Feb 23: Isle of Dogs (2018) dir. Wes Anderson

Isle of Dogs is an animated film made by Wes Anderson, and released in 2018. 

It takes place within the imagined world of Megasaki, and Trash Island, to where all dogs are banished. Here's a brief 'making of' featurette showing some of the work that went into creating the world. The film was largely made in the UK at an animation studio in East London.

The area of Megasaki is apparently broadly based on Japan, twenty years in the future.

Wes had previously made an animated 'Fantastic Mr. Fox'

There was an exhibition of props from the film and models in London in 2018, and I was fortunate enough to be able to see it. There was also a lengthy social media campaign following the launch of the film. A life-sized rendering of a ramen bar featured in the film – complete with noodles and sake cocktails by chef Akira Shimizu of Soho’s Engawa restaurant – allowed visitors to step inside the world of Anderson. It was a wonderful immersive experience, and came shortly after the release of the film, which was largely made in London.

A FLICKR set of images from the exhibition can be seen here, such as the one below:

Image: Alan Parkinson, shared under CC license

Here's a review of the exhibition.

This website showcases some of the photographs that it says helped inspire the setting of Isle of Dogs. They include two photographers whose work I have also used in my teaching

Edward Burtynski and Chris Jordan

Jordan was one of the first to film on the Island of Midway to show the issues of plastic pollution.

His projects Running the Numbers 1 and 2 try to show the scale of our consumption as well.

There is of course a useful reel / real comparison to be made here with the actual Isle of Dogs area of London. The Londonist website compared the two places int this tongue in cheek piece here.

Those wanting to get more into the world of Wes Anderson should check out the merchandise available from The Society of the Crossed Keys.

As with most of Wes' films, there is a very useful book that includes a great deal of additional information and artwork and design from the film. This book series is excellent.

Here's the original trailer for the film which gives a flavour of its aesthetic: