On 13 February 2020, I watched my recently-purchased DVD of a VERY strange computer-animated feature film entitled Free Jimmy. Directed and written by Christopher Nielsen, a famous comic book artist in Norway where this adult cartoon movie was made, it was first released in cinemas there in 2006, but in 2008 an English-dubbed version was also released (albeit straight to DVD), featuring a host of famous names (see later).
Imagine a surreal, nightmarish hybrid of Disney's Dumbo and Crumb's Fritz the Cat, featuring a drug-addicted circus elephant named Jimmy, a band of extreme animal activists seeking to free him, a gang of grimy lowlife seeking to steal him for the fortune in drugs stashed inside him (don't ask!), and a team of bloodthirsty big-game hunters seeking to shoot him.
Add to this murky mix a trio of Russian Mafia bikers seeking to annihilate all of the above-listed, not to mention Tiny Tim singing 'Tiptoe Through the Tulips', and also not forgetting the only sympathetic character in the entire movie, a friendly moose who does his best to save poor bewildered Jimmy once he does escape, plus copious amounts of bad language and some unexpected gore, and you will still have only the barest of bones in terms of what to expect from this overtly oddball Scandinavian animated feature film, which sports a running length of 82 minutes, and boasts a 15 certificate here in the UK.
Nowithstanding all of the above, the English-dubbed version of Free Jimmy boasts a very notable voice cast, including the distinguished likes of Woody Harrelson, Kyle Maclachlan, David Tennant, Simon Pegg, Jim Broadbent, Emilia Fox, Phil Daniels, Kris Marshall, and Samantha Morton, plus Steve Pemberton and Mark Gatiss.
As Free Jimmy is not particularly well known outside the animation and comic book aficionados community, I won't give out any spoilers, in case you decide to watch this cartoon curiosity. But let's just say - don't get too attached to Jimmy...
If you're intrigued to get a glimpse of what Free Jimmy is like, please click here to watch an official trailer for it on YouTube; and click here to watch a vintage TV clip of Tiny Tim singing his most famous hit song 'Tiptoe Through the Tulips' for no reason whatsoever other than I happen to like it.
Also, to view a complete listing of all of my Shuker In MovieLand blog's other film reviews and articles (each one instantly accessible via a direct clickable link), please click HERE!
No comments:
Post a Comment