Very rarely is a movie better than the book it's based on. This is one of those rare exceptions.
Richard Adams is known mainly for his novel "Watership Down." A tale true to nature, about rabbits trying to survive. He also wrote "The Plague Dogs," another parable involving talking animals, but is much darker and more harrowing than Adam's best known work. It is also, unlike the latter, NOT for children.
"The Plague Dogs" is set in the Lake District in North West England, in an animal testing facility. It tells the story of two dogs who live therein. Snitter (voiced by John Hurt), is a Fox Terrier who has had a lobotomy performed on him. Rowf (voiced by Christopher Benjamin) is a Labrador mix who has been drowned and resuscitated regularly to see how long a creature can swim before drowning. Snitter knows humans can be good, for he had a master, before he died and the terrier was sent to the facility. Rowf was born in the facility, and sees humans, whom he calls "White Coats" as evil.
The pair escape the facility by chance, with Snitter wanting to show Rowf that not all people are evil. However, due to their time in the facility they do not know how to survive in the wild, and revert to killing sheep. Despite the help they receive from a cunning yet well meaning Fox, the Tod, they are eventually hated by the rural community. It does not help when a rumour emerges from the facility that the dogs knocked over a vial containing the Bubonic Plague during their escape. This sets England on fire, and suddenly the navy, army and local farmers are out to kill the animals.
The film is as bleak and depressing as it sounds, yet it is beautiful and captivating. The animation, fully traditional and done without the help of computers, is astonishing, so realistic and engrossing that you are with these animals, traveling around Yorkshire, joining them on their perilous journey. The voice acting adds a layer of humanity to the characters, as does the way they are animated; you feel their suffering, you sense the fear and desperation. The music, which is minimal but used at the most poignant times, strikes the heart. The opening lines and bars to the end title song will stir something primal within.
This is a story of ambiguity, of terror and the pure evil that us as humans can inflict. We see these animals suffering and pining for justice, and curse ourselves as a species. Rowf cries that he is a good dog, why are they treating him like this? Snitter experiences seizures and horrific flashbacks and hallucinations due to his lobotomy. One dog becomes a feral wild animal, the other withers to a fearful, vulnerable mess.
It's important to note that the film is NOT meant for children. This is an adult tale for the adult mind. This is an adventure story in which we fall in love with those at their most desperate, and come away with a different mind-set. In this film, the animals are more human than we are.
An underrated gem.
Richard Adams is known mainly for his novel "Watership Down." A tale true to nature, about rabbits trying to survive. He also wrote "The Plague Dogs," another parable involving talking animals, but is much darker and more harrowing than Adam's best known work. It is also, unlike the latter, NOT for children.
"The Plague Dogs" is set in the Lake District in North West England, in an animal testing facility. It tells the story of two dogs who live therein. Snitter (voiced by John Hurt), is a Fox Terrier who has had a lobotomy performed on him. Rowf (voiced by Christopher Benjamin) is a Labrador mix who has been drowned and resuscitated regularly to see how long a creature can swim before drowning. Snitter knows humans can be good, for he had a master, before he died and the terrier was sent to the facility. Rowf was born in the facility, and sees humans, whom he calls "White Coats" as evil.
The pair escape the facility by chance, with Snitter wanting to show Rowf that not all people are evil. However, due to their time in the facility they do not know how to survive in the wild, and revert to killing sheep. Despite the help they receive from a cunning yet well meaning Fox, the Tod, they are eventually hated by the rural community. It does not help when a rumour emerges from the facility that the dogs knocked over a vial containing the Bubonic Plague during their escape. This sets England on fire, and suddenly the navy, army and local farmers are out to kill the animals.
The film is as bleak and depressing as it sounds, yet it is beautiful and captivating. The animation, fully traditional and done without the help of computers, is astonishing, so realistic and engrossing that you are with these animals, traveling around Yorkshire, joining them on their perilous journey. The voice acting adds a layer of humanity to the characters, as does the way they are animated; you feel their suffering, you sense the fear and desperation. The music, which is minimal but used at the most poignant times, strikes the heart. The opening lines and bars to the end title song will stir something primal within.
This is a story of ambiguity, of terror and the pure evil that us as humans can inflict. We see these animals suffering and pining for justice, and curse ourselves as a species. Rowf cries that he is a good dog, why are they treating him like this? Snitter experiences seizures and horrific flashbacks and hallucinations due to his lobotomy. One dog becomes a feral wild animal, the other withers to a fearful, vulnerable mess.
It's important to note that the film is NOT meant for children. This is an adult tale for the adult mind. This is an adventure story in which we fall in love with those at their most desperate, and come away with a different mind-set. In this film, the animals are more human than we are.
An underrated gem.