Isle of Dogs: watch the trailer for Wes Anderson's dystopian canine epic

Set in a future Japan where dogs have been banished to an island of garbage, Anderson’s animated film features the voice work of Bill Murray, Tilda Swinton and Yoko Ono

The first trailer for Wes Anderson’s new animation Isle of Dogs has been revealed.

Set in a dystopian future Japan where dogs have been banished to a island made of garbage, following the outbreak of canine flu, Isle of Dogs follows a young boy’s odyssey to find his lost pet. The film utilises the same stop-motion animation seen in Anderson’s 2009 Roald Dahl adaptation Fantastic Mr Fox and features a gargantuan voice cast that includes Scarlett Johansson, Edward Norton, Bill Murray, Jeff Goldblum, Frances McDormand, Harvey Keitel, Tilda Swinton and Yoko Ono.

The film is Anderson’s first since 2014’s The Grand Budapest Hotel, which was nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards. The film was also praised by critics, with the Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw declaring it an “intelligent treat”.

Anderson says that his latest work was inspired by the films of Seven Samurai and Rashomon director Akira Kurosawa. The film has already been the subject of some criticism, however, with social media users accusing it of whitewashing over its casting of primarily white American actors in a Japanese setting.

• Isle of Dogs is released in US cinemas on 23 March, Australian cinemas on 29 March and UK cinemas on 30 March.

Guardian film

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