The Plague Dogs

The Plague Dogs (1982) is a British–American adult animated adventure-drama written, directed, and produced by Martin Rosen, adapted from Richard Adams’s 1977 novel. The film tells the harrowing tale of two laboratory dogs, Rowf and Snitter, who escape from an animal testing facility in the Lake District of England. Fleeing into the wilderness, they struggle to survive and evade military pursuit, hunted amid rumors that they carry bubonic plague. The dogs’ journey becomes a dark odyssey exploring animal cruelty, human indifference, and the brutal realities of liberation. Visually, the film combines realistic, detailed 2D animation with stark, often bleak landscapes that reflect the characters’ emotional states. The animation treats its animal protagonists with dignity but does not shy away from violence and suffering. Patrick Gleeson’s somber musical score underscores both the tension of the chase and the fragile hope of survival, blending a documentary-like tone with emotional resonance. Produced on a budget of roughly £900,000 (about US $1.2 million), the film grossed only £308,000 (~$423,000), making it a financial failure according to the original backers. Its limited distribution and unflinching subject matter hindered mainstream viewership, despite later home video and festival exposure. Critically, The Plague Dogs has earned a cult reputation. It holds around 70% on Rotten Tomatoes, with praise for its visual authenticity and emotional depth in reviews like Janet Maslin’s for The New York Times, which noted the film’s capacity to make animated dogs appear “amazingly doggy” in their realism. Its bleak, unsettling tone divided audiences but made it a standout in adult animation. While it did not receive traditional awards, its legacy lies in its daring approach to mature storytelling in animation. It was the first non-family animated feature released by MGM/UA and remains a rare example of adult-oriented Western animated cinema. Resurfacings on DVD and streaming, along with critical re-evaluation, have secured its place as an underappreciated masterpiece of adult animation.