Fox Searchlight Pictures has released a new promo video of Isle of Dogs cast interviews rendered in stop-motion.Check out the interviews in the player below, including Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton, Bill Murray, Jeff Goldblum, Scarlett Johansson and more!Wes Anderson’s stop-motion feature opens in theaters on March 23.
UPDATE: Fox has also uploaded a Virtual Reality clip, which we’ve added below! The VR experience immerses the viewer behind-the-scenes of the Cast Interviews, miniaturizing them on set as if the dog is speaking directly to the viewer. When looking around, viewers see and experience the animators, artisans and studio at work around them. Astute viewers will see many details behind the scenes including Wes’ video directions to the animators, notes the animators keep to guide their process, and even what the animators do in the long waiting times they experience between frames. An animator can animate only a few seconds of footage each day therefore each interview took a week or more to complete. Because of this, the behind the scenes world moves in sped up time lapse while the animation plays in “real time.”
Isle of Dogs tells the story of Atari Kobayashi, 12-year-old ward to corrupt Mayor Kobayashi. When, by Executive Decree, all the canine pets of Megasaki City are exiled to a vast garbage-dump called Trash Island, Atari sets off alone in a miniature Junior-Turbo Prop and flies across the river in search of his bodyguard-dog, Spots. There, with the assistance of a pack of newly-found mongrel friends, he begins an epic journey that will decide the fate and future of the entire Prefecture.
Produced by Indian Paintbrush, the voice cast for Isle of Dogs includes F. Murray Abraham, Bob Balaban, Bud Cort, Bryan Cranston, Greta Gerwig, Jeff Goldblum, Akira Ito, Scarlett Johansson, Harvey Keitel, Bill Murray, Kunichi Nomura, Edward Norton, Yoko Ono, Koyu Rankin, Liev Schreiber, Tilda Swinton, Akira Takayama and Frank Wood.
Building upon the successful collaboration on The Grand Budapest Hotel, Anderson, Scott Rudin, Steven Rales and Jeremy Dawson return as producers, while Fox Searchlight Pictures will distribute the film in partnership with Indian Paintbrush.
Isle of Dogs marks director Anderson’s second animated film, following the Academy Award-nominated Fantastic Mr. Fox in 2009.