched Fantastic Mr. Fox at home but it did nothing for me. Don't know why.

homerun_homer

ancapailldorcha wrote: »

Maybe it's because I watched Fantastic Mr. Fox at home but it did nothing for me. Don't know why.

It took me 3 attempts to try stay awake to watch. I love W.A. films (mostly) but the dry vocal delivery in the stop motion format just made me struggle.

Kablamo!

Went into this totally blind tonight and loved it. Best film I've seen so far this year. Will definitely go and see it again.

Fysh

I saw this today and, while I've seen a number of films I've enjoyed this year, I think this is the first properly excellent film released in 2018 that I've seen. Absolutely smashing stuff from start to finish.

northgirl

Just back from seeing this. Loved it! Great afternoon out.

Tar.Aldarion

Loved this, wonderful film.

pixelburp

Possibly Anderson's best film in years - certainly his most emotionally humane. The frosted spectacle & artifice of his style has often lacked a beating heart, or a sense of depth behind the whimsy. Isle of Dogs however had a conviction and spirit that made all its beats resonate with more impact & emotion than much of his previous work. Well. Let me put it another way: the film made me tear up in a fashion often only reserved for Pixar movies; I wouldn't consider myself a sucker for emotionally manipulative scripts -or even much of a dog lover- but it was hard not to get swept up in the purity of friendship and love that all the Anderson'esque shenanigans were built on. It always felt like the last piece of the puzzle, that final little step preventing Wes Anderson's work from truly becoming masterpieces in their own right.

Of course, being a Wes Anderson movie, that still meant everything else within the movie was a delight: the compositions and framing as beautiful and singular as ever, but no less imaginative, playful and just plain splendid to watch; the humour still as measured and effortlessly timed as always; and if the story was a love-letter to the joy and friendship a dog can bring (the title, spoken quickly, makes Andersons' thoughts on the subject clear, before the film even started), the setting was an equally genuine celebration of Japan, albeit a mythologised version of it.

A film of the year, no question.

(Side note, but I can't understand why my local IMC is only showing this up until 6:45 every day. I can only guess that IMC has mistakenly labelled this a kids movie, which can only hurt its potential. Certainly the amount of violence precludes any solid recommendation as being a film to take the kids to - even if there were a few at the Sunday showing I attended)

Fysh

pixelburp wrote: »

Possibly Anderson's best film in years - certainly his most emotionally humane. The frosted spectacle & artifice of his style has often lacked a beating heart, or a sense of depth behind the whimsy. Isle of Dogs however had a conviction and spirit that made all its beats resonate with more impact & emotion than much of his previous work. Well. Let me put it another way: the film made me tear up in a fashion often only reserved for Pixar movies; I wouldn't consider myself a sucker for emotionally manipulative scripts -or even much of a dog lover- but it was hard not to get swept up in the purity of friendship and love that all the Anderson'esque shenanigans were built on. It always felt like the last piece of the puzzle, that final little step preventing Wes Anderson's work from truly becoming masterpieces in their own right.

Of course, being a Wes Anderson movie, that still meant everything else within the movie was a delight: the compositions and framing as beautiful and singular as ever, but no less imaginative, playful and just plain splendid to watch; the humour still as measured and effortlessly timed as always; and if the story was a love-letter to the joy and friendship a dog can bring (the title, spoken quickly, makes Andersons' thoughts on the subject clear, before the film even started), the setting was an equally genuine celebration of Japan, albeit a mythologised version of it.

A film of the year, no question.

(Side note, but I can't understand why my local IMC is only showing this up until 6:45 every day. I can only guess that IMC has mistakenly labelled this a kids movie, which can only hurt its potential. Certainly the amount of violence precludes any solid recommendation as being a film to take the kids to - even if there were a few at the Sunday showing I attended)

Re: the bolded bit - the Cineworld I went to on Saturday had a bunch of kids at the screening, and most of the trailers were clearly selected for the screening by doing either a search for the word "dog" or the word "animation". None of them felt like they made sense for the audience of a Wes Anderson film.

Maybe the thinking is "Hey, it's the guy who did Fantastic Mr Fox, doing another stop motion film. Bet it's another kid's film.".

tunguska

pixelburp wrote: »

Possibly Anderson's best film in years - certainly his most emotionally humane.

My sentiments exactly. I think I was one of the only people who didnt enjoy The grand Budapest hotel. Ditto for Moonrise kingdom. In fact Id given up on wes anderson, thought he'd never make another Rushmore or Life Aquatic. But this was just magnificently warm hearted film making. I think most people love dogs and this was a tribute to their lovable goofiness. Best movie Ive seen in a while.

emo72

Loved the Japanese drums. Worth going to hear them alone.

conorhal

tunguska wrote: »

My sentiments exactly. I think I was one of the only people who didnt enjoy The grand Budapest hotel. Ditto for Moonrise kingdom. In fact Id given up on wes anderson, thought he'd never make another Rushmore or Life Aquatic. But this was just magnificently warm hearted film making. I think most people love dogs and this was a tribute to their lovable goofiness. Best movie Ive seen in a while.

OK I'm sold, I'll catch it this weekend.

Like yourself The grand Budapest hotel did nothing for me. It's what I tend to refer to as a Fabergé film, which like the Fabergé eggs are stunningly crafted objet d'art, but, well, hollow and kind of pointless.
I actually liked Moonrise Kingdom, but I couldn't argue against those who felt it was a bit of a lazy 'greatest hits' album from Anderson, so I'm glad to hear that Isle of Dogs has some heart and soul.

ScrubsfanChris

Fysh wrote: »

Re: the bolded bit - the Cineworld I went to on Saturday had a bunch of kids at the screening, and most of the trailers were clearly selected for the screening by doing either a search for the word "dog" or the word "animation". None of them felt like they made sense for the audience of a Wes Anderson film.

Maybe the thinking is "Hey, it's the guy who did Fantastic Mr Fox, doing another stop motion film. Bet it's another kid's film.".

Saw it at the omniplex in cork today and the screening had the same issues you describe. Trailers were Wreck it Ralph and Incredibles 2. Also and I'm not joking here, three families stood up and walked out of the screening around 20+ minutes in, over heard one young girl explaining she couldn't follow it and didn't like it. Plenty of other young kids that stayed were visibly not interested and fidgeting about (annoyingly)

I think parents see its an animation with "dogs" in the tiltle and oh yeah its PG, "the kids will love it"
Alot of the audible laughs were coming from the adults in the screening too.
Not to say none of them enjoyed it, but I certainly wouldn't bring anyone under 9/10 to see this.

Anyway........... :pac:
I loved it, the humour and visual style were amazing and the music and sense of atmosphere was truly brilliant too.

gmisk

Really loved this, stunning looking and what a voice cast!
Would have loved some more scenes with the oracle (aka tilda Swinton) the pug

Outlaw Pete

I love dogs.

happinessfr

They had an exhibition of this movie in London! argh...it's over. Anyone knows where the exhibition will be next?

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/apr/06/wes-anderson-london-isle-dogs-exhibition-the-store