Wes Anderson returns to stop motion with his most recent release, Isle of Dogs. This is not Anderson’s first stop motion film as one of his most popular movies, Fantastic Mr. Fox, is also of this genre. Isle of Dogs features voices of many notable stars including Edward Norton as Rex, Bob Balaban as King, Bill Murray as Boss, and Jeff Goldblum as Duke. The film also stars Bryan Cranston as Chief, Koyu Rankin as Atari, and Scarlett Johansson as Nutmeg.

The plot centers around a young pilot who has been “adopted” by a group of five dogs upon his landing on Trash Island, which is solely inhabited by dogs. Prior to the young pilot’s arrival, the movie highlights a decree by Mayor Kobayashi in which all dogs would be exiled to dog island to combat the spread of dog flu. Consequently, four out of the pack of five dogs previously had owners, but had been sent to the island due to the dog flu hysteria. They often nostalgically look back on their previous lives with their beloved masters.

The young pilot lands on the island to rescue his dog, Spots, after the mayor exiled his dog to the island. It is revealed that the young pilot is ward to the mayor, as he is his distant nephew, and his dog was one of the first to be taken to trash island. The movie follows the young pilot and the pack of dogs as they encounter the other dogs on the island while searching for Spots, and fight Mayor Kobayashi’s reign against dogs.

In our opinion, Isle of Dogs is a great film. The plot itself is very cute, mostly centering around a boy’s love for his dog. The cast is also very impressive, and it is refreshing to see these successful people in voice acting roles rather than them being in front of the camera. The stop motion aspect of the film adds a creative detail which makes the movie unique from others of similar nature. The only flaw the film has is that the plot is slow at times, but this is overshadowed by the rest of its positive qualities. In conclusion, Anderson has once again made a movie that is enjoyable for all ages.