My Dog Tulip (2009)
Average Rating: 7.5/10
Reviews Counted: 58
Fresh: 52 | Rotten: 6
No consensus yet.
Average Rating: 7.9/10
Critic Reviews: 17
Fresh: 16 | Rotten: 1
No consensus yet.
liked it
Average Rating: 3.6/5
User Ratings: 2,221
My Rating
Movie Info
A bittersweet account of the author's 14-year relationship with his adopted Alsatian, MY DOG TULIP was written, directed and animated by award-winning filmmakers Paul and Sandra Fierlinger, and is the first animated feature ever to be entirely hand drawn and painted utilizing paperless computer technology. An official selection of the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival, MY DOG TULIP is based on the book by British author and distinguished man of letters J.R. Ackerley. Ackerley hardly
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Cast
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Christopher Plummer
J.R. Ackerley -
Lynn Redgrave
Greengrocer's Wife, Nan... -
Isabella Rossellini
Miss Canvenini -
Peter Gerety
Mr. Plum, Pugilist -
Brian Murray
Captain Pugh, Mr. Bland... -
Paul Hecht
Army Veterinarian -
Euan Morton
Bicyclist, Rude Veterin...
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All Critics (58) | Top Critics (17) | Fresh (52) | Rotten (6)
Manages to say more about man's relationship with dogs in a single, lush frame than 'Marley and Me' would if it were to run on a loop until the end of time.
Top CriticIt's an oddity, this film: a wry, wobbly cartoon made expressly for grown-ups, featuring quirky hand-drawn animation and very little dialogue outside the central voiceover.
A beautifully illustrated love letter to dogs and the people who own them...
A marvelous animated feature, full of quiet joy, honest sorrow, wisdom and a wealth of clinical detail both excremental and reproductive, all rendered in a charming style approximating the dog drawings of James Thurber.
It is told from and by an adult sensibility that understands loneliness, gratitude and the intense curiosity we feel for other lives, man and beast.
Here's a boy-and-his-dog story featuring a very old boy.
A wonderful animated movie for anyone who's ever experienced dog ownership at its most glorious, and most embarrassing.
On and on the indefatigable Plummer talks, to the point that instead of his words endearing you to the film it begins to feel more like the cinema speakers are picking up interference from Radio 4.
We are treated to far too much detail about trying to house train Tulip and exactly when, where and how she relieves herself.
Here's a rare beast: an animated film about a dog that resists the urge to sentimentalise or anthropomorphise its canine protagonist, yet understands the human urge to do just that.
Affably voiced by Christopher Plummer, Ackerley is at once enormously affectionate and beadily observan, while the clever graphic style marks the switch between straightforward narration and surreal doggy reverie.
In truth, it's boring.
Poignant and just the right side of whimsy, it's the movie Marley & Me should have been.
Smacks first of obfuscation, then of desperation.
Rarely has a needy bond between human and pet felt more unsentimentally and perfectly observed.
Quirky and bittersweet, a treat for dog lovers and the dogless alike.
Unlike most celluloid tales about man's best friend, this study in dedication, defecation and reproduction sometimes feels like an intrusion into a very private affair.
Is My Dog Tulip the best film ever about a dog? Is it Citizen Canine? My answer, yes.
More Harold And Maude than Marley & Me; amusing, insightful and a little perverse.
A delightful animation for adults, its lack of sentiment makes it an anti-Marley.
A classic book, a film to cherish.
As embraceable as it is, Tulip often feels as if it would have been a better animated short than a feature.
Many films have been written about the bonds between man and beast but few are as wise, as witty, or as unflinchingly founded in observation as My Dog Tulip.
The scratchy animation, reminiscent of Jules Feiffer's beatnik-era doodles, is a homey complement to Plummer's autumnal narration.
Audience Reviews for My Dog Tulip
Super Reviewer
"My Dog Tulip" is animated in a rough hand drawn style with occasional interludes that are even cruder looking, like they are directly pulled from Ackerley's sketch pad. It is almost as if he is writing the film as we are watching it. The only thing that might trouble potential viewers is the scatalogical details of Tulip's habits which at times definitely feel like too much information.(Also remember that the movie is set in a less civilized time when there were no pooper scooper laws.) Thankfully, this is not played for laughs but used as a way of showing how Tulip communicates with her owner, as she makes her feelings clear. Some of which actually reminded me of the family dog I had when I was growing up. All of which plays well into what the author is saying about the search for the perfect friend which he finds in a dog. But for me, a dog would not be perfect since they still have to be taken care of and looked after and that's not really the basis for any kind of healthy relationship.(Plus, I have killed off plants when I've tried to look after them.) On the other hand, as a friend put it, dogs may ruin your rug but they will not ruin your life, unlike children.
Super Reviewer
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- J.R. Ackerley: Dogs read the world through their noses and write their history in urine.
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