Eric Khoo's love for dogs and particularly Woofy, his Pomeranian which died in 2018, is a well documented fact, with him stating in an article on 8Days.sg:
“Woofy my soul mate cameoed in all my features,” the director of Mee Pok Man and 12 Storeys tells 8days.sg. via e-mail. “From Be with Me to Ramen Shop [or Ramen Teh], but he didn't arrive on time while we were shooting My Magic, so he didn't appear in that one.”
Thus, as a genuine dog lover, Khoo could not pass a chance to deal with another legendary dog, Captain Hook, and the way it came to meet the co-founder of Animal Lovers League, Cathy Strong.
The film starts with the owner of a car abandoning a little brown dog on the highway, a practice which, as the end titles inform us, is not uncommon at all in Singapore. The animal is lost, does not know where to go and soon starts being thirsty and hungry. His hunger brings him to a fast food place but no one seems to want to deal with it, while it is soon revealed that one of its legs is almost completely destroyed. A number of other adventures occur, and finally a ray of hope seems to shine on the brown dog as it reaches a river and manages to quench its thirst. However, the biggest tragedy soon happens…
Eric Khoo directs a very dramatic short, which makes a rather pointy comment about people abandoning pets, by showing the consequences of their actions, through a narrative that functions as a road movie, thus adding to the entertainment it offers. Through the brown dog's part, it becomes evident that these creatures can only be saved if someone takes good care them, with the short keeping that part for Cathy.
Also of quality and interest is the art style of the film, which combines animation with live-action, with Jerrold Chong's animation highlighting the story through realism and artistry in the best fashion. The fact that the world of the brown dog is animated and the one of humans in live action is also part of the comment the film makes, with the fact that Cathy is animated stressing this aspect even more. That the art form somewhat resembles “Tatsumi” can only be perceived as another trait.
“The Brown Dog” is obviously a product of love and thus is sensitive, sincere and direct, while it also does not neglect artistry or entertainment. Dog or any other kind of animal lovers will definitely enjoy it.
