To say my dog had been looking forward to Wes Anderson’s Isle Of Dogs would be a massive understatement. When the first poster for the film was revealed he got so excited he lost control of his bladder for three days. And after he saw the trailer he howled uncontrollably while remarking on how clever the stop-motion looked.
Well, at a special doggy screening of the film, his moment finally came. And suffice to say, he absolutely loved it. For its 100 minute runtime he was sat upright with his eyes firmly fixed on the screen, as if mesmerised by a juicy joint of gammon in a shop window.
The dog was not too concerned about the specifics of the plot, which sees a little Japanese boy attempt to save his companion from an island of trash after he, and all other canines, were banished there by a corrupt mayor. Instead, he was far more interested in dog matters, like what the little boy had in his pocket – perhaps a treat or a ball or both.
He loved all of the dog characters, including the ones that sounded like Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton, Bill Murray and Jeff Goldblum. But he was particularly enamoured by the beguiling bitch voiced by Scarlett Johansson. After a scene in which she performs a trick on her hind legs, the dog turned to me and whispered with the deepest sincerity, “I’d fucking love to sniff her arse”.
The cinema stunk decisively of wet dog by this point. And when the little boy threw a lead pipe across the screen, the dog followed it out of the fire exit. Luckily, he returned in time to catch the bit where all the dogs are treated to biscuits. That was his favourite moment in the film – and mine.
The dog left the cinema with his tail aggressively wagging and was quick to comment on the clear parallels between the corrupt mayor and Trump – the banishment of canines parodying the deportation of immigrants, and the use of propaganda offering a satirical take on what us humans call fake news. He did think that some of those metaphors were a little on the snout, and that the inclusion of an American exchange student was misjudged, but overall he thinks Isle Of Dogs is the best film ever made.
Isle Of Dogs is in UK cinemas March 30.