Wes Anderson’s Isle of Dogs is set in the fictional Japanese city of Megasaki.
Released in 2018, Isle of Dogs begins when Megasaki’s mayor orders all dogs exiled to Trash Island after an outbreak of canine flu. The film follows Atari Kobayashi, the mayor’s young ward, as he travels to the island to find his missing dog, Spots.
The story uses stop-motion animation and includes a large ensemble of human and canine characters. Bryan Cranston voices Chief, while Koyu Rankin voices Atari. Other English-language voice performers include Edward Norton, Bill Murray, Jeff Goldblum, Scarlett Johansson, and Tilda Swinton.
Megasaki is an invented city, but the film draws heavily on Japanese cinema, visual design, language, and cultural references. Human dialogue is frequently presented in Japanese without English translation, while the dogs’ conversations are voiced in English. The setting is therefore not a real Japanese municipality; it is a stylized fictional place created for the film’s political and adventure plot.