Looking for a great way to start the festival? The wonderful film "My Dog Tulip" is it!
For the second time this year, Christopher Plummer provides the voice for a dog owner in an animated movie. Unlike his character in "Up", however, he's not the villain here. "My Dog Tulip" is based on the book by J.R. Ackerley, which tells the story of Ackerley's relationship with his dog, an Alsatian named Tulip. Plummer narrates this first-person recollection of a lonely middle-aged man who has finally found his ideal companion. It's not maudlin in the least - much of the movie involves Ackerley's obsession with Tulip's bowel movements, and assorted attempts to breed her - but full of dry wit and quintessential British stiff-upper-lippishness.
We are certainly in a golden age of animation right now - and not just at the level of big-budget studios like Pixar. Also worthy of checking out at this year's CIFF (next weekend!) is the beautiful clay-mation movie "Mary and Max". "My Dog Tulip" is the first hand-drawn animated feature to be made entirely without paper. Director Paul Fierlinger is the movie's sole animator (his wife Sandra painted the backgrounds), using a Wacom tablet and the 2D animation software Mirage, by Bauhaus. But "My Dog Tulip" doesn't look like cutting edge technology - its rough, jagged, occasionally impressionistic images make it feel much more personal, like the story itself.
And there is inventiveness in the storytelling as well as the technique. The character Ackerley often uses interesting methods to tell his anecdotes. We tend to anthropomorphize our pets - watch how he does it with other things around him, too.
In addition to Plummer, watch for characters voiced by Lynn Redgrave and the unmistakable, divine Isabella Rossellini.
"My Dog Tulip" screens at Eau Claire on Friday Sept 25 at 7:30 pm. Producer Norman Twain will be in attendance, and he will no doubt be able to provide insight into the film's creation.
For more information, check out the movie's official website.
