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Isle of Dogs reviews roundup: What the critics are saying about Wes Anderson new film

It's the filmmaker's first feature since 2014 comedy The Grand Budapest Hotel

Jacob Stolworthy

Friday 16 February 2018 10:35 GMT

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Isle of Dogs trailer

Wes Anderson is on the cusp of releasing new film Isle of Dogs, the reviews of which are flooding in.

The filmmaker's first feature since 2014 comedy The Grand Budapest Hotel sees him unite with a cast boasting frequent collaborators Bill Murray, Edward Norton and Jeff Goldblum alongside fresh talent including Bryan Cranston, Scarlett Johansson and, er, Yoko Ono.

It doesn't stop there either: Greta Gerwig, Frances McDormand and Courtney B. Vance are just some more of the stars lending their talents to the filmmaker's latest project which seems to be receiving unanimous praise following its premiere at Berlin International Film Festival.

Set during a canine epidemic twenty years in the future, Isle of Dogs follows a young boy's existential journey as he searches for his missing pet in Japan.

You can see the critical verdict below.

Film premises that shouldn’t have worked but did

Show all 14

1/14Film premises that shouldn’t have worked but did

Film premises that shouldn’t have worked but did

1. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

Kicking us off is Phil Lord and Christopher Mille’s bizarre animated film about a scientist who creates a machine that transforms water into food. So far, not too crazy, but then the machine gets stuck in the sky and it starts raining food. Everything goes wrong and Flint Lockwood must save the day by flying up to the machine and kicking fried chicken butt. Yeah, a pretty crazy premise, but a fantastic film.

Film premises that shouldn’t have worked but did

2. Frank

Michael Fassbender may be one of the most bankable stars of the moment - having starred in the likes of Steve Jobs, X-Men and Macbeth - but in 2014, instead of flaunting his face, producers decided to make him wear a weird papier-mâché mask for the film’s near entirety. The plot see’s Fassbender’s titular character front a rock band, play SXSW and make ‘likeable’ music. It’s all just a bit strange.

Film premises that shouldn’t have worked but did

3. Groundhog Day

Almost anything with Bill Murray in it is a win in my book, but when you say the premise of Ground Hog day out loud - a weatherman who must relive the same day over and over again - it sounds quite boring. What transpired was one of Murray’s funniest films.

Film premises that shouldn’t have worked but did

4. Star Wars

With Star Wars being so prevalent in pop-culture, it’s hard to imagine a time when no-one except George Lucas knew what a Lightsaber was. Producers must have been shocked when this young director came into the office trying to sell a script about Luke Skywalker, R2D2, Darth Vader, Chewbacca and Stormtroopers. Thankfully, they believed in his vision and now we have one of the best sci-fi sagas of all time.

Film premises that shouldn’t have worked but did

5. Incepetion

A dream, within a dream, within a dream. Even those who watched Inception were left confused, let alone those who only heard what the film was about. Christopher Nolan’s final flick, however, was a masterclass in storytelling and one of the best films of the last ten years.

Film premises that shouldn’t have worked but did

6. Speed

The high-concept Speed is quite ridiculous really. Keanu Reeves can’t let a bus go below 50 miles per hour or it will blow up. It’s quite amazing how Jan de Bont managed to make his debut 116 minutes long in the first place, let alone making it a decent film in the process.

Film premises that shouldn’t have worked but did

7. Edward Scissorhands

Tim Burton is a director who could fill this entire list up. While he may have chosen to reboot numerous films in the past few years (Alice in Wonderland, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, the upcoming Dumbo 2) it was his original concepts that set him apart from everyone else. In Burton’s head, the love story of a man with scissors for hands and a young woman made complete sense, while for everyone else - from just the premise - it seemed entirely weird. Luckily, he was given the opportunity to make the film and a cult classic was born, all while Johnny Depp’s ability to play the outsider was solidified.

Film premises that shouldn’t have worked but did

8. Mrs Doubtfire

Post-Hook and Aladdin, Robin Williams was on a role. One of his standout performances was as Mrs. Doubtfire, the father-turned-drag-housekeeper. As a premise, dressing your lead male as a woman wasn’t exactly new (see Dustin Hoffman in Tootsie), so the filmmakers ran the risk of it all seeming like an overdone joke. Luckily, Chris Columbus managed to pull off the ridiculous plot (how wouldn’t the kids know it’s their father, really?) leading to one of the funniest films of the 90s.

Film premises that shouldn’t have worked but did

9. The Lobster

Like Burton, most of Yorgos Lanthimos’s films could probably feature on this page, but we’ve gone with The Lobster. The film tells of a hotel where residents must find a suitable partner within 45 days otherwise they will be turned into an animal. Try to run away and the other residents will hunt you down with tranquillisers. The result was one of the best love stories of 2015.

Film premises that shouldn’t have worked but did

10. Ant-Man

Some comic book superheroes should not be adapted to the big screen (*cough* Howard the Duck *cough*). Ant-Man is not one of them. Against all the odds, Paul Rudd and Peyton Reed managed to make a compelling film about a man who could shrink down in size and control ants. What’s incredible is that - somehow - the film quickly became one of Marvel’s most beloved films. Of course, everyone knew Marvel could pull off weird, having knocked it out of the park with Guardians of the Galaxy the year before.

Film premises that shouldn’t have worked but did

11. Beetlejuice

Two ghosts living in their old home want to scare away the alive people who now live there. Unfortunately, the new home-owners can’t see them and so the ghosts have to call upon a deranged Michael Keaton to help them out. Add one of the strangest afterlife scenes in film history and you’ve got a brilliant film.

Film premises that shouldn’t have worked but did

12. Forrest Gump

While not an obvious contender like Star Wars or Beetlejuice, when you think about it, Forrest Gump is a weird idea. A below-average intelligent man, sitting on a bench, waiting for a bus, telling strangers about all the famous moments in history where he observed/effected. Thanks to Tom Hanks, Gump was a magical film of love and hope, winning over the hearts of thousands and becoming an instant classic.

Film premises that shouldn’t have worked but did

13. The Lego Movie

Another film from Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, The Lego Movie shouldn’t have worked. Making a beloved toy into a film; it was all just a bit silly. Thankfully, Chris Pratt’s turn as Emmett (and a catchy song in “Everything is Awesome”) the film was a huge hit with critics and fans alike, and now we have a cinematic universe of Lego movies to come. Awesome?

Film premises that shouldn’t have worked but did

14. I’m Not There

“Let’s get Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Marcus Carl Franklin, Richard Gere, Heath Ledger, and Ben Whishaw to all play Bob Dylan in a single film”, Todd Haynes said. While you would think that would be overkill, the result was stunning, with Dylan himself eventually praising the film in 2012.

The Independent, Geoffrey Macnab - 4 stars

The film possesses considerable charm. He knows just how to milk the pathos from scenes involving, say, the runt of the litter which needs to be bottled fed or the hardened stray who suddenly discovers he has a brother. Anderson is clearly a dog lover himself and his film is bound to appeal to anyone who shares his passion. All in all, the film is quite a treat.

Screen International, Fionnuala Halligan

The film is bursting with colour out of its elaborate miniatures, audacious choices which demand to be admired (bright purple volcanos, vibrant reds, cherry blossoms, leached-out sequences which pay tribute to Japanese cinema’s majestic past).

Variety, Guy Lodge

A winningly dippy hodgepooch of lo-fi sci-fi, band-of-outsiders adventure and the most meme-ready canine antics you’ll find outside of YouTube, this leisurely tale of abandoned mutts taking on a corrupt human government is effectively puppy-treat cinema: small, salty, perhaps not an entire meal, but rewarding nonetheless.

The Telegraph, Tim Robey - 4 stars

Everything you might expect to be cute, charming and generally edible about a canine-themed Wes Anderson stop-motion animation is spectacularly upended, then poured into a landfill, [which] is by some measure Anderson’s weirdest concoction ever, in all sorts of good ways. And it probably counts as his most daring, too.

The Guardian, Jonathan Romney - 4 stars

The puppet dogs’ expressive eyes may occasionally well up with tears, but if there’s one thing that Isle of Dogs isn’t, it’s twee; Anderson and his story collaborators, who also include Roman Coppola and Jason Schwartzman, firmly eschew the Japanese cult of kawaii, or cuteness.

Isle of Dogs is released in the UK on 20 March

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