Don't listen to the negative reviews

Awesome Movie

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

As a lover of dogs and animation, I found this film appealing. It is a perfect example that combines the two alongside '101 Dalmatians,' 'Oliver and Company,' 'The Plague Dogs' and pretty much any incarnation of 'Scooby Doo,' although the animation style of this film differs from that of all four of the titles since it has a sketchy if wobbly look. Most of the animation was smooth but jerky on the chickens and the backgrounds were as sketchy as the characters and both had rather subtle colours if the fantasy sequences on paper were plain and simple.The narrative of this film was engaging and reminiscent of 'Marley and Me.' I liked how Joe's typing or handwriting fitted in with it as well as the fantasy sequences depicting Tulip and other dogs in anthropomorphic ways on lined or plain sketch paper while the music had an old-fashioned feel that suited the film's style very well. Although some parts of it were crude and disgusting (especially Joe cleaning up Tulip's runny mess in the middle of the night - it nearly made me vomit) and risqué (no wonder it's a UK 12 rating), I was touched by the unlikely relationship of Joe and Tulip. Although she was a live-wire and seemed to be more interested in his sister Nancy, he still loved her. Parts of the film reminded me of when my parents owned a dog themselves such as Tulip dragging her bottom on the floor with her hind legs in the air (probably what dogs do when they need to relieve themselves) and going on heat since I observed Jasmine (my parents' Cavalier King Charles spaniel that they acquired in 2008 but was sadly returned to her breeder in 2011) dragging her bottom on the floor and my dad suggesting she needed a wee as well as her moments of going on heat. While the pace of the film was pretty slow until Tulip had her puppies, it was at this point that it became rushed because it seemed like little or no time between the birth of Tulip's puppies and her death (mentioned but not seen: only depicted as her fading away and returning as an anthropomorphic spirit). I like the fact that this film was dedicated to Lynn Redgrave since it was her final film before her unfortunate passing.All in all this is an obscure yet distinctively-animated film that has its blend of crude, risqué and touching moments and is easier to follow than 'The Plague Dogs'. 8/10.

At first this film looks like a short for children. It is not. It is a rather lecherous look at dogs. It is not for prudes. The ideas it discusses seem more shocking because of the innocent animations used to present them. I am one of the least prudish people I know, but found this film repeatedly embarrassing. It seemed unseemly for Christopher Plummer to be relishing such gross things as vomit, diarrhoea, bowel movements, urination, masturbating dogs, getting turned on by dog genitalia, zoophilia, leching over dog breeding, dog erections, tight dog foreskins, and dog behaviour in heat.It is naughtily amusing by periodically putting a dress on the animated dog Tulip, and has her behave with dog-like motivations but as a human. This makes clear just how different dog behaviour is from human.The "kindly" old man behaves in ways that belie his gentle voice. He allows his dog to bite children, to bark at all hours, to attack people and poop on other people's property then not clean it up. He does not spay his dog then beats all the dogs attracted. He lets his dog have puppies just so he can derive some perverted pleasure from the birth before drowning them. This clashes drastically with the charming animation which is like entering a painting.The musical score is rendered with extraordinary crispness. Its cheery oompah band is used rarely to punctuate the story. It is very well done.The big problem with the film is its deceptiveness. It so very different from what you would expect, you feel tricked into participating in some filthy joke. It is not X-rated porn, but it is quite off-colour and the box should let you know to expect that.

I am an artsy, worldly person, but I was creeped out by the ever present toilet humor and the smut, even though it was animated. This movie started out appealing because it was animated, had pleasant music and was set in England. It seemed charming, creative, and well-spoken at first, especially for dog lovers and anglophiles, but it became unpleasant and offensive with graphic animated canine and human sexual functioning and toilet and menstruation humor. It was smutty. You should know this before you watch it in mixed company. It is a definite NO for children and not a date night movie either. I watched the special feature about the making of the film and I am not surprised that it was animated by a middle-aged recluse couple who appear to enjoy what they see as sticking it to middle class values, but it was creepy. And I was horrified by the scene when the main character was preparing to drown puppies. Be forewarned, that just because it is animated does not make it benign or wholesome. It is neither.

This story was enjoyable because I too took in two abandoned female dogs. I loved the art work, it reminds me of yellow Submarine. The problem for me was that the owner was a very irresponsible person. He seemed to think it is OK for your dog to make a mess on the sidewalk or anywhere else without cleaning it up. Also, he tried so hard to get Tulip pregnant without a plan for what to do with the puppies. His heart was in the right place, but the pups ended up like Tulip - pretty much throw-aways that he lost track of. Both my girls were spayed at twelve weeks, they led very happy lives without contributing to the excess dog problem. Again, the drawing was minimal but I loved it. Also the soundtrack. Moral of this story - dogs really are mans' best friend!