Excellent, a Must See

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

Let me get it out of the way now, Plague Dogs suffers from only pace, at times slow and prolonged, but just like that of Watership Down, redemption is found and something magical is created. The Plague Dogs is one of a few notable animations ever made. It's so engaging and the two dogs are just so innocent and lovely that you pray for a happy ending. More brutal and violent than I expected, tapering away from a family film, The Plague Dogs is a social commentary on what we thought we knew and will give you a new perspective on the world of animal testing. Utterly fantastic! Superb animation from one of the greatest authors of children's books, which may as well be read by adults as well. Hats off to everyone, who in the process, made this terrific movie.

I watched 'The Plague Dogs' for the first time today on LoveFilm Instant because I love dogs. I didn't even know this film existed until 31 years after it was made, but I decided to give it a go anyway.As I mentioned in the title/summary of this review, the most positive aspects are the realistic backgrounds, true-to-life character designs (especially the animals) and the voice acting. The negative points of this film are its slow pace throughout, some disturbing scenes (such as a dead slightly balding dog being burnt in an incinerator and sights of a dead bloody sheep and lifeless chickens) and some of the animation being as slow as the film's pace. The camera movement was sometimes rough and choppy as well. As for the music, the beginning and ending songs were a treat to the ears and the background music was sparse yet chilling. The story was somewhat hard to understand, but I liked the chemistry between the two leading dogs Snitter and Rowf (whose name I thought was spelt 'Ralph' because they're similarly pronounced). When I first saw The Tod's eyes shine in darkness, I thought he was an owl but he is, in fact, a fox. I did find his name rather unoriginal because there is already an animated fox named Tod in Disney's 'The Fox and the Hound.' I also feel this film is a tad intense for a PG in the UK due to its disturbing scenes, language and sights of blood. It should be rated a 12 at the very least.All in all, this was a decent if slowly-paced film that had its artistry and voice work as its redeeming merits. 7/10.

The Plague Dogs... it's kind of hard to describe why this film is so good, because of all the things it manages to execute to near perfection.The animation, for it's time, is amazing, especially seeing that Martin Rosen's approach to this and "Watership Down" (another great) was to make the world and the animal characters in it seemingly realistic to a key (to an awkward point, when they draw out the dogs "package"). Nonetheless, the settings are dreary and threatening for our characters Rowf and Snitter (voiced by John Hurt, who also voiced Fifer in Watership Down) to traverse, and both the animals and even the humans are very well done.Such a provocative story as well, one that makes this more of an adults film rather than a children's (given a PG-13 rating for a few bloody reasons). The relationship between Rowf and Snitter is done brilliantly, and though I've never read the actual book, the way these two characters work with one another and each others self-conflicting emotions (Rowf's cynical yet determined will to survive, Snitter's intellect but often driven mad by his past misdeeds and being "cursed") to survive the harsh brutal world they escaped to is phenomenal. Even the characters they come to interact with (the sheep herders two collies, and "Tod" the fox) play their parts in helping these two find their way to freedom, though they may not actually be helping. Tod in particular is a fittingly cunning fox, and while he is helping these dogs for his own gain, he comes to a point in his life that he puts aside his own selfish thieving gain and sacrifices himself for the two. In the end, after enduring long and treacherous times in the wilds of Scotland, pursued by hunters for slaughtering sheep, and believed to be ridden with a "plague" from the cruel lab they escaped from, they come to the end of their journey. The film ends on a very sad (or if you choose) uplifting note, depending on how you interpret the ending of their story, whether or not they survived in the end. It may leave you with a mixed feeling, but the overall journey with Rowf and Snitter and everything in between makes this one of the greats in animation.Reasons this film is mainly geared more for adults isn't just for the enthralling story and the end result, it especially touches base with the issue of animal cruelty (most expressed in the beginning of the film, where Rowf is forced day by day to undergo endless swimming sessions of "endurance", drowning in the end and being revived by the humans to be put through the torture once more). Though I can't put my finger on what they did to Snitter, but it severely messed with his personal mind, causing his terrible imagery of his past, which in my mind delves even deeper on what terrible things we've done to animals simply for the sake of "what will happen." Say what you will about the issue, but I don't uphold animal cruelty on any level, but I wouldn't put a human first in line to be tested by a drug or treatment before it's proved foolproof. Wherever you stand on the issue, this film still manages to prove its point well, and makes you think about the aspects of animal experimentation/cruelty in labs.To top it off with dark story elements, such as the dogs trying to revert to the "wolf" ways to kill to survive, and bloody details of injuries, attacks on both animals and humans (one in particular that Snitter did not mean the cause may very well scar you for life), "The Plague Dogs" never ceases to amaze in my eyes.This film is definitely one to see at least once in your life, and many times thereafter if you truly grasp what the film attempts to evoke to its audience. Definitely in my top 10 favorite films (not just animated) of all time (alongside "The Iron Giant" of course).9/10 Jeffrey V/sonicfan5715

Came across this one randomly on Netflix. I'm a huge animation fan, both of silly stuff like Bugs Bunny or Animaniacs, but also of more serious toned animation ranging from Batman to Ghost in the Shell or Jin-Roh. That being said I was instantly drawn to The Plague Dogs. I struggled with whether or not I should watch it, having an incredibly soft heart for animals, and dogs are held very high in my heart. Doing some reading about the film and the story, I decided to go through with it.I've watched a ton of films, some great, some decent, and a ton of schlock. The Plague Dogs rates for me as brilliant. I won't go into a ton of details about the plot. Two dogs who are subjected to scientific experiments with cruel overtones by chance manage to escape. They have different backgrounds, and different demons. They escape what for them is hell...only to be in the wilderness of the English countryside with no idea how to survive.There is no false hope given here, and from the start we are looking at an existence that knows no happiness. It does not start well. It never gets to a 'better' place, and it ends in a way that is crushing (at least for me and from what I've read here for others too). It is not a film for young children, not because of objectionable material, but because it is an adult story. At 29 years old, I was left in tears, both when I watched it and the day after. It leaves an impression, one that a young child would probably not be able to understand.It is wonderfully acted, beautifully drawn, and will speak to you in a haunting way if you let it. I don't feel that the film is specifically pro-animal rights or has anything of a hardcore specific agenda. It is a story that quite frankly would not be as interesting with humans at the focus. A great and powerful experience doesn't have to be uplifting or happy. Brace yourself for a beautifully sad journey, one certainly worth taking.