Where does 'Isle of Dogs' fit in the Wes Anderson canon?

Wes Anderson is one of those directors that very few people are indifferent towards. You either appreciate his precious, meticulously crafted films or you tend to revile them. I have been an enormous fan of Anderson's ever since I saw his breakthrough movie Rushmore in theaters back in 1998 as angsty teen.

It's deadpan humor and melancholy really spoke to me, and I'll always be grateful to Anderson for helping resurrect the career of Bill Murray. He doesn't put out new movies often -- and when he does -- with one exception, they've all worked for me.

His latest, Isle of Dogs, is his second foray into the world of stop motion animation -- a format uniquely suited to his detail-oriented craftsmanship. But where does it fit into his cinematic universe? If I were to rank his films from my least favorite to favorite, it would go something like this...

9) The Darjeeling Limited - This is the one Anderson film I can't abide. Besides feeling like an indulgent bit of cultural appropriation, the movie doesn't emotionally resonate in the way it presumes to. Like all Anderson films, it's incredible to look at -- and the real life off-screen drama in Owen Wilson's life give the film some pathos. But the characters and conflict here feel like retreads of earlier, more likable Anderson works. I think it's telling that he shook things up and tried animation after this one, it felt as though he'd painted himself into a creative corner.

8) Isle of Dogs - Easily Anderson's cutest, and probably his most accessible film to date, this one grew on me as it went along. Some may deem it culturally insensitive but I think it's a well-intentioned, very sweet film that is aided tremendously by simply phenomenal animation and a genuine affection for its furry characters who are unfairly banished to a garbage island in an alternative version of Japan.

7) Bottle Rocket - Anderson's debut feature is remarkably well-assured, albeit light on plot. Owen Wilson is the main attraction here, with his irrationally cocky wannabe thief giving this earnest comedy a real off-kilter charge. James Caan also does a delightful job sending up his tough guy persona.

Anderson's visual aplomb is pretty tamped down in this one and the film is a little rougher around the edges, but all the hallmarks of his future work are percolating here, especially his ear for deadpan timing.

6) The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou - Possibly Anderson's most divisive film at the time of its release, has since grown in some esteem. Certainly it's one of his most eccentric films, veering wildly from sad familial drama to madcap action comedy. I think it works because of the performances, chiefly Bill Murray's lead role and the supporting turns from pros like Willem Dafoe, Anjelica Huston and Jeff Goldblum. Blessed with a bigger budget here Anderson went for broke with this undersea adventure and he came up with a wholly original fable.

5) The Grand Budapest Hotel - This is Anderson's biggest commercial and critical hit to date, and as much as I enjoyed it, I'm not entirely sure why. Certainly, it may be his most audacious movie visually, and Ralph Fiennes may be his most compelling lead since Hackman in Royal Tenenbaums, but for me this was largely familiar ground for Anderson, albeit it terrifically entertaining and creative. The movie works because it has heart to go with its camera histrionics, and I was thrilled to see it finally get Anderson recognized by the Oscars for his filmmaking and not just his writing.

4) Rushmore - A lot of people overlook the edge in Anderson's films -- but it's always there, especially in this bittersweet comedy. Jason Schwartzman's hero is not always likable, and sometimes downright cruel, but you know his outbursts are coming from a very honest place, which makes him (and his unlikely friend, played by an Oscar-snubbed Bill Murray) strangely endearing as two sides of a love triangle centered on a schoolteacher (Olivia Williams, who I wish had more to do here). Great music, big laughs, and a finale that feels totally satisfying.

3) Fantastic Mr. Fox - I'll never forget seeing this film for the first time, it was a fairly mixed audience of adults and kids and all of us appreciated how delightful and infectious it was. Stop motion is the perfect medium for Anderson, the tactile nature of the images, its limitations are its strengths, and the beats the characters take perfectly match his comic rhythms. Plus a sterling cast, including George Clooney, Meryl Streep, and many more -- make this a modern classic in the kid movie genre.

2) Moonrise Kingdom - This was a wonderful return to form for me, just as charming as a movie can be. This sweet, honest fable about two young kids who fall in love and go on the lam was an enchanting and surprisingly more mature offering from Anderson. There's great work from all adults (including an uncharacteristically tender Bruce Willis), but for me what makes this movie special is Anderson's ear for precocious kids, in addition to his dazzling eye.

1) The Royal Tenenbaums - One of my favorite films of all time. It returns to some of the same dysfunctional family themes that most of his movies do, but this is sublime to me. Gene Hackman gives one of his greatest performances here in a movie that is both hilariously funny and deeply emotional. Of all of Wes Anderson's films, this is the world I most want to live in and the characters that I like the most. This film was unjustly ignored by the Oscars (it only scored a nomination for its screenplay) and it, for me, set the template against which I judge ever other Anderson film.