A dog is a man's best friend. And sometimes a dog can substitute a woman in a man's life. My Dog Tulip was a book written in 1956 by the English writer J.R. Ackerley about how he rescued a female dog named Tulip from an abusive home. Tulip went on to give J.R. the best fifteen years of his life, and quite possibly the best thing in Tulip's life was J.R. Both had instant chemistry and expressed a strong love for each other. Coming from a cat lover, My Dog Tulip was beautiful in every category.
The animation was not CGI, it was hand drawn on a tablet which wound up to be over 100,000 still drawings. I've never seen a film done like this and I've never seen a film quite like this. The animation is scratchy, but it manages to capture the beauty even without it being polished and glorified. It doesn't need to be. It is a complete throwback, and if it would've been made with CGI it would ruin the film.
J.R. Ackerley was an openly gay man and often expressed that he was in his writings. He admitted he was after his parents died because of the time period he grew up in where being gay was the absolute worst thing that could've happened to you. Thankfully it isn't like that now. J.R. never found the right partner, but told us in the movie and in the novel My Dog Tulip that it was Tulip who served as his mate.
Tulip's behavior would become increasingly protective when another woman came to see J.R., mainly his sister Nancy, Tulip would bark uncontrollably and demand undivided attention from him. She didn't like J.R. with other women. Tulip wanted J.R. to be his only.
My Dog Tulip could easily be mistaken as a movie for a young child. One between the ages of four and nine. It is not. The film is totally geared towards adults, or understanding adolescents. It is equipped with dry British humor and a very soft spoken voice. The narrator is always calm, even at the most tense of times.
The film deals with topics like love and the menstrual cycle of dogs. It is something many children will not get or even be interested in. They will just want to see the doggy.
Compared to a film like Marley & Me, My Dog Tulip holds up a lot better most likely because it is true and not a work of realistic fiction. Marley & Me was nice at showing how bad a dog can be, but My Dog Tulip shows how good and sweet a dog can be to a human. Two totally different films, that are both nicely done in their own way.
We all know what happens at the end, it isn't suspenseful. Tulip grows old and dies at fifteen after giving birth to several puppies. Tulip's story is very sweet and soft, even at it's saddest. J.R. died at the age of seventy in 1967. His spirit will continue to live on in his books and this heartwarming and caring film. Easily overlooked for the animation category in the 2010 Academy Awards.
NOTE: My Dog Tulip was actress Lynn Redgrave's final performance before passing away on May 2, 2010. R.I.P.
Starring: Christopher Plummer and Lynn Redgrave. Directed by: Paul Fierlinger.
The animation was not CGI, it was hand drawn on a tablet which wound up to be over 100,000 still drawings. I've never seen a film done like this and I've never seen a film quite like this. The animation is scratchy, but it manages to capture the beauty even without it being polished and glorified. It doesn't need to be. It is a complete throwback, and if it would've been made with CGI it would ruin the film.
J.R. Ackerley was an openly gay man and often expressed that he was in his writings. He admitted he was after his parents died because of the time period he grew up in where being gay was the absolute worst thing that could've happened to you. Thankfully it isn't like that now. J.R. never found the right partner, but told us in the movie and in the novel My Dog Tulip that it was Tulip who served as his mate.
Tulip's behavior would become increasingly protective when another woman came to see J.R., mainly his sister Nancy, Tulip would bark uncontrollably and demand undivided attention from him. She didn't like J.R. with other women. Tulip wanted J.R. to be his only.
My Dog Tulip could easily be mistaken as a movie for a young child. One between the ages of four and nine. It is not. The film is totally geared towards adults, or understanding adolescents. It is equipped with dry British humor and a very soft spoken voice. The narrator is always calm, even at the most tense of times.
The film deals with topics like love and the menstrual cycle of dogs. It is something many children will not get or even be interested in. They will just want to see the doggy.
Compared to a film like Marley & Me, My Dog Tulip holds up a lot better most likely because it is true and not a work of realistic fiction. Marley & Me was nice at showing how bad a dog can be, but My Dog Tulip shows how good and sweet a dog can be to a human. Two totally different films, that are both nicely done in their own way.
We all know what happens at the end, it isn't suspenseful. Tulip grows old and dies at fifteen after giving birth to several puppies. Tulip's story is very sweet and soft, even at it's saddest. J.R. died at the age of seventy in 1967. His spirit will continue to live on in his books and this heartwarming and caring film. Easily overlooked for the animation category in the 2010 Academy Awards.
NOTE: My Dog Tulip was actress Lynn Redgrave's final performance before passing away on May 2, 2010. R.I.P.
Starring: Christopher Plummer and Lynn Redgrave. Directed by: Paul Fierlinger.