The Plague Dogs (1982) on Netflix
NR19821h 43mAdventureAnimationDrama
Rowf and Snitter, two dogs kept in a research laboratory in the Lake District, escape into the wild. Rumors that they carry bubonic plague bring soldiers and reporters after them.
- Netflix3.7/5
- IMDb7.7/1010,229 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes70%
Trailer
Plot summary
Rowf and Snitter live in a research laboratory in the Lake District. Snitter has had brain surgery that leaves his head scarred and bandaged, while Rowf has been drowned and revived again and again. One night Snitter squeezes into Rowf's cage through the netting, and they discover the latch is open. They make their way through the building and out into the countryside, where they must learn to live in the wild. A fox called the Tod shows them how to hunt in return for a share of what they catch. Snitter remembers having a master and hopes for a home, but the two dogs are hunted by their former captors. When a rumor spreads that they carry bubonic plague, soldiers and reporters join the pursuit.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about The Plague Dogs (1982)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- The San Francisco animation crew included Brad Bird, whom director Martin Rosen fired and decades later confessed he regretted dismissing, because he admired Bird's own directorial efforts.
SPOILER
The 86-minute US version cut most scenes just to shorten the running time, but one edit was for its shocking content: after the gunman Ackland falls to his death from a crag, soldiers in a helicopter find his body ripped to shreds, implying the starving dogs ate the corpse.- Alan Price's theme song "Time and Tide", along with dialogue from the film, was sampled by the Canadian industrial group Skinny Puppy for their anti-vivisection single "Testure", from their 1988 album VIVIsectVI.
- The Plague Dogs was the first non-family-oriented animated film from MGM, and the first adult animated feature by both United Artists and MGM.
- Financier Jake Eberts said the film was made without a distributor: an arrangement with Embassy Pictures was made, but when the filmmakers wanted to re-negotiate, Embassy pulled out and United Artists became the UK distributor.
