Wes Anderson's 'Isle of Dogs' has bark and bite

"Isle of Dogs." (Fox Searchlight) "Isle of Dogs." (Fox Searchlight) Photo: Fox Searchlight, HO Photo: Fox Searchlight, HO Image 1 of / 9 Caption Close Wes Anderson's 'Isle of Dogs' has bark and bite 1 / 9 Back to Gallery

It's a dog's world, we just live in it.

Wes Anderson "Isle of Dogs," the Houston-born director's first animated feature since "Fantastic Mr. Fox" in 2009, is such a feast of illustrated imagination and subtle wit in its depiction of an exiled canine kingdom that the idea of a life lived under the heavy paw of our pooch overlords doesn't seem like such a bad one.

Set in a futuristic Japan where the cat-loving, dog-hating and vote-pandering Mayor Kobayashi (voice of co-writer Kunichi Nomura) -- under the guise of curbing disease -- rounds up all dogs and sends them to a garbage dump called Trash Island, "Isle of Dogs" is a meticulously crafted tale of survival and bonding with more heart and humanity than some of Anderson's prior work with flesh-and-blood humans.

The first dog to be shipped off is Spots (Liev Schreiber), the pet of the mayor's nephew, Atari (Koyu Rankin). The 12-year-old decides to launch a one-boy rescue mission and, after crash-landing on the island, he's rescued by a group of curs, including King (Bob Balaban), Rex (Ed Norton), Boss (Bill Murray), Duke (Jeff Goldblum) and the antagonistic Chief (Bryan Cranston). They vow to help him find Spot.

THE DIRECTOR SPEAKS: Wes Anderson talks 'Isle of Dogs'

Meanwhile, back on the mainland, a movement led by American foreign-exchange student Tracy Walker (Greta Gerwig) is agitating to free the dogs.

The stop-motion animation -- which includes more than 2000 puppets and 250 sets of varying sizes -- is exquisitely rendered (if you liked "Mr. Fox," then you'll be wowed) and the satirical humor is pointed without being too obvious.

It's not much of a leap to equate the dogs' plight to the immigration debate, which might rankle some, while others have taken issue with Anderson using Japanese culture merely as brocaded texture and decorative exotica. For example, a note at the start of the film tells us that the dogs' barking communication has been translated to English while the human Japanese characters only speak in Japanese that's not subtitled. That's a cool approach but then why do the dogs make a point to say they can't understand Atari's Japanese and he ends up using monosyllabic English like "fetch"? Within the logic of the cartoon world Anderson has created, it makes no sense that the dogs wouldn't understand Japanese commands.

Then there's the unnecessary Tracy Walker character who can either be seen as the loud, boorish, know-it-all "ugly American" or "white savior" in a group of more passive Japanese, take your pick. She could have been written out or changed to Japanese and it wouldn't have changed the film appreciably.

More Information 'Isle of Dogs' 3.5 out of 5 stars PG-13 for thematic elements, some violent images 101 min.

Here's the trailer for the new Wes Anderson movie

There is truth to the argument that, outside of the beautiful visual cues, there's really no reason this movie had to be set in Japan except for the fact Anderson likes Japanese imagery. This type of criticism is not new for Anderson. In 2007, he faced some heat over his cursory and shallow depiction of India in the film "The Darjeeling Limited."

Also, parents take note, there's a dark edge to "Isle of Dogs" that may not make it appropriate for very young children.

Yet, while acknowledging these complaints, they shouldn't overwhelm the movie's many assets and its sheer sense of invention.

As George Clinton so eloquently barked in his 1982 hit and celebration of canine power, "Atomic Dog": "Bow wow wow, yippi yo, yippi yay."

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