``Isle of Dogs'' A fusion of Wes Anderson's play and Japanese storytelling

The essence of “Hachiko Monogatari” and “Antarctic Story”

Spots, the guard dog, swears loyalty to Atari, a young boy who has lost his parents, saying, "I will always keep you safe." Believing that Spots, who has become his best friend, is still alive, Atari embarks on the Isle of Dogs to search for him. The bond between the two is reminiscent of two Japanese films featuring dogs that were also remade into Hollywood versions.

The most famous true story of a dog who was loyal to its owner is of course the "loyal dog Hachiko," who waited for his late owner for 10 years in front of Shibuya Station. A film adaptation of this story, " Hachiko Monogatari ," starring Tatsuya Nakadai, was released in 1987, and a remake, " Hachi: A Dog's Tale ," starring Richard Gere, was produced in 2009.

Meanwhile, the 1983 film Antarctica starring Ken Takakura is based on a true story about two dog brothers, Taro and Jiro, who accompanied an Antarctic research team, but were left behind when the team returned, only to be rescued a year later. This was remade in 2006 as Eight Below , starring Paul Walker (though the Japanese title is the same as the original, Antarctica).

“Isle of Dogs” ©2018 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

The remakes were made possible because Hollywood producers were convinced that these stories, so familiar to Japanese people, have universal appeal that can be enjoyed by audiences in the U.S. and other countries, so it would not be surprising if Wes referenced these works in the research stage of making a dog movie set in Japan.

As we have seen, "Isle of Dogs" is packed with the essence of stories familiar to Japanese audiences, which is why the story unfolding in a retro-future Japan feels somehow nostalgic.

Text: Ikuya Takamori

Freelance writer, English-Japanese translator. Mainly contributes movie reviews and columns to web media, and translates news articles. The translated book is ``Science of Star Wars--Thorough verification! From the true nature of the Force to intergalactic travel” (written by Mark Blake and John Chase, published by Kagaku Doujin) and others.

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"Isle of Dogs"

©2018 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

*Information at the time of article publication in June 2018.