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The Plague Dogs

Play trailer Poster for The Plague Dogs PG-13 1982 1h 43m Adventure Animation Play Trailer Watchlist
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70% Tomatometer 10 Reviews 89% Popcornmeter 2,500+ Ratings
In this animation, Snitter (John Hurt) and Rowf (Christopher Benjamin) are two dogs trapped in a lab where they are repeatedly abused for testing purposes. One day, they accidentally find a way to unlock their cages and escape. In the wild, they must struggle to survive with the help of their guide, the Tod (James Bolam), a fox. Despite their hopes for a better life, they are discouraged by the increasing lack of food and vicious rumors the government is spreading that they carry the plague.
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The Plague Dogs

Critics Reviews

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Frances Dickinson Time Out 03/01/2018
Adams' succinct complaint about animal exploitation is reduced to a mute whine. Go to Full Review
Janet Maslin New York Times 03/01/2018
The Plague Dogs makes such skillful use of computer animation that its principal characters develop an amazing doggy authenticity. Go to Full Review
Rachel Wagner rachelsreviews.net 10/03/2024
It is definitely a bold and shocking film worth seeing Go to Full Review
Seth Troyer PopMatters 10/03/2023
While The Plague Dogs is certainly not for the faint of heart, it is beautifully animated and truly moving, emotional journey. Go to Full Review
Alistair Lawrence Common Sense Media 05/05/2021
4/5
A less-famous relation to Watership Down, this animated tale from 1982 takes a similarly unflinching look at the natural world and humans' relationship to animals. Go to Full Review
Phil Edwards Starburst 04/14/2020
Long winded and generally unpleasant. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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L G @Lhgarf Oct 6 It is fun to see the animation style of the early 80's. The dog characters are more interesting than you might expect. The story is engaging. See more Flynn S @Flynn194 Sep 4 Great animation, Only a couple characters in the film but they’re very likeable, and a great adventure that makes you hope the dogs succeed.Sad film but very good. See more Kyle T Mar 8 Horrible! Nobody should watch this ever! The movie is not appropriate for anyone! See more Jan 14 FAST AUF EINER STUFE MIT WATERSHIP DOWN Die beiden Hunde Wuff und Snitter können aus einem Tierversucheslabor fliehen. Zunächst suchen sie ein Herrchen, doch schnell merken sie das sie nur als wilde Tiere überleben können. Die Taten der beiden nehmen schnell überhand da sie Schafe sowie Hühner reißen und schon bald werden die beiden wegen der Flucht aus dem Labor gejagt. Die Hunde sind los von 1982 geht ca. 103 Minuten und ist ab 12 Jahren freigegeben. Wir haben hier einen Zeichentrickfilm vom selben Regisseur wie Watership Down und er ist genauso düster und brutal aber auch traurig und melancholisch. Die Story dreht sich um zwei Hunde die einfach nur frei sein und nicht von Weißkitteln täglich gefoltert werden möchten. Während Wuff täglich solange schwimmen muss bis er untergeht wurde Snitter am Gehirn operiert, so das er stellenweise denkt er wäre noch bei seinem Herrchen, dies wird schwarz-weiß dargestellt. Jedoch erträgt er die Fliegen, Steine oder Spinnweben in seinem Kopf nicht. Es ist einfach nur herzzerreißend, vorallem wenn man den Verlauf der Story begutachtet. Der Winter kommt (der Dialog darüber ist umwerfend), was wirklich im Labor gemacht wird und auf was es schlussendlich hinausläuft. Das Finale zwingt beide noch ein letztes Mal zu fliehen. Der Ausgang ist herrlich fies umgesetzt wurden. Dennoch fehlt etwas um mit Watership Down mit zu halten. Zum einen ein Soundtrack der ins Mark geht und dann ein Bösewicht, denn es gibt hier übergeordnet nur den Menschen. Die es in Watership Down auch gab, aber eben nicht nur. Am Ende bleibt ein fantastisches Drama über Freiheit, Mitgefühl, Freundschaft aber auch Naivität. Die Grausamkeit von Tierversuchen und das bildliche darstellen der Qual und Traumata der Tiere. Definitiv nichts für Kinder. Von mir bekommt der Film 8/10 Punkten. Früher in Deutschland nur in Kurzfassung von 82 Minuten erhältlich, hatte der Streifen nur eine FSK von 6. Wurde inzwischen rauf gesetzt auf wenigstens 12. See more andrey j 07/11/2024 The Plague Dogs ou Os Cães da Peste, é uma animação corajosa que explora temas como ética e moralidade, libertação e busca por liberdade, impacto psicológico da opressão e relação entre humanos e animais. Esses temas são abordados de maneira desconfortante ao longo do filme, contribuindo para a profundidade emocional e reflexiva sobre os assuntos mencionados e sobre a própria animação. Ao sair do padrão das animações contemporâneas, o filme aborda um tema tenso e negligenciado, explorando experiências traumáticas e crueldade de forma impactante. See more 07/25/2022 To be honest, this movie is a slap in the face to the actual novel. While it keeps its themes of being against animal testing and dislike of bureaucracy at a surface level, literally everything that made the novel great has been hacked out. While the animation looks great, the pacing is choppy, moving from scene to scene at a rapid pace, sometimes less than 10 seconds. There is no character development and only the most minute aspects of a backstory. There are plot points that don't make any sense and elements that are entirely changed without reason. So much of it ends up being scenes of the dogs wandering the fell as there are voiceovers of men acting largely as exposition narrators. The ending is absolutely butchered. See more Read all reviews
The Plague Dogs

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Movie Info

Synopsis In this animation, Snitter (John Hurt) and Rowf (Christopher Benjamin) are two dogs trapped in a lab where they are repeatedly abused for testing purposes. One day, they accidentally find a way to unlock their cages and escape. In the wild, they must struggle to survive with the help of their guide, the Tod (James Bolam), a fox. Despite their hopes for a better life, they are discouraged by the increasing lack of food and vicious rumors the government is spreading that they carry the plague.
Director
Martin Rosen
Screenwriter
Richard Adams, Martin Rosen
Rating
PG-13 (Thematic Elements|Violent Images)
Genre
Adventure, Animation
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Oct 21, 1982, Original
Rerelease Date (Theaters)
Dec 17, 1983
Release Date (Streaming)
Jan 29, 2019
Runtime
1h 43m
Sound Mix
Surround
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