Plague Dogs: An Animation Plagued with Dark Controversy
BY MAIKAIDO K. | SHIROOKAMI - DOGS.UNITE | 9.27.2021
A Banned Film
Human beings and dogs are often depicted in cinema as companions, with dogs being man's best friend. Plague dogs however is a film where humans treat dogs and other animals as subjects of violent experimentation. Rowf and Snitter are two dogs who escape from a research lab that focuses on such experimentation. As they are vilified as "plagued dogs", they journey together and try to survive the hunt.
The film was produced by the same duo that created Watership Down: director Martin Rosen and writer Richard Adams. Both films along with others in the 80's were part of an animated collective that depicted man's dark nature and their effect on nature itself. Whether it is toxic pollution of the land or the violent treatment of animals who are caught up in the crossfire of man's dominance, these films show mankind as cruel and self-serving. With such a violent depiction of human nature, this film was banned in the UK and quickly became a cult classic as viewers drew moral lessons from the tragedy.
Synopsis
As the two dogs come together within the research lab, their dark origins with humanity begin to drive their actions and personalities as they focus on surviving. Snitter is a fox terrier who had a master before his owner was killed in a road accident. Being blamed by the owner's sister, Snitter believed that he was the cause of his master's death. Along with the guilt he feels, he is also troubled by past visions and nightmares as his brain is the subject of experimentation in the lab. He experiences a phenomenon called "lightning" in his head, a sharp pain that accompanies the flashbacks and deepens Snitter's guilt. Despite his challenges, he's led to believe that he and Rowf can live peacefully if they find masters or kind people to take them in.
Rowf is a large black Labrador who was born in the same research lab where the dogs are put through cruel experiments. Unlike Snitter, who knew the kindness of humans, Rowf sees man as a creature that has dominion over him. Rowf in particular is placed in a pool of water for submersion torture where he drowns and is revived multiple times. This instills a fear of water in Rowf and brings him into despair. He believes that though he can try to escape, he will be better off staying. The laboratory with all the pain is all he has ever known, so freedom is beyond him. However, after meeting with Snitter, his complete opposite, he is convinced that he will surely die if he stays and is compelled to escape with him, hesitantly venturing outside of the lab.
As the two dogs come outside, they see a new world before them. Snitter has only known the city where he and his master lived. Rowf has only known the inside of the lab and the waters within. This is their first encounter with the wilds, the nature outside the world of man. Snitter believes that they must search for kind masters as he looks for more familiar buildings, but Rowf is weary that there wouldn't be kind humans left. Despite this, he continues to follow Snitter.
The two come across a small community, and their lack of knowledge of humans impedes their efforts in befriending them. Famished from the escape, Rowf proceeds to knock down a trashcan to get food as Snitter barks to get the owner's attention. This gets them chased away as rocks are hurled at them. The dogs proceed to enter a butcher's shop and see a butcher with his knife, believing the man means to kill them, causing them to continue running. At last, kind men driving on the road see Snitter suffering from his head experimentation. When they go to pick him up however, Rowf stops the men and chase them away, believing Snitter to be in danger. The pair continue to run away from dangers they perceive.
Desperate to find humans to help and accept them, they attempt to herd sheep after they observed sheepdogs winning over their master. However, this only to leads the sheep back out the gate, along with their chance to impress a master. At last, the two are out of options, realizing they soon need food to survive. They resort to their primal instincts and begin hunting. With a struggle, Rowf and Snitter kill their first sheep, activating their instincts and beginning their new life in the wild. However, Rowf is bruised from the encounter.
As he tends to his wounds, he and Snitter decide to keep to the shadows away from men and other harmful creatures. They soon come across a cave inhabited by a sly fox known simply as the Tod, who tells them that he's been watching them the entire time. He states that without his help, they will not survive in the wilds. The Tod begins to bargain with them, wanting them to share the food they kill with him in exchange for his aid in hunting. Suspicious as ever, Rowf believes that they will manage well on their own, but the Tod soon convinces them that they will live longer with him. The Tod proceeds to help them kill another sheep without much effort or bruising. He also helps them kill a duck and steal some chickens from one of the farms. Much to Rowf's chagrin, this was stark proof of the large difference in the abilities and experiences the Tod has over docile dogs who haven't been in the wilds long. Rowf begins to accept he has much to learn to reach the level of the Tod.
Despite this, Rowf's newfound confidence causes him to revert back to killing a second sheep out in the open. Leaving the corpses with blood in the area, the Tod warns that the dogs have made themselves more noticeable to men. When the hunters are sent upon their trail, The Tod comes to lead them away to safety. Feeling safe, Snitter leaves them for a moment and comes across one of the hunters who calls him near. Joyfully, Snitter climbs onto the hunter's rifle and accidentally fires it, killing the hunter. This was a turning point in the story, heightening the search for the escapees as Snitter flees. Now the dogs are not just a threat to men's sheep, but are also a threat to men.
When Rowf finds Snitter later in a barn, Snitter tells Rowf about the accidental gunfire. With the death of his master and now the hunter, he is convinced that death comes from his head. Rowf doesn't understand him fully but says that he'll fight before he gets killed by men. As Snitter is later locked in a storehouse for raiding an old women's trash, he gets locked in his mind as he thinks of his home and his old master. Snitter believes it's for the best to stay locked away in his mind. Dragging Snitter out, Rowf and the Tod are determined to have them all survive, an ambition that Snitter had previously inspired in Rowf.
While the dogs and the Tod continue to escape the pursuit of the hunters, word breaks out among men of the accidental death of the hunter. A rift is set in the opinions of those who believe the dogs are at fault with the death and those who believe the dogs are innocent. After men determined the dogs broke free from the research lab, the rumor of the dogs carrying the bubonic plague spreads throughout the community. The Tod carries on his watch for man's movements and actions, taking opportunities to feed himself. Meanwhile, Rowf tries to catch frog after frog in a pond, his aversion to water hindering him, and Snitter is unable to catch any. The Tod continues to be on the lookout for the farmers, but spots eggs. Seeing the Tod helping himself to the eggs, Rowf convinces himself more that the Tod cares too much for himself and can't be trusted. He believes that they can hunt on their own and chases the Tod off.
After stealing a chicken from a farm, the two dogs are spotted but left alone as the people fear the plague. Because of their reckless actions, they are marked as being "ravenous as wolves," especially after raiding a man's car for food. The trouble escalates further as the Tod saves the two from being shot from a hunter high atop a cliff. Shockingly, the hunter falls to a gruesome death. With this hunter's death, the dogs are seen as too much of a threat now, and the local militia is called in to put the dogs down. When they are all surrounded at a valley by the militia, the Tod makes the ultimate sacrifice to drive the pursuers away, allowing the dogs to escape the valley aboard a departing train.
Still being pursued by the militia, the train stops at the beach and the dogs head for the sea, men closely behind them. Snitter spots an island across the sea that he believes is a sanctuary. Though Rowf is reluctant, he ultimately fears being sent back to the lab. Together, they begin to swim towards the island while being fired upon from behind. A thick fog surrounds them, and everything else disappears - the men at the beach, the helicopter from above, the commotion on the shore. They are left alone to continue swimming towards the island, and the scene cuts to the credits.
Thoughts
Their journey is fraught with danger. Their escape from the research lab, their interaction with farmers and villagers, the awakening of their wild instincts, and their training from the Tod collectively transform the dogs' opinions on life itself. The character development of Rowf and Snitter is heartfelt. They discern man's cruelty, accept their place and past actions with masters, and understand how helpless they are against nature - all of these events leave impressions on the dogs that make their personalities and convictions stronger.
Throughout the film, the tones are muted and tend to be dark and cold. The animations are detailed, and viewers can see the detail in Snitter's reaction to the "lightning" in his head when he grimaces in pain. Water is drawn with swirls of confusion and chaos. The interactions of the dogs are animated in a way that seems like the dogs naturally speak, without looking like a typical cartoon, which is typical of dark animated films in the 1908's. Bleak conversations by excellent voice actors are also accentuated with careful drawings that match the style and character of the three main characters. Overall, the animation matches the mood of the film and follows the prolonged character development.
The ending is veery powerful. With Snitter's help, Rowf has come so far in overcoming his fear of water. He paddles towards the island, but is about to give up. Yet, he also sees the island, and he regains a sense of hope. The film ends here, leaving the viewers questioning whether or not the dogs, struggling the entire time of the movie, found their light at the end of the tunnel. Will they be like Snitter, always determined to find the sanctuary, or will they react like Rowf, cynical until he sees a small clue to prolong his struggle?
While these tragic films were commonplace during their time, they still serve as a reminder of man's presence over nature, whether good or bad, and how life always has its struggles. Just like the dogs, we can make ourselves feel in danger or be oblivious to the dangers we cause to others, but in the end we can choose to be victims and succumb to our unhappy fate, or we can continue looking for a way to escape that fate. That makes Plague Dogs worth the watch.
Snitter and Rowf in the cave. | Plague Dogs