Short of going out and adopting a dog (or two) at your local shelter (which I strongly recommend), the second-best way to give a dog a forever home is by picking upWes Anderson’sIsle of Dogs, now on DVD and Blu-ray. If you missed this stop-motion animated technical masterpiece in theaters, you can now enjoy the story of Atari (Koyu Rankin) and his search for his lost dog. The journey will take you from the clean, organized, and strictly controlled populace of Megasaki City into the dingy, dirty, and dangerous dumping grounds of Trash Island. You’ll sometimes forget that each and every frame of this film was painstakingly animated by hand, but luckily this Blu-ray focuses a lot on the big-screen magic that is stop-motion animation.
What it doesn’t focus on, however, is the cultural, historical, and socio-political background that is necessary to fully appreciate this film’s narrative, and quite useful in having a worthwhile discussion about its insights and oversights alike. I think that’s a missed opportunity to extend the conversation beyond the film’s impressive technical achievements. Another thing missing from this Blu-ray, which is odder still considering the quirky nature of Anderson, his films, and the fanbase who loves them, is any kind of commentary from the writer-director or the incredible cast. On the plus side, the Blu-ray’s rather lean bonus features do put the entire focus on the hard-working and talented creative team assembled to bring the puppet characters ofIsle of Dogsto life. Oh, and some screen time is spared for the real-life pooches who were present for the production as well, which is always a treat.
Here’s a look at some cool trivia gleaned from the Blu-ray:
Bonus Features
Promotional Featurettes:
Theatrical Trailer
