Movies › Isle of Dogs
Isle of Dogs 2018
Adventure comedy-dramaAnimatedFantasy comedy-drama
A 2018 stop-motion animated science fiction comedy-drama film, Isle of Dogs was created by Wes Anderson and features a voice cast including Bryan Cranston, Koyu Rankin, Edward Norton, Liev Schreiber, Bill Murray, Bob Balaban, Jeff Goldblum, Scarlett Johansson, Kunichi Nomura, Tilda Swinton, Ken Watanabe, Akira Ito, Greta Gerwig, Akira Takayama, Frances McDormand, F. Murray Abraham, Yojiro Noda, Fisher Stevens, Mari Natsuki, Nijiro Murakami, Yoko Ono, Harvey Keitel, and Frank Wood. The film was produced in collaboration between American, German, and British companies, with production handled by Studio Babelsberg and Indian Paintbrush, under Anderson’s own company American Empirical Pictures. This marked his second stop-motion project after Fantastic Mr. Fox.
Set in the fictional city of Megasaki, Japan, the story follows Mayor Kenji Kobayashi who banishes all dogs to Trash Island due to a canine flu outbreak. His nephew Atari ventures out to find his lost dog Spots, accompanied by a group led by Chief, a stray dog. The film was conceived in October 2015 with stop-motion animation techniques, and the initial voice cast included Norton, Cranston, and Balaban.
It draws influences from works by Akira Kurosawa and Hayao Miyazaki, as well as Rankin/Bass holiday specials, The Plague Dogs from 1982, and Disney's 101 Dalmatians. Production started in October 2016 at the 3 Mills Studios in East London. By December 2016, Fox Searchlight Pictures secured global distribution rights and scheduled its release for 2018. It became the second animated film from Fox Searchlight, following Waking Life in 2001, and is the only 20th Century Fox Animation film released by the studio.
Isle of Dogs premiered at the 68th Berlin International Film Festival where Anderson won the Silver Bear for Best Director. The movie had a limited release in the U.S. on March 23, 2018 before expanding nationwide on April 13. It earned nearly $73 million worldwide and was praised for its animation, narrative, score, and dark humor. The film received two nominations at the 91st Academy Awards—Best Animated Feature and Best Score.
Critics also raised concerns about the film’s representation of Japanese people and culture, pointing to issues of racial stereotyping, Orientalism, cultural appropriation, and a perceived white savior narrative.
Trailer
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Cast
- Bryan CranstonChief
- Koyu RankinAtari Kobayashi
- Edward NortonRex
- Bob BalabanKing
- Jeff GoldblumDuke
- Bill MurrayBoss
- Kunichi NomuraMayor Kenji Kobayashi
- Akira TakayamaMajor Domo
- Greta GerwigTracy Walker
- Frances McDormandInterpreter Miranda Nelson
- Akira ItoProfessor Ichigo Watanabe
- Scarlett JohanssonNutmeg
- Liev SchreiberSpots
- F. Murray AbrahamJupiter
- Tilda SwintonOracle
- Yoko OnoYoko Ono
- Harvey KeitelGondo
- Ken WatanabeHead Surgeon
- Mari NatsukiAuntie
- Fisher StevensScrap
- Nijirō MurakamiEditor Hiroshi
- Courtney B. VanceThe Narrator
- Yojiro NodaNews Anchor
- Frank WoodSimul-Translate Machine
- Roman CoppolaIgor
- Anjelica HustonMute Poodle
- Kara HaywardPeppermint
- Takayuki YamadaJunior Scientist #1
- Kozue AkimotoJunior Scientist #2
- Shota MatsudaJunior Scientist #3
- Ryuhei Matsuda
- Junior Scientist #4
- Bartender
- Jake RyanErnie
- Elaiza IkedaPunk Girl
Crew
- Director
- Wes Anderson
- Screenplay
- Wes Anderson
- Story
- Wes Anderson, Roman Coppola, Jason Schwartzman, Kunichi Nomura
- Producer
- Wes Anderson, Scott Rudin, Steven Rales, Jeremy Dawson
- Cinematography
- Tristan Oliver
- Editing
- Andrew Weisblum, Ralph Foster, Edward Bursch
- Music
- Alexandre Desplat
Details
- Production
- 20th Century Fox Animation, 3 Mills Studios, American Empirical Pictures, Indian Paintbrush, Scott Rudin Productions, Studio Babelsberg
- Distributor
- Fox Searchlight Pictures (United States)
- Budget
- $35 million
- Box office
- $73 million
