Excellent, Without a doubt!!

Best movie ever!

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

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 normally am not a fan of old movies (especially cartoons/anime). When I saw this available, I decided to give it a try. I've never heard of it before, but it looked like it was going to be good from what I saw. I was not disappointed at all. I immediately got attached to the characters. They were very well done. By the ending, I almost teared up (and I'm a guy that does not do that in movies). For a movie to emotionally affect me is a special thing.Of all the modern animated movies I've seen, none have been as good as this one. Anyway, I cannot recommend this movie more. Very emotional, serious, and amazing.

A couple of days ago I could finally have a copy of THE PLAGUE DOGS in my own hands (my DVD contains the 85 minutes version). I waited years to finally watch this film (read about it here in IMDb) and I even had a problem with eBay since its first copy I ordered never arrived to my place. It was all worthy since there's anything quite like it, or better said, I have not seen anything like it. There are much more animated films that are not AT ALL for kids, with depressing themes (like GRAVE OF THE FIREFLIES), but this one is certainly unique: it's an animated film with talking dogs (and a talking fox too – it gained my attention how we basically don't see the humans but just hear their voices) that can be described with a word like *agonizing*. It's about a couple of dogs (voiced by John Hurt and Christopher Benjamin) that are trapped victims of an animal research facility. Paul Thomas Anderson said that THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE is not about finding the actual treasure but about what happens after finding it. I would say that, to reference what Anderson said, THE PLAGUE DOGS is not about surviving, or finding a way out of, the animal research world but about what happens once the two dogs are free. According to the tagline, and how they sold the film, that thing is the "adventure of a lifetime". But this isn't quite an adventure, in the good sense of the word. It's pure agony, a story with no hope that truly surprised me; I mean, there's a specific scene, featuring one of the dogs and a man with a handgun, which is the kind of brutal I never imagine I was going to find here (even when I did know the premise of the film). I'm not going to watch THE PLAGUE DOGS very often, but it sure is a great, very touching (single lines will move you, like for instance when one of the dogs says that why he is in the animal research facility if he is not a bad dog) and perfectly animated piece of work. *Watched it today

After the success of Watership Down (1978), writer/producer/director Martin Rosen, tackled another of Richard Adams' novels. Thematically similar to Watership Down, The Plague Dogs tells the story of two dogs who escape from a animal testing laboratory in Coniston in the Lake District. Snitter (John Hurt), a Jack Russell, and Rowf (Christopher Benjamin), a black Labrodor, find themselves in the fells of North West England. There they encounter a fox, The Todd (James Bolam), who offers to help them become wild to survive the harsh outside that they are not accustomed to. The local farmers are alerted to their presence once sheep start turning up mutilated. This breeds panic amongst them. The suspicions build and accusations are directed at the local, clandestine laboratory. Whilst kept secret for some time, the horrifying news is delivered that the two escapees are carrying the bubonic plague.As I have previously stated, this is thematically similar to Watership Down. Humans are the instigators of the death of animals. Death is ever present within this film. Throughout our main characters are physically dying of hunger and exhaustion. Disney this is not. It is far removed from the cutesy animal characters of the Disney movies. These are animals at the height of existential crisis. Snitter has constant flashbacks (caused by a surgical slice on the head) of his past master, who he caused the death of in a road accident. Both characters are perpetually reminded and discuss 'The Blackness'.This is not high-adventure kiddie-fodder. This is animated cinema at its bleakest. It's an austere account of survival in an alien winter landscape. The colour palette of the film is limited. With the hills and valleys of Lancashire, et al, in the closing months of the year, it uses mostly greys, browns, and shades to illustrate the dreary desolate surroundings. There are some incredibly disturbing moments here. In the opening sequence, Rowf is being submerged in a deep tank of water; the 'experiment' not verbalised. Rowf seems to die, sinking to the bottom until he is scooped out and resuscitated. In a later scene, Snitter is called over with whistles from a farmer searching for the escapees. When Snitter jumps in excitement, he accidentally pulls the trigger on a shotgun which proceeds to blow into the mans face.This is grim, harrowing viewing. I remember seeing this film as a five year old. I (possibly luckily) do not recall my emotional response to it. As an adult, I see it as a continuation of the messages of human destruction as first proposed by Watership Down. I have noticed that the DVD versions available have cut 20 minutes of the film. I can not see where they could do this. I'm assuming that the sequences which show mutilated, bloody sheep will have been edited out. But, luckily, i saw the original 102 minute version. I can only imagine that at such a tender age in 1982, I could only have been traumatised by the experience. However, I could be wrong. There was quite a little fad for relatively bleak animated films during this period. Just look at The Secret of Nimh (also 1982). The continues also with the same beautifully rendered animation techniques as Rosens previous film. It depicts the countryside of England so well. Whilst the film is not so fondly remembered as Watership Down, The Plague Dogs still represents a piece of pure animation that does not shy away from confronting very disturbing and emotional issues. It also represents (whilst differently) a move from the view that animation is solely for kids. Like the more recent animated movies of Pixar, it has elements which speak to the adult viewer as well as the young. This may possibly be why it is forgotten. Or maybe it is just too bleak to contemplate after viewing just once. After all, I remember seeing the film at five; so it clearly had some impact on me.