A melancholic yet hopeful animated odyssey where exiled canines on a dystopian trash island become a stark, beautiful metaphor for loyalty and political resistance.

Isle of Dogs

"Loyalty has a scent. And it smells like rebellion."

23 March 2018 United States of America 101 min ⭐ 7.8 (5,183)

Director: Wes Anderson

Cast: Bryan Cranston, Koyu Rankin, Bob Balaban, Edward Norton, Bill Murray

Animation Comedy Adventure

Political Corruption and Propaganda Loyalty and Friendship Exile and Marginalization Activism and Resistance

Budget: $62,770,198

Box Office: $64,337,744

Isle of Dogs - Easter Eggs & Hidden Details

Easter Eggs

Homages to Akira Kurosawa

The film is filled with visual and thematic references to the films of legendary Japanese director Akira Kurosawa. The compositions of certain shots, the use of drums in the score, and the story elements of warring clans are direct nods. For example, the film's poster design mimics posters for Kurosawa's films, and some scenes are framed to resemble shots from movies like Seven Samurai and High and Low.

Toho Studios Logo Reference

A mountain on Trash Island is named "Toho Mountain." This is a direct reference to Toho Studios, the iconic Japanese film studio famous for producing the Godzilla films and many of Akira Kurosawa's masterpieces. This acknowledges the film's debt to the history of Japanese cinema.

Yoko Ono Cameo

Yoko Ono voices the character of Assistant Scientist Yoko Ono. This is a meta-cameo where the famous artist and activist plays a character named after herself, adding a layer of Anderson's signature quirkiness.

🥚

View Full Movie Analysis