Never one to make conventional decisions, Wes Anderson decides to make one for the dogs. More specifically about dogs, that is. As reported earlier today, Anderson returns to the world of stop-motion animation and animals for the first time since 2009's Fantastic Mr. Fox with an untitled new production.
Details are skim at the moment, but The Playlist reveals sources close to filmmaker confirm it's not only his latest, but currently in pre-production. Though some earlier reports suggested Anderson would make an anthology film influenced by the works of Vincent De Sica, based on the director's own anthology film The Gold of Naples, it would seem that one's either on hold or pushed aside. There were also rumors that he would work on some experimental work with frequent writing collaborator Roman Coppola, but it's unclear where he stands with that one.
Like many were quick to point out, Anderson's involvement with this new film is completely ironic, based on how often dogs end up murdered in his work, from Moonrise Kingdom to The Royal Tenenbaums. It's nice to have Anderson give canines their due. Whether or not they all make it out alive in the end remains to be determined, of course. But it looks as though he's had a change of heart.
Stop-motion animation became commonplace in Anderson's filmography since the underwater sequence in The Life Aquatic, and he knows how to make it look gorgeous and sublime at every turn like anything else. There shouldn't be an exceptions here. Hopefully more details should arrive once it continues to come together. His follow-up to last year's The Grand Budapest Hotel, his most financially successful feature and arguably his most critically acclaimed to date, it has the pressure set higher than ever for Anderson. Even more so with expectations from Fantastic Mr. Fox. He continuously proves himself, however, and there's not likely to be many who have a bone to pick with whatever he makes next.