Never has the whimsical perfectionist auteur Wes Anderson drifted into post-apocalyptic territory, but with his upcoming stop motion animated film, Isle of Dogs, the look of the film is gray and industrial. The film looks a little like Terry Gilliam’s Brazil if Brazil had been a Rankin Bass holiday special. This ain’t no Fantastic Mr. Fox. The dogs are feral and wild-eyed. Dark foreboding looms over every shot of the trailer, even with the witty, dry Andersonian dialogue from Bryan Cranston, Scarlett Johansson, Liev Schreiber, Greta Gerwig, and Anderson mainstays Edward Norton, Frances McDormand, Jeff Goldblum, and of course, Bill Murray. Anderson has proven that he can go dark, especially with 2014’s The Grand Budapest Hotel.
It is no secret that I am a devoted fan of Wes Anderson and my excitement over this trailer knows no bounds, but, I can also say with certitude that this is, by far, the most curious and perplexing Anderson trailer I have ever seen. I don’t know how to feel about Anderson possibly venturing into new territory, but, it appears that there may be enough reliable Andersonian elements to keep his fan club of white hipsters happy.
–Joey Armstrong
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