The new film Isle of Dogs has become the subject of a heated debate online, with commentators accusing it of racism and "cultural appropriation".

Directed by The Royal Tenenbaums' Wes Anderson, the stop-motion animation is set in a near-futuristic version of Japan, where all dogs from the fictional city of Megasaki have been exiled to an off-shore rubbish dump, following an outbreak of "dog flu".

Reviewing the film in February, Telegraph critic Tim Robey wrote that the film's use of Japanese "archetypes" was "certain to get Anderson in hot water once the film is more widely seen".

That seems to be the case: following the film's US premiere last week, a Los Angeles Times review has sparked widespread debate. Reviewer Justin Chang criticised Anderson's "weakness for racial stereotyping", asking: "Does this white American filmmaker's highly selective, idiosyncratic rendering of an East Asian society constitute a sincere act of homage, or a clueless failure of sensitivity?"

Chang took issue with the use of language in the film, noting that the people of Megasaki speak in Japanese – without subtitles – while the dogs all speak American English, voiced by a cast including Scarlett Johansson, Bryan Cranston and Tilda Swinton.

"All these coy linguistic layers amount to their own form of marginalisation, effectively reducing the hapless, unsuspecting people of Megasaki to foreigners in their own city," Chang wrote, describing the film's dystopian world as "ugly in ways beyond what even its maker could have intended".

The review was shared widely on Twitter by readers who damned the film as "tone-deaf", "gross" and "bad".

"That Twitter Moment will be the end of me," Chang wrote, suggesting his review had been turned into a "battle cry" by social media users taking his words out of context.

"I wasn't offended; nor was I looking to be offended," he wrote. "There are enough valid reasons to be offended by art without anyone having to go actively looking for them. The piece is a mixed, measured appraisal. If readers want to turn it into a battle cry, that's their problem, not mine."

He added: "My chief issue – the handling of language – feels like the result of a compromise, rather than blunt negligence or a desire to give offence... I sincerely hope you enjoy the movie, as I largely did, despite my reservations."

Meanwhile, others on Twitter have been left reeling by the realisation that the film's title is a pun.

Isle of Dogs is out in UK cinemas from March 30