Hold the appaws
Inside Sie FilmCenter’s dogfriendly showing of “Isle of Dogs”
It was their first real date. They had gone on a couple of walks, and even worked out at the gym together once, but this night would make their relationship official. A movie. In the dark. They cozied up in their seats in the dimly lit theater. The film, “Isle of Dogs,” began. It wasn’t until about halfway through that he made his move. He jumped over the armrest, onto her seat, and into her heart.
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Bailey, a 3-year-old terrier, and Sydney, a 9-year-old Australian Shepherd-Corgi, were among about 40 dogs who joined their owners on Monday at a special showing of the new Wes Anderson movie at the Sie FilmCenter on East Colfax Avenue.
Guests had been invited via Facebook, advanced screening groups like Gofobo, and by the studio, Fox Searchlight, to bring their human pals along and be part of Sie’s first-ever dogs-welcome audience.
Why now? “Isle of Dogs” is a stop-action animated film about a young Japanese boy who searches for his dog after all canines are banished to an island due to a virus. Some of the characters are voiced by some Hollywood A-listers Edward Norton, Bill Murray, Jeff Goldblum and Scarlett Johanssen. The film opened in the Denver area on Wednesday.
In the lobby before the movie, a red fire hydrant was set on top of a green carpet made of faux grass for doggy glam shots in front of “Isle of Dogs” posters. No dogs utilized either grass or hydrant, to the joy of the human guests.
Among the pups walking the carpet were:
• Dory, a chihuahua from Denver, who wore an elegant T-shirt with gold sequins in the shape of a star;
• Parker, a Bernese Mountain Dog who is the official mascot for Loveland ski area;
• Sweet and timid Biscuit, a Morkie (maltese-yorkie mix);
• Winslow from Brighton, a young rescue who “loves beer,” according to his humans, Jessica and Ian; and
• Tiny lap puppy Higgins — who seemed to snarl at a big, bad photographer — and his friend, Bisous (French for “kisses”).
In a small wire pen nearby, three fluffy 7-week-old huskyShepherd pups from Lifeline Puppy Rescue were taunting patrons with their pudgy cuteness, in case anyone was looking to go home with an extra dog or two.
Denver was only the third city in the country to host the event, behind San Francisco and Seattle. Sie will hold a public dogfriendly showing on April 16 at 7:30 p.m., when a portion of each $5 dog ticket purchased will go toward the MaxFund, a no-kill shelter in Denver. Human tickets are $7 for members of the Denver Film Society and $11.50 for non-members.
On Wednesday, Keith Garcia, chief programmer for the Sie, said there were still tickets remaining, but to get them at denverfilm.org “before they are doggone.”
On Monday, as the last dogs were straggling into the theater to find their seats, many were met with gasps and exclamations of “ooooh” and “awww,” mostly from a row of twentysomething women who arrived sans pets and missed the green carpet.
Two of the loudest reactions were for Parker the Bernese and Olive (”Ollie”) the Corgi, the latter of whom had a bit of trouble balancing on the pivoting seat bottom.
“This is the best day of my life,” said Julie from Denver, one of the aforementioned twentysomethings.
Just before the film rolled, Garcia stood in front of the audience, in part to explain that the theater’s lights would not be darkened all the way and the sound would be a tad muted for the comfort of the dogs. Then he had a confession.
”I’m a cat person,” Garcia said. “I wanted to hate dogs. But tonight I was won over.”
And, apparently, so was Sydney.
As the film’s credits rolled, they were spotted holding paws. Was there a little kiss in the dark, too? Neither would say.