ABSTRACT
This chapter analyses the animated film Isle of Dogs by Wes Anderson (2018), whose narrative revolves around notions of the heroic that are made more complex by the film’s global production context. Against the backdrop of Joseph Campbell’s idea of the monomyth, it argues that the film’s multilayered portrayal of the global dimensions of heroism complicates and ultimately transcends Campbell’s concept by highlighting the agency of animals and related issues of cultural translation. Set in a vaguely dystopian Japanese megacity in the near future, the film’s plot focuses on a young boy and a group of dogs who manage to bring down an authoritarian municipal government. The film’s narrative suggests the possibility of a universal heroism, but it also reflects the challenges of dealing with urgent social and ecological problems in a globalized world and the ways in which this context affects notions of the heroic.
