This is an excellent animation, the second to be produced by Nepenthe following from 1978's "Watership Down". Although I prefer Watership Down, The Plague Dogs is certainly darker and more distressing/despairing/depressing, hence the PG rating (rather than Watership's U). Like Watership Down, Plague Dogs was written by Richard Adams, his statement against the horrors of vivisection.

The story follows Rowf and Snitter, two dogs who escape from an animal research laboratory (just outside the Lakeland village of Coniston), and their attempts to evade capture, at first by farmers for killing sheep, and later by soldiers for reasons more sinister.

By today's standards the animation does not look at all smooth - though I prefer this handmade quality, and I also appreciate the synthesised soundtrack, though it lapses into silliness at times. What sticks in the memory are the horrible things that continue to happen after Rowf and Snitter escape the lab, and how the animation comes to capture this. It is unusual to see animation being used to depict the horrible (being as I for one normally see it used for more saccharin Disneyesque purposes), but it works, just as Watership Down did. (Spoiler, next sentence) One particular scene of a shotgun accident works very well, in fact.

The fact that it works well shouldn't stop this film being shown to children, that is to say: those who are old/mature enough to move on from the sentimentality of Disney et- al (bearing in mind its PG status). It could never be described as anything like sentimental. In fact, it starkly narrates our hopelessly backward thinking on life, and our senseless, thoughtless actions to its detriment. The fact that it narrated our heartless idiocy may have contributed to the film's poor takings, despite an excellent cast.

For a film that did not perform well at the box office, there are a surprising number of copies available: on DVD versions have been published by Anchor Bay and "Hollywood DVD" (Air Media), I own the latter which is Region 0 (all PAL regions)... and it's the worst encoding I've ever seen on a DVD! From other reviews I'm told the Anchor Bay version is little better, and both versions are truncated. I regard my copy as a stopgap until the original full length 1982 version is released, rather than the 1984 cut. It was however, the cheapest DVD I've ever brought at £1.49.

Nonetheless, it's extraordinary that a film of this calibre should have become so forgotten, and I strongly recommend it (even the badly mastered edited editions).



For the fact fans among you:

"Nepenthe": Mentioned in Homer's Odyssey, is an ancient Egyptian drug for the relief of melancholia.

Coniston, the location of the animal research station, actually exists... though to the best of my knowledge there has never been an animal research station in or near the village. The village is in the Lake District National Park, Cumbria (North-West of England)

(Spoiler) The original book had a happy (or at least happier) ending.

The original book had illustrations by Alfred Wainwright!

It has been estimated that from ten to one hundred million animals are used annually for research purposes. In the U.S., any procedure can be performed on an animal if it can be successfully argued that it is scientifically justified. Whether medical and scientific discoveries of benefit to mankind outweigh animal cruelty and likely death is a debate that has been going on since testing and experimentation on living animals began in Greece in the fourth century BC and shows no signs of abating. This subject is the theme of Martin Rosen's animated film The Plague Dogs.

Based on the novel by Richard Adams who also wrote "Watership Down," The Plague Dogs is a disturbing movie that pulls no punches and is heartbreakingly real in its depiction of the sad effects of animal experimentation. Whether or not children should see it is a decision that has to be made by each parent. Walt Disney, it is not. In the film, a black Labrador named Rowf (John Hurt) and a fox terrier Snitter (Christopher Benjamin), subjected to endless tests of endurance as well as undefined brain surgery, make a daring escape from an animal research facility in Coniston, but find the outside world less welcoming than they remember.

With no specific destination in mind, the two wander through the English Lake District hoping to find a master that will take care of them (Snitter is racked with guilt, thinking he caused the death of his previous master in an accident). In this bleak environment depicted in dark colors, their search for food and shelter is aided only by a sly, opportunistic fox (The Tod) who teaches the dogs the ways of the wild, mostly for his own benefit. As more and more sheep are reported killed, the research center spreads the rumor that the dogs may be carriers of the Bubonic Plague and the farmers are now assisted by the Army to hunt them down. Snitter does not help their cause by being involved in a freak shooting accident that kills a passerby.

Though the mood of The Plague Dogs is somber and the film is marred by heavy British accents that are barely audible, the film is strengthened by the loving relationship of the two dogs and we root for them to survive even though we know the odds are against them. While the dogs are puzzled by the actions of the "whitecoats," they do not succumb to thoughts of revenge. Trying not to think the worst of their whitecoat tormentors, Rowf asks "There must be some reason, mustn't there? It must do some sort of good," but the good is hard to find as the dogs must confront insurmountable obstacles to find a way to survive. Like many of us who are trying to keep our heads above water, their island is so close but so far away.

A forgotten animated film directed by the man who made Watership Down in 1978, and also adapted from a novel by the same author who wrote it, Richard Adams. Watership Down is famously not for small kids, although it's smart and good for older children. The Plague Dogs, on the other hand, is so relentlessly bleak that it makes Watership Down look like The Rescuers Down Under. You might call it All Dogs Go to Heaven, but Only After They've Been Through Hell. That's not to disparage it, but just to paint the mood. The story follows two dogs who escape from a government lab where they've been cruelly experimented upon. The film opens with one of the two protagonists, Rowf, struggling to stay afloat in a giant tank of water as two researchers take notes. We watch the poor lab sink to the bottom of the tank, drowned. The scientists pull him out and revive him. The second protagonist, Snitter, has had experimental brain surgery performed on him, and he has trouble distinguishing fantasy from reality. After the two escape, they forage the rather bare countryside for food. Finding little, they end up going after sheep. This puts the local farmers on the defensive, and they begin to hunt the two down like, well, dogs. When the laboratory releases information that the dogs may also be carrying bubonic plague, the military is called in to get rid of them. It's an extremely difficult movie to watch, especially if you love animals. A lot of people will be turned off because there is just no hope to be had. We know there is no real escape for the two. There's also constant talk about death between them, and how it might be better. It's dark as hell, and you should only show it to children if you want to give them nightmares or screw them up. Personally, I was deeply moved by the film and highly recommend it. Too bad Rosen didn't produce anything other animated films besides this and Watership Down. Both are beautifully animated (well, the animation is a little bit choppy in The Plague Dogs, but the drawings themselves are gorgeous), and he tells stories well. Supposedly this movie is a lot more solid than the original novel.