Stop Motion

Isle of Dogs

/ / Home Video

Isle of Dogs Blu-ray reviewWriter/director Wes Anderson‘s return to stop-motion may not measure up to Fantastic Mr. Fox, but the quirky tale of an injured boy searching a quarantined island for his lost dog hits most of the right notes. When the dog population becomes infested with Dog Flu, all the dog’s in Japan are quarantined to an island of trash where the nephew (Koyu Rankin) of the mayor crash lands in search of his loyal dog.

The story is presented mostly from the point-of-view of the dogs (voiced by Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton, Bob Balaban, Jeff Goldblum, and Bill Murray), who are unable to communicate with the the boy but instinctively set-out to help find his lost dog. Even the reluctant stray (voiced by Cranston) discovers why young boys are a dog’s best friend.

The plot gets a bit over-complicated by a conspiracy within the Japanese government, drones and robotic hunting dogs sent to bring back the boy, an exchange student (Greta Gerwig) at a school newspaper’s search for the truth, and a romantic subplot between a couple of the dogs.

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Mysterious Island

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  • Title: Mysterious Island
  • IMDb: link

Mysterious Island movie reviewGiven the success of Kong: Skull Island, this week’s Throwback Thursday takes look back at the 1961 adaptation of Jules Verne’s novel The Mysterious Island. Set during the Civil War, three Union soldiers (Michael Craig, Michael Callan, and Dan Jackson) escape from a Confederate prison stealing a hot air balloon during a storm. Along for the ride are their Confederate prisoner (Percy Herbert) and a war correspondent (Gary Merrill).

After days in the air the group finally make land on an unknown island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. While exploring the group soon discovers its no ordinary island on which they’ve marooned themselves as they encounter assorted odd creatures (giant crabs, giant bees, and a Phorusrhacos), erupting geysers and volcanoes, a pair of shipwrecked women (Joan Greenwood and Beth Rogan), and a convenient chest of provisions from the lost submarine of the notorious Captain Nemo (Herbert Lom).

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Kubo and the Two Strings

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  • Title: Kubo and the Two Strings
  • IMDb: link

Kubo and the Two StringsThe latest from stop-motion studio Laika is their best yet. Centered around a young boy named Kubo (Art Parkinson) known in the local village for his tremendous storytelling ability where his origami creations spring to life, the adventure gets started in earnest when Kubo learns that the stories passed down from his mother (Charlize Theron) about an evil Moon King (Ralph Fiennes) are all true. To save himself and stand-up to his grandfather, Kubo will have to complete the unfinished quest which destroyed his father.

In a year without a heavyweight favorite for best animated feature Kubo and the Two Strings makes a strong play for the title. Undeniably visually stunning, it’s the strength of its story that separate Kubo from some of Laika’s previous releases. Available on Blu-ray and DVD, extras include a pair of short featurettes on the film’s myth and the worldwide enterprise to make the film, a six-part behind-the-scenes making-of featurette, and commentary by director Travis Knight.

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Shaun the Sheep Movie

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  • Title: Shaun the Sheep Movie
  • IMDb: link

Shaun the Sheep MovieThe British stop-motion animated television series gets its own movie when a little farmyard tomfoolery leads to the Farmer (John Sparkes) getting lost in the big city with a nasty case of amnesia. So it falls on Shaun (Justin Fletcher) the sheep and the rest of his flock to find their missing friend and bring him home.

Shaun the Sheep Movie is a throwback screwball comedy as Shaun and his friends scour the city for the Farmer in ridiculous costumes, cause a break-out of an animal control center, and generally cause all kinds of mischief wherever they go. Completely dialogue free, the movie’s humor doesn’t miss a beat or need to rely on any form of exposition to tell its story. Marvelously animated, the film is a joy to behold.

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The Boxtrolls

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  • Title: The Boxtrolls
  • IMDb: link

The BoxtrollsBased on the novel Here Be Monsters! by Alan Snow, The Boxtrolls is the latest offbeat stop-motion adventure film from the same production company which gave us both ParaNorman and Coraline. The film centers on an orphaned boy named Eggs (Isaac Hempstead Wright) raised by an underground group of Boxtrolls hunted by an evil exterminator (Ben Kingsley) vastly exaggerating the creatures monstrous tendencies for his own ends.

As with the studio’s previous two films the animation is impressive while offering a rather straightforward message for children. But it’s nowhere near as entertaining as The LEGO Movie which Boxtrolls beat out for an Oscar nomination for Best Animated Film. Although technically impressive the film itself is little more than a mild diversion.

Available on both DVD and Blu-ray, extras include commentary by directors Graham Annable and Anthony Stacchi, and ten short featurettes on various aspects of the movie. The Blu-ray also includes early storyboard animatic sequences and a digital copy of the film.

[Universal Studios, DVD $29.98 / Blu-ray $34.98 / 3D Blu-ray $49.98]

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