If I’m being completely honest, I’ve always been more of a cat person than a dog person.
That said, I don’t know why, but I’ve been consuming nothing but dog-centric stories as of late (Maybe the universe is trying to tell me something). I just finished reading Where the Red Fern Grows, and I recently watched the movie, The Plague Dogs. But, if you know anything about either of these, you’ll know that they are NOT happy dog stories.
In fact, The Plague Dogs, which is about two dogs being hunted in the wilderness, is probably the saddest movie I’ve ever seen. Based on the Richard Adams novel of the same name, this 1982 movie, which can be watched on Pluto TV, brought tears to my eyes. Here’s why.
First Off, It’s A Movie About Animal Cruelty, Which Is Such A Sad Subject Matter
I once wrote an article about animated movies that I couldn’t believe were not made by Disney, but trust me, I would never believe that Disney made The Plague Dogs. Its central plot concerns animal research, and not in a cute, musical way, but in an, “Oh, God. What are they doing to those animals?!” sort of way.
Starting off in an English lab, our two protagonists are a labrador-mix named Rowf, and a fox terrier named Snitter. Rowf gets drowned over and over again, and then resuscitated to see the effects, and Snitter has his head all bandaged up since doctors are experimenting on his brain. Like, jeez. Is that sad, or what?
But, it’s not just dogs being experimented on, as we see monkeys writhing in pain, rabbits chained up to their necks, and all manner of other awful experimentation.
Not only that, but remember how we all thought that incinerator scene in Toy Story 3 was incredibly dark for a Disney movie? You know, the scene where we wondered if the toys in this universe could actually die? Well, The Plague Dogs is all like, “hold my beer,” as our heroes escape the facility by getting out of an incinerator, but it’s one in which dead dogs are thrown inside of it as if they’re nothing.
I mean, could you get any more distressing? And, this is just the beginning of the movie! I haven’t even gotten to what it’s like once our heroes finally escape the facility.
Once The Dogs Get Free, Their Troubles Get Even Worse
I’ve read that this was meant to be an adventure story, as it’s the tale of two dogs who get chased by their captors once they escape captivity. However, I don’t view this movie in the same vein that I view something like Mad Max: Fury Road, and that’s because The Plague Dogs is not about humans chasing humans. It’s about humans chasing dogs – dogs that didn’t do anything wrong whatsoever.
The reason Rowf and Snitter are being pursued in the first place is because it’s believed that they carry the bubonic plague (hence the title) and need to be put down before they infect the populace. But, while they’re being trailed by people, they must survive in the wilderness, which is a problem in itself since they aren’t used to fending for their lives.
They come upon a fox who shows them how to survive, but, like most foxes (Ouch. I sound like I learned nothing from Zootopia), he isn’t to be trusted, and they go their separate ways for a while. In this period, our heroes come to the brink of starvation.
But, as if the movie itself is shaking its head at me, the fox eventually comes to the rescue, and does a noble deed. That said, all of this is quite harrowing, and you would think that the dogs would get a break, but no. Their “adventure” gets so bad that it’s almost unbearable to watch.
In a lot of stories, the characters start off in a sort of ordinary world, where things go well for them, but then some terrible incident occurs, which sends the hero off on their journey. But, here, the “ordinary world” (the research facility) is a place worse than death, and they escape it, only to end up in a place that is surprisingly even WORSE than the facility (merciless nature). Seriously, there is no time in this movie where you actually feel like things are going to be okay, which is incredibly draining, to say the very least.
Both Dogs Are Likeable, But Their Cynicism Makes It Hard To Feel Any Sense Of Hope
One of my favorite books is The Grapes of Wrath. In it, the Joad family go through all manner of terrible ordeals, and by the end of it, you’re kind of left with an ambiguous ending. Is it hopeful? Is it defeatist? I still think about it, even today.
That said, the ending of the John Ford movie couldn’t be any more different. At the end of it all, “Ma” Joad (Jane Darwell) gives a rousing speech about how people like them will continue to live on, no matter what hardships they face. The novel leaves you with a questionable feeling at the end, while the movie leaves you with an upbeat feeling.
I bring all of this up since the way characters respond to adversity can really change the whole tone of a story. But, I’m sorry, our protagonists in The Plague Dogs are just so cynical that after a while I had a hard time feeling any sense of hope whatsoever. As I said earlier, this story is just so draining!
Of the two dogs, Snitter is the one who starts off with the most hopeful outlook once they escape. But, after a grisly accident (which I’ll get into soon), he becomes distraught, and quickly brings down the whole journey. Not that it was ever enjoyable to watch, but his hopelessness carries throughout the rest of the movie.
I mean, I’m the biggest pessimist in the world, but even I need some hope in my films. This movie, unfortunately, doesn’t provide it.
The Humans Are Just Terrible People. And Believable
There are no good humans in this story. Not a one. From the scientists experimenting on the animals, to the ones hunting down our heroes, every human in this story is awful, and I hate every single one of them.
There’s one scene in particular where a guy gets shot right in the face by a shotgun, as he’s trying to coax Snitter to come to him, only for the dog to accidentally step on the trigger and presumably kill him. And, to make matters worse, this is the incident that leads Snitter to truly lose hope once he realizes what he’s done.
It’s honestly hard to see such coldness in an animated feature. This is like what a cartoon from Stanley Kubrick might look like. You would think that there might be at least one human character who might try to help the dogs, but no. That would be too humane.
The humans are a constant source of misery for our protagonists, which is made all the more heartbreaking because Snitter once had an owner, and he wishes to have another one. To reference Toy Story 3 again, it kind of reminds me of Lotso. However, unlike that story, where Lotso grew bitter because of humans, Snitter grows disconsolate, which is somehow even worse.
For real, though, screw the humans in this movie. They’re all awful.
And That Ending!
Boy. I’m not going to spoil the ending here, but if you think I’d been brought through the ringer before, just imagine how I felt by the end of this movie, which, spoiler alert, is not a happy one!
I’ll paint you a picture. Snitter and Rowf end up trapped at a water’s edge, and Rowf, who used to be drowned for experimentation, doesn’t want to go near it. That said, Snitter believes he sees an island in the distance, and they both risk their luck.
And…well, I’ll just leave it there. But, I will say that the book ending is very different. Yes, the dogs end up in the water, but they also end up getting rescued, and cleared of being believed that they have the plague. The movie, though?
Again, I won’t spoil it, but it’s the ending that truly broke me. I just don’t understand why the movie’s ending has to be so harsh when the rest of the film is so brutal.
Honestly, even though this animated film came out before I was born, it still hits me harder than any animated film that I’ve ever seen since being alive (Yes, more than the iconic Studio Ghibli movie, Grave of the Fireflies), and that’s saying something.
Have you ever seen The Plague Dogs? I’d love to hear your thoughts if you have.