Isle of Dogs
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Synopsis
Wes Anderson conjures a dystopian future Japan in magical stop-motion. After a canine virus outbreak, the dogs of Megasaki are exiled to a vast island garbage dump. When Atari (the daring twelve-year-old ward of the city’s mayor) sets out to rescue his beloved Spots, he meets a pack of mongrel friends and is launched on an epic quest. Innovatively blending English and Japanese dialogue through a cross-cultural voice cast that includes Bryan Cranston, Greta Gerwig, Jeff Goldblum, Scarlett Johansson, Yoko Ono, and Koyu Rankin, this fable of loyalty and disobedience combines Anderson’s signature themes—friendship among outsiders, the adventure of rebellion—with a delight in the boundless possibilities of animated storytelling.
Picture 8/10
Wes Anderson’s Isle of Dogs comes to 4K UHD from The Criterion Collection, presented in its original 2.40:1 aspect ratio on a triple-layer disc. The 2160p/24hz presentation is encoded with Dolby Vision but sourced from a 2K master, meaning this is ultimately an upscale. A Blu-ray edition with a 1080p transfer is also included.
The new 4K presentation does edge out the earlier Fox disc, though the gains are on the subtle side. With the upscale in play, improvements in definition amount to a slightly sharper image paired with a cleaner encode. That said, detail levels remain excellent, with every tuft of fur on the dog puppets seeming to pop, and even the smallest flourishes in the elaborate sets register clearly. But in fairness, the same could largely be said of the Fox Blu-ray and even the Blu-ray in this set.
HDR and Dolby Vision bring some modest benefits, though they feel more like SDR values tucked inside an HDR container. Black levels look appealing, with shadows deepening a wee-bit, while colors (especially the bold reds) carry more punch. Highlights, however, never dazzle, and overall brightness remains restrained.
In the end, Criterion’s 4K disc offers a step up, but it’s not the dramatic leap one might hope for.
Isle of Dogs - Screen Captures
Audio 8/10
The 5.1 surround mix is fairly restrained overall but opens up when it needs to. Dialogue and most effects sit primarily across the front channels, though bursts of action are pushed into the rears at the right moments. Alexandre Desplat’s score makes particularly good use of the surrounds, with its percussive beats delivering a satisfyingly to the lower ends. Everything comes through clean and clear with solid dynamic range. It’s not a showstopper, but it gets the job done.
Extras 8/10
In contrast to Fox’s barebones release, Criterion packs in a wealth of material, though much of it appears to draw on footage originally shot by Fox. Thankfully, Criterion has produced some exclusive new material, including an audio commentary with Wes Anderson, which, like his track for The French Dispatch, ranks among his better ones. Anderson covers the film’s origins, development, and animation process, drawing on lessons learned from Fantastic Mr. Fox. He cites influences (Kurosawa and The Plague Dogs among them), comments on the puppets’ technical details, and discusses the cast and voice work. Jeff Goldblum drops in briefly at around the 40- and 55-minute marks, adding a few humorous asides about his gossipy character and his collaborations with Anderson before this one, but unlike his participation on the track for The Grand Budapest Hotel, his presence is limited. Thankfully, Anderson keeps things lively throughout.
The included Blu-ray holds the remaining features, starting with the full 90-minute animatic for the film. Sadly, it’s only presented as a standalone feature and not as a picture-in-picture option. Since Fantastic Mr. Fox, Anderson has favored animatics over storyboards to help pace and time his films, layering in the actors’ recorded performances and even music. This one sticks closely to the finished product—closer than The French Dispatch’s partial animatic—with the shorter runtime due to missing credit sequences.
New for this edition is an 11-minute video essay, The Visual Comedy of Isle of Dogs, by Taylor Ramos and Tony Zhou. It breaks down how Anderson’s visual language (pans, right-angle cuts, framing, and artifice) fuels much of the film’s humor, and the two break down a few sequences. Though not especially revelatory for seasoned Anderson fans, it’s a crisply edited and enjoyable piece, and it's nice to get some sort of academic addition here.
The remaining supplements then delve into the making of the film, echoing the technical focus of Fantastic Mr. Fox’s material. One-on-one interviews originally shot for studio featurettes (presented at a greater length here) prove particularly engaging. Animation director Mark Waring outlines the basics of stop-motion, from puppet construction to syncing mouth movements in English and Japanese. Co-production designer Paul Harrod touches on the 200+ sets and use of forced perspective. Andy Gent, head of puppets, highlights the varying puppet scales, their upkeep, and his integration of Kabuki elements. The standout is cinematographer Tristan Oliver, who provides a highly technical look at lenses, set limitations, lighting, and Anderson’s insistence on in-camera effects. It’s fascinating, and one almost wishes these contributors had been brought together for their own commentary.
Other highlights include Jupiter in the Studio, a 17-minute visit to the set with F. Murray Abraham. He watches animators at work (including inventive smoke and explosion effects using cotton), and is visibly moved when shown a finished sequence of his character. Voices of the Pack offers 7 minutes of footage from the recording booth with Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton, Bill Murray, and others. The disc also includes several test reels: four minutes of animation tests (including lip-synching), five minutes of VFX trials, a time-lapse of animators posing puppets, and, most impressively, an extended cut of the intricate sushi-making sequence, which took 32 days to animate.
Rounding out the package are short but worthwhile studio featurettes: a four-minute piece on animators, another on puppet sculpting and costumes, a look at the sets of Megasaki City and Trash Island, a brief segment on weather effects, and a charming two-minute look at real dogs on set, who served as influence. Cast interviews presented with their animated counterparts are playful, and a slideshow shows actors posing with their puppets. The disc closes with the trailer, while the fold-out insert features an essay by Moeko Fuji, analyzing the film and its darker themes (echoed by Zhou and Ramos, who argue this is Anderson’s darkest work). A separate fold-out poster is also included.
Heavy on the technical side, Criterion’s edition still provides a thoroughly engaging collection, and anyone fascinated by the craft of stop-motion will find plenty to dig into.
Closing
Even if the 4K upgrade isn’t as dramatic as one might hope, Criterion has still assembled a marvelous edition of a film that has felt a long time coming.
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