"Isle of Dogs" must be a movie with a lot of welfare for me, a Wes Anderson control, animation control, detail control, Japanese control, and Wang control, and I especially like it. I can't remember the last time I walked out of the theater so contentedly. The feeling of being reluctant to leave for a long time and the lines and music in the film have been haunting my mind is really memorable. In addition to enjoying, I can't help feeling that only a big boy with a childlike innocence can make such a childlike, interesting, detailed and in-depth movie.
Wes Anderson's output is not high, but the few movies have a high reputation in the circle, especially "The Grand Budapest Hotel", which is well-known to movie fans, and "Moonrise Kingdom", which is a must-have for literary and artistic youths. The stop-motion animation "Fantastic Father Fox" is much less well-known. However, from what I can see, Daddy Fox is Wes Anderson's highest achievement, and stop-motion is Wes' most worthy movie. Because, in addition to Wes's iconic symmetrical composition, many small details that make people smile, and the unique interest of stop-motion animation, the highlight of Fox Papa lies in the plump and vivid shaping of a vote of characters, which revolves around "Do I The big theme of "being different", "intentionally or unintentionally", discusses the mid-life crisis, other people's children, teenage rebellion, friendship, survival, who we are, and many other small themes, and the rhythm of the whole film is very smooth and compact. And, that's where the power lies. I have watched Daddy Fox no less than ten times. It has too many details to dig from the picture elements to the plot themes and even the music. Every time I watch it, I find something new, which is very worth pondering. When it comes to detailed, themed and fast-paced animation, there is a master who is also very good at this kind of technique, and yes, Hayao Miyazaki. The most representative is "Spirited Away", which is very childlike, with colorful art and unrestrained imagination. Under the big theme of "Don't Lose Yourself", there are small themes such as environmental protection, social dyeing vat, money temptation, first love, etc. It's time to stop, and the rhythm is very well controlled. There are two directors in the East and the West, with different styles, but their techniques and ideas are quite similar. It can be said that the heroes see the same thing. That's why I have high expectations for Wes Anderson's new stop-motion animation, hoping it won't be reduced to mediocrity. Facts have proved that Wes Anderson really "lives up to the crowd", not only retaining the various highlights of Father Fox, but also adding many new elements. One of the most not to be overlooked (and impossible to ignore) is the Japanese element.
There are a lot of very "authentic" Japanese elements in the film. Whether it is props, detailed dubbing, characters' demeanor, customs and culture, etc., they are meticulous, trying their best to be completely consistent with Japan in reality. From the cast, we can also see that a large number of Japanese staff are involved. The highly immersive and exciting Taiko performance, the historical narration of Japanese traditional painting style, the perfect Japanese material production process, the map of garbage island in Ukiyo painting style, and the ubiquitous Japanese subtitles, these are enough for Japanese control and detail control. We have played and talked about it repeatedly for a while, and for a certain group of people (such as me), it is not as exciting as the various easter eggs in "Ready Player One". That's not to say, however, that Wes Anderson made a Japanese movie, it wasn't even a fusion of East and West, it was a Western movie in its entirety. The hardest evidence is that, as a story that takes place in Japan, none of the protagonist's dogs are Akitas or Shiba Inu (mistakenly)! just kidding. The reality is that, aside from the obvious Western-style dialogue and expressions of the dogs, the ideas of heroism, equality and independence that conform to Western values also permeate the movie, just like a Westerner in a kimono (such as "The Last Samurai"). "Tom Cruise in "), stripping off his clothes is still a proper puppet. The same is true of music. It sounds very peaceful at first, but after a little careful identification, you will find that most of the music uses traditional Japanese instruments and drum rhythms, and the melody is still the Western set, like Danny Elfman and the like. There is no difference. This is reminiscent of a Japanese animation "The Exploding Head Samurai", created in the style of pure beauty, full of hip-hop and punk style, but this is a Japanese animation in the skin of a puppet, and "Canis Island" exactly the opposite. This contrast is very interesting. Although there is a suspicion of "deliberate imitation" and "refreshing the work through the Bolai culture, but not changing the medicine", I really like the different sparks created by the collision of Eastern and Western cultures. However, the reason why Wes is Wes is not by applying different styles. Among them, childlikeness is a very important element, and it can even be said to be the essence of Weiss.
Childlikeness is first reflected in the symmetrical composition. Everyone who talks about Wes Anderson will definitely mention his neat composition, "symmetry obsessive-compulsive disorder" and enjoy it, but for me, symmetry and candy color are all tools that serve his "childlike" feelings, not origin. The real world is not perfect, and only in the imagination of children can the world be symmetrical. Therefore, when a symmetrical composition is drawn, it naturally gives people a feeling of both reality and fantasy. In addition, the symmetrical composition is indeed very visually striking, and it is very friendly to beginners, and even a little appreciation can feel its friendliness.
Childlikeness is secondarily reflected in the protagonist. A typical Wes Anderson-esque protagonist, although a brave little adult, is not a protagonist in a Japanese comic or a hot-blooded or mature protagonist. Their way of thinking is still an uncompromising child. For example, the last words of the little boy before the plane crash in "Island of Dogs" must be supplemented with a naive sentence such as "If I am not dead, please ignore the above content"; Biscuits; Before the action is executed, a serious plan must be made. Although the plan itself is only the level of playing at home, there is a "big battle" in the attitude (this is especially obvious in "Moon Rising Kingdom"); Looking for dogs In the process, I did not forget to play the slide... Even if I became the mayor, when it comes to the punishment for hurting pets, I naively suggested the death penalty and then changed it to public labor punishment and fines, and my thinking was full of innocence. What is valuable is that Wes can capture the typical thinking of a child and express it, because it is true, it often makes people smile.
Moreover, the childlikeness is reflected in the whole filming process. For example, Wes's love for "process display" is even paranoid. The most impressive process display in this film has two parts, one is the production process of sushi and sashimi in the Japanese restaurant, and the other is the kidney transplant process in the operating room. . Both paragraphs are from a top-down perspective, showing the entire operation in detail, which makes people amazed at the operator's proficient skills, and can't help but laugh at the use of stop-motion animation to display such a picture. For the rhythm of the film itself, these two processes do not need to be explained in such detail, but the reason for doing so is undoubtedly from the perspective of children, because children do not pay attention to the results, but care more about some interesting, Immersive details.
When it comes to the theme, this film does not involve all aspects of life like Father Fox. It focuses more on storytelling and highlights the theme of "how people and dogs should get along with each other". It doesn't even require the audience to think about anything, because from the Right from the beginning, the good and the bad are already known. Although the film is more lively and richer than Father Fox, it lacks some depth and connotation. However, there is no regret. Calling on people to love dogs and all the small animals straying in the city is a fairly strong act of public welfare, and its meaning goes beyond art. This movie is actually very idealistic. No dogs die, and all those who are sick are cured. In real life, it is much crueler. As the family adopted a small stray dog in recent years, I know the hardships of stray dogs are not easy, they often face various dangers and cruel treatment by humans, and there are many tragic deaths in various ways. Therefore, you should think twice before raising pets. Don't keep them if you don't have the ability, don't abandon them if you don't have them, and sterilize them when you need them. If you see a stray animal that needs help, you can help. I hope this movie can give the world more love for small animals.
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