Isle of Dogs

I posted a review for Alpha and my mom asked if I'd seen Isle of Dogs.

I was a little confused because Isle of Dogs is a high-end dog grooming product line. Of course I've seen it. I even told a funny story about buying it at the Eukanuba Dog Show. But how did Mom know? She never goes to the dog shows . . .

But wait! There's a movie by the same title. And it's available at Redbox! I rented it and my official opinion is:

Just. Too. Weird.

• First off, it's stop-motion animation. This was difficult for me to watch. The jerky movements gave me Davey and Goliath flashbacks.
• The movie is written, directed and produced by Wes Anderson -- and he is not my cup of tea. (I tried to watch two Wes Anderson movies in the past: Moonrise Kingdom and The Royal Tenenbaums. I ended up changing the channel within the first 30 minutes of each.)
• This is most definitely a Japanese film. The cadence of the storyline is different, but I've seen enough Manga films (thanks to Son #1) that I was able to follow along. Still, it's weird.

The movie is dubbed (thankfully!) with the dogs speaking English and most of the humans speaking Japanese. It sounds strange. It IS strange, but it works. The dogs are voiced by some very famous actors. For fun, try to guess who is who before looking it up on Internet Movie Database.

The story is OK and the ending is predictable. However, you'll need to pay attention -- it's easy to get lost. I had to stop and rewind several times. Hubby got frustrated and just fell asleep.

My honest opinion: If you expect nothing and have a glass (or two) of wine beforehand, this movie could be worth the $1.75 on Redbox. If you're a Wes Anderson fan, you will probably really enjoy it. -- K