The Plague Dogs is an animated film from 1977, directed by Martin Rosen, based on the novel by Richard Adams. These two were also behind another of my favorite films, Watership Down. The Plague Dogs is another “mature” children’s story, as it deals with subject matter usually reserved for more adult tales, such as animal cruelty & experimentation, government cover-ups, adult language, and themes of misery & death. I watched the movie for the first time on Thursday, and already re-watched it today. Apparently the version I’ve been watching is the heavily edited American version, running at about 85 minutes, while the original UK version is 103 minutes. I can’t imagine what had to be cut out, since the version I’ve seen is already extremely dark & disturbing. I can’t seem to get the movie out of my head. There’s such a heavy feeling of hopelessness throughout the film, yet the two main dogs are so innocent & deserving of a happy ending that you’re unable to give up on their story, no matter how bad things get for them as the movie progresses. The animation style is the same as Watership Down, all freehand with no roto-scoping, and the backgrounds consist of masterfully painted landscapes of the English countryside, often depicted as hazy rolling hills or snow-covered cliffs and dells. I don’t want to give much away in regards to the story, but I cannot recommend this movie enough to anyone who appreciates genuinely masterful animation and deeply meaningful storytelling. The animals movements & behavior is so naturalistic that it’s easy to forget the images are all drawn by hand and not traced over actual film footage. Just seek out this movie, through netflix or Amazon or whatever, and if you haven’t already, look for Watership Down also. The Plague Dogs is an immensely beautiful and utterly devastating film, one that I now consider one of my favorites. I’ll be thinking about this one for a long, long time.