@barrymost said:

I see this as more of a psychological drama in which dogs simply happen to be the main characters, rather than merely a cartoon about dogs. This is by far one of the most unique movies I've ever seen, and one that holds up for rewatching due to the necessity of having to concentrate to really understand the plot.

This is definitely not a cute little dog movie for children. In fact, I would actually recommend this only to adults and older children, as it's very graphic and at times disturbing. It makes a highly commendable statement about the cruelty of animal testing and its troubling effects. It's a dark, thought-provoking movie, and it has an extremely ambiguous ending; one that could either be happy and totally satisfying, or sad and very gloomy, depending on how you personally choose to interpret it.

Anyone else seen this intriguing piece of cinema? If so, how did you choose to take the ending? Love to hear your thoughts!

It is interesting that Adams was forced to make the book end positively, with Snitter being reunited with his owner, whereas the film goes for a darker, more obscure ending (that apparently Adams originally intended). That the credits show the island means I have to edge on the positive side of the equation. The dogs struggled for so long that I dont think they would have failed so close to safety, and we know Rowf was a champion swimmer.

I personally preferred the film ending to Watership Down, dealing with death as an inevitability and avoiding ambiguity, but The Plague Dogs ending is also pretty solid.

I have not read the book, and so did not know that Snitter had such a happy ending. Why was it that Adams could not write the more ambiguous ending?

I agree with what you said about the credits showing the island, though I don't think I actually noticed that until the second time I watched the movie! So I too lean toward the happier ending.

I have also seen Watership Down and enjoyed it, and, as I recall, that ending was faithful to the original novel.

Just going from Wikipedia, it seems Adams was instructed by his editor, presumably as the happy ending would make it more commercially viable. The book is pretty horrifying, but the film is something else and it is pretty amazing that it was allowed to be so bleak (up there with When the Wind Blows). I think it would have scarred me as a child and I'm glad I didnt find the book or film until I was an adult.

That makes sense. Would you say the book is better than the movie, or not really? Just curious, since I enjoyed reading Watership Down, so maybe I'll read The Plague Dogs one day.

The book is definitely worth reading, although the film is pretty faithful to the main points of my poor memory isnt failing me. The main difference is a lot more internal monologue from Snitter.

Cool, thanks! Definitely going to check it out at some point.