Cert PG 101mins Stars 4

Pooch power gives politicians paws for thought in this dark stop-motion animation from quirky writer and director, Wes Anderson.

Twenty years into the future in a totalitarian Japan, a fear-mongering mayor has consolidated his power by scapegoating all the country’s dogs, and sending them to starve on a polluted ghetto called Trash Island.

But the mayor’s twelve-year-old nephew wants to rescue his doomed pet, and teams up with a stray dog called Chief to find him.

Anderson’s arch humour and distinctive style will be familiar to those who saw his 2009 Oscar nominated take on Roald Dahl’s children’s classic, Fantastic, Mr Fox. 

But this isn’t for little kids as it’s closer in spirit to George Orwell’s classic novels 1984 and Animal Farm than to Disney.

There is a mesmerising attention to detail in the retro-technology-filled handcrafted sets. 

Bryan Cranston voices Chief alongside Anderson regulars such as Edward Norton, Bill Murray and Jeff Goldblum. And Yoko Ono voices a scientist called err, Yoko Ono.