★★★★★

Stop-motion Wes Anderson is the best Wes Anderson.

I didn't think that coming out of this film I would be giving it 5 stars, but here I am. Nine years after his first endeavour in stop-motion animation with Fantastic Mr. Fox, Anderson has returned with a tale just as emotionally moving as it is spectacular to watch. In a fictional city that feels like a frightening reflection of where our own world is headed, dogs have fallen ill to a flu pandemic and are considered a threat to humans, resulting in the deportation of all dogs to Trash Island. In an homage to both Japanese cinema and man's best friend, Anderson brings us a film that is both as politically relevant as it is endearing.

In the city of Megasaki, Japan, a new mayor (Kunichi Nomura) comes into power and demands that the widespread flu that is causing dogs to fall ill will be put to an end by banishing all dogs to Trash Island, just off the coast of the city. The first to be deported is Spots (Liev Schreiber), the bodyguard dog to the mayor's 12-year-old nephew, Atari (Koyu Rankin). In a mission to rescue his dog, Atari travels to the island, where he enlists the help of Chief (Bryan Cranston), Rex (Edward Norton), King (Bob Balaban), and Boss (Bill Murray), and Duke (Jeff Goldblum). Back in Megasaki, exchange student Tracy (Greta Gerwig) works to figure out what exactly the mayor is hiding from his citizens.

Isle of Dogs is quite obviously made possible only by Anderson's unique direction. I would argue that the best medium for his directorial style is stop-motion animation--he is able to do things that might not necessarily translate the same way in a live-action film, and he hits the tone he is aiming for spot on. The film also boasts a top-notch cast of actors, and even though it relies only on voices, there are still many strong and, surprisingly, quite moving performances.

The film has come under some fire recently regarding cultural appropriation and its handling of the traditions it is paying homage to. I'm not qualified to be deeming whether this film might be read as racially offensive or not, but nothing really stood out as being overtly disrespectful. The only questionable aspect I found was the use of Gerwig's character, which many have referred to as embodying the "white saviour" trope. I don't think there were poor intentions here, seeing as the lines of this character were important to understand, so Anderson probably wanted them to be in English since much of the Japanese in the film was not translated. However, she could've been any other race and still spoken English, if this was the case.

Overall, the film's heart was truly found in our canine characters. It was quite impossible not to feel some sort of empathy for these dogs, and the insight into their state of pure innocence sparked tears several times throughout (both onscreen and in the audience). They embodied the universal emotion that made Isle of Dogs so great, and one thing's for sure--if you didn't go into the film as a dog person, you're definitely leaving as one.