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''My Dog Tulip'' is a 2009 American independent animated feature film based on the 1956 memoir of the same name by J. R. Ackerley, BBC editor, novelist and memoirist. The film tells the story of Ackerley's fifteen-year relationship with his Alsatian dog (
German Shepherd The German Shepherd or Alsatian is a German breed of working dog of medium to large size. The breed was developed by Max von Stephanitz using various traditional German herding dogs from 1899. It was originally bred as a herding dog, for he ...
) ''Queenie'', who had been renamed ''Tulip'' for the book. The film – geared toward an adult audience – was adapted, directed and animated by
Paul Fierlinger Paul Fierlinger (born March 15, 1936 as Pavel Fierlinger) is a creator of animated films and shorts, especially animated documentaries. He is also a part-time lecturer at University of Pennsylvania School of Design. Early life Paul Fierlinger w ...
with backgrounds and characters painted by his wife, Sandra Fierlinger.
Christopher Plummer Arthur Christopher Orme Plummer (December 13, 1929 – February 5, 2021) was a Canadian actor. His career spanned seven decades, gaining him recognition for his performances in film, stage, and television. He received multiple accolades, inc ...
narrated Ackerley's voice,
Isabella Rossellini Isabella Fiorella Elettra Giovanna Rossellini (born 18 June 1952) is an Italian-American actress, author, philanthropist, and model. The daughter of the Swedish actress Ingrid Bergman and the Italian film director Roberto Rossellini, she is noted ...
provided the voice of the veterinarian, and
Lynn Redgrave Lynn Rachel Redgrave (8 March 1943 – 2 May 2010) was an English actress. She won two Golden Globe Awards throughout her career. A member of the Redgrave family of actors, Lynn trained in London before making her theatrical debut in 1962. By ...
provided the voice (in her last film performance) of Ackerley's sister Nancy. The film premiered at the
Annecy International Animated Film Festival The Annecy International Animation Film Festival (french: Festival international du film d'animation d'Annecy, officially abbreviated in English as the Annecy Festival, or simply Annecy) was created in 1960 and takes place at the beginning of J ...
on June 10, 2009 and received Honourable Mention for Best Animated Film at the 2009
Ottawa International Animation Festival The Ottawa International Animation Festival is an annual animated film and media festival that takes place in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The OIAF was founded in 1975, with the first festival held from August 10 to 15 in 1976. Initially organized by ...
. The film won Grand Prix – best feature film award at the World Festival of Animated Film Zagreb –
Animafest Zagreb World Festival of Animated Film Zagreb ( hr, Svjetski festival animiranog filma), also known as Animafest Zagreb, is a film festival entirely dedicated to animated film held annually in Zagreb, Croatia. Initiated by the International Animated Fil ...
in 2011. As with the original book, the film gives detailed descriptions of the dog's bowel movements and
sex life In human sexuality, a sex life is a sector of a person's day-to-day existence which may involve sexual activity or represent the absence of sexual activity. In general parlance, the term can have many sub-meanings and social layers, but generally ...
– received as "positively juvenile" and helping the film achieve realism and avoid anthropomorphism. In 1988,
Colin Gregg Colin Gregg (born 10 January 1947) is a British film and television director, editor and photographer. His work includes the films ''To the Lighthouse'' (1983), ''Lamb'' (1985), and ''We Think the World of You'' (1988). He has also directed episodes ...
had filmed Ackerley's ''
We Think the World of You ''We Think the World of You '' is a 1988 film directed by Colin Gregg and starring Gary Oldman and Alan Bates. It is adapted from the 1960 J.R. Ackerley novel of the same name. It was produced by Tomasso Jandelli and Cinecom Pictures. Plot In p ...
'' (1960) – also about Ackerley's relationship with his dog ''Queenie.''


Animation

Fierlinger and his wife divided the film into fourteen sections, making it over a two and a half year period using
TVPaint TVPaint Animation (also known as TVPaint, TVP, Bauhaus Mirage or NewTek Aura) is a 2D paint and digital animation software package developed by TVPaint Developpement SARL based in Lorraine, France. Originally released for Amiga in 1991, version ...
, a French, bitmap-based digital animation software package. No paper was used in the production. The film alternates between several animation styles: fully rendered scenes, simple drawings, black and white line illustrations and quick notepad sketches. The Fierlingers drew and painted about 60,000 drawings for the film, which comprises about 460 scenes and about 600 individual background paintings. The film includes 116,640 frames, with every frame shot twice, making 12 original frames for each second of projection time or 720 drawings per minute. At a length of 81 minutes, the film includes 58,320 drawings. Fierlinger had earlier animated a half-hour PBS special called ''Still Life With Animated Dogs''.


Distribution and release

In July 2010, US distribution rights were acquired by
New Yorker Films New Yorker Films is an independent film distribution company founded by Daniel Talbot in 1965. It started as an extension of his Manhattan movie house, the New Yorker Theater, founded 1960, after a film's producer would not allow for a movie's sin ...
.New Yorker Films Acquires 'My Dog Tulip'
''Box Office Magazine''. July 14, 2010.
The film was distributed in the UK and Ireland by Axiom Films, with a release date of 6 May 2011.


References


External links


Official Site
* * {{Rotten Tomatoes, my-dog-tulip

(August 14, 2006)
Comments about the unfinished film
by
Michael Sporn Michael Sporn (April 23, 1946 – January 19, 2014) was an American animator who founded his New York City-based company, Michael Sporn Animation in 1980, and produced and directed numerous animated TV specials and short spots. Sporn was nominat ...
(Oct. 30, 2006) 2009 films 2009 animated films American independent films 2000s American animated films Animated films about dogs Films about pets LGBT-related animated films 2009 LGBT-related films 2000s English-language films