Wes Anderson is known for his quirky films. And there’s perhaps none quirkier than his upcoming animated film, “Isle of Dogs.” Featuring an all-star voice cast, with many Wes Anderson mainstays, the film follows a young Japanese boy, who comes to Trash Island to find his lost dog. He’s joined by a variety of other dogs, each with their own very unique personality, over the course of his adventure. Needless to say, from footage scene, the film looks to take the typical Wes Anderson quirk, add a dash of stop-motion animation, and turn everything up to 11.
And as if you weren’t hyped enough for the upcoming film, Fox Searchlight has gone ahead and released a genius little piece of marketing to help. In a five-minute video that acts as an “on-set” cast interview montage, you’re given a chance to hear the voice actors talk about their characters, all while animated as their dog characters.
The best part is how the animators have used the sound in interesting ways. For example, in the interview with Edward Norton, it’s clear that the actor was sitting very close to the microphone, occasionally bumping into it. In the animated interview, his dog character, Rex, is shown hitting the boom mic with his nose.
The same goes for the Bill Murray interview. The actor must have been giving the interview while driving down the road because his audio is pretty terrible. However, the animators have put his dog, Chief, in a tram, so the audio makes perfect sense.
All that being said, the real standout moment is the interview with Jeff Goldblum. The man is the epitome of quirk, and his interview doesn’t disappoint. Instead of going over the role, and what drew him to his character, he talks about the name “Duke” and how it reminds him of Duke Ellington. Except he doesn’t talk, so much as sing. That’s right, this video contains Jeff Goldblum, as a dog, singing a Duke Ellington song.
If you aren’t satisfactorily charmed by the end of the five-minute clip, then most likely, you don’t have a heart and don’t deserve nice things.
For those of us that are excited about the film, “Isle of Dogs” opens March 23.