Isle of Dogs is quintessential Wes Anderson

THERE’S nothing like cooing in utter delight at the notion of spending an hour-and-a-half ensconced in the wonderful world of Wes Anderson.

PUPPERS. Wes Anderson. It almost feels like there’s nothing more to be said, other than to coo in utter delight at the notion of spending an hour and a half ensconced in the wonderful world of Wes.

There are few directors who could inspire such specific passion than Anderson. The mercurial visual genius behind The Royal Tenenbaums, The Grand Budapest Hotel and Rushmore has legions of fans — an ever-growing group as his imaginative and enchanting movies attract new obsessives.

With Isle Of Dogs, it’s been four years coming, the longest break between releases since he first broke onto the scene with Bottle Rocket in 1996. Returning to the stop-motion animation technique he embraced so enthusiastically with Fantastic Mr. Fox, Anderson’s latest is thematically more sophisticated with a touch of added drollness.

Set in the dystopian future city of Megasaki, the cat-loving Mayor Kobayashi has enacted a dastardly plan to ban all dogs from the city, thanks to an infestation of dog flu and snout fever. The first dog to be exiled to an offshore garbage island is Spots, best friend to the mayor’s young ward Atari (Koyu Rankin).

Wes Anderson + doggos = a mesmerising film. Picture: Fox Searchlight via AP

Plucky Atari sets off on a mission to rescue his beloved canine companion despite the high chance of failure. When his little plane crashes on a rubbish heap, a pack of puppers — Rex (Edward Norton), King (Bob Balaban), Boss (Bill Murray), Duke (Jeff Goldblum) and Chief (Bryan Cranston) — decide to aid him in his quest. Well, not the gruff Chief, a former stray who refuses to bend to human masters as a “pet”.

Back in Megasaki, plots are afoot when a scientist claims to be near a cure for the dogs’ ailments, but faces stiff opposition from Kobayashi and his Lurch-like associate. Meanwhile, a group of school students become an unlikely protest group.

Because it is an Anderson movie, you should expect nothing less than perfectly composed shots — you could freeze any moment in the film and whack it in a frame on your wall. Perhaps only the symmetry-obsessed Anderson could make an island teeming with garbage look so mesmerising. Like his other works before it, Isle Of Dogs is designed to be combed and pored over on repeat viewings.

Stop-motion is the perfect medium for Anderson’s exacting sensibilities — just watch the strands of fur move in an otherwise still shot, it’s hypnotic.

Wes Anderson has been nominated for several Oscars. Picture: Fox Searchlight via AP

I called Anderson fans obsessives because Anderson is about obsessions — that fetishistic attention to detail so that every inch of his mise-en-scene is as controlled or loose as he intends. He’s also the kind of auteur who will take a beat to indulge in a ponderous conversation between two dogs over who they are and who they want to be. Or stage a pack-versus-pack fight over a garbage haul that is almost a re-creation from Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai.

The Kurosawa references don’t end there — Alexandre Desplat’s effective score has also taken cues from the Japanese master filmmaker’s works.

Complementing Anderson’s visual intricacies is the deftly paced and dryly witty screenplay, which he co-wrote with Kunichi Nomura and frequent collaborators Roman Coppola and Jason Schwartzman — that dead-panness is what prevents his brand of whimsy from becoming twee. Any emotional overtures are devoid of sentimentality.

If you’re a believer in Anderson, you’re already on board for Isle Of Dogs — nothing will stop you from rushing out to see this.

For everyone else, Isle Of Dogs is a charming and enthralling adventure story with soul that will introduce you to a singularly talented filmmaker.

Rating: 4/5

Isle of Dogs is in cinemas from Thursday, April 12.

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