A special illustration was made by manga creator and anime director Katsuhiro Otomo of Wes Anderson’s Isle of Dogs film in celebration of its Japanese Release. Featured on the illustration is the film’s Japanese title, “Inugashima” and the image of the main characters on the back of a dog.
For those who may not be familiar, “Isle of Dogs” is a stop-motion animated comedy film that was written, produced and directed by Wes Anderson. It was first given a limited release on March 23, 2018 in the United States by Fox Searchlight Pictures before it was set for a wide release for April 13, 2018. During the film’s run it has gained praise for its animation, story and deadpan humor.
With the film having been set in Japan, there was much reference to Japanese culture. What’s more Japanese characters spoke Japanese in the film, and much of the dialogue was untranslated, and no subtitles were used. Apparently, Kunichi Nomura, who played as the antagonist Mayor Kobayashi, had collaborated on the script.
The story of the film begins with a dog flu epidemic breaking out in Japan. To prevent the spread of the disease, Mayor Kobayashi bans all dogs from Megasaki City and sends them to Trash Island with the first dog being Spots, the guardian of his nephew and ward Atari.
Determined to find his lost dog, Atari steals an airplane and flies to Trash Island. Things however, do not go according to plan as he ends up crashing the plane on the island. Luckily for him he is found by a pack of dogs willing to help him.
The cast of the film include:
Koyu Rankin as Atari Kobayashi
Akira Takayama as Major Domo
Akira Itō as Professor Watanabe
Yoko Ono as Assistant Scientist Yoko Ono
Nijirō Murakami as Editor Hiroshi.
With the English cast who play as the dogs, they include:
Bryan Cranston as Chief
Edward Norton as Rex
Bob Balaban as King
Bill Murray as Boss
Jeff Goldblum as Duke
In regard to Katsuhiro Otomo, more than being a manga creator and anime director, he is also a screenwriter and is best known as the creator of the manga “Akira” and its animated film adaptation. During the course of his career, Otomo has become the fourth manga artist to ever be inducted into the American Eisner Award Hall of Fame in 2012 and is the very first manga artist to receive Grand Prix de la ville d’Angoulême award in 2015. And these just a few of his achievements.
Source: AnimeNewsNetwork