Free Jimmy
Free Jimmy is a heartwarming Norwegian animation about… a paranoid, drug addicted elephant.
On the day when Odd reveals to Geir that he owes the unpredictable and violence-prone Ivan 4 400 US dollars, and that he has gotten Geir involved in it all, their old pal Roy Arnie shows up, dragging along their mutual friend Kælle.
Ever since he was a little boy, Roy Arnie has been crazy about the circus. This launched him into a career as a circus hand. He has worked with several Russian circuses, touring the Soviet Union. Currently he is working as tour manager for Circus Stromowskij, run by a hopeless alcoholic fourth generation circus director, Igor Stromowskij. Circus Stromowskij has a long and proud tradition, but today the circus is a sorry sight. Everything is run down and in shambles, the artists are aging, faded stars, the animals are malnourished, sick and spent, way past the age of retirement.
Their main attraction is Jimmy the elephant. Jimmy has been with the circus for twenty years. Throughout his career he has been propped up with drugs, uppers to make him do his best in the ring, downers to calm him when they head back on the road. This has made a junkie out of Jimmy. And, like all junkies, he is extremely paranoid about the police. Roy Arnie is responsible for supplying the animals with drugs, and is therefore Jimmy’s “best friend.” In his Wal-mart shopping bag Roy Arnie carries amphetamine, in the Kmart bag he has opiates.
When Jimmy runs away from the circus, he gets a group of militant animal rights activists on his tail, and they are fearless in their effort to free animals and punish corpse-eaters. They are straight edge; they don’t touch alcohol or drugs, and are against casual sex, but they are often unsure of what they really stand for. Anyway, they love explosives, as opposed to the Lapp mafia who are into guns. The Lapp mafia run everything up North; drugs, prostitution, gambling. They have solid connections with the Russian mafia, and they are also trying to hunt down Jimmy. So is a bunch of drunken frustrated hunters with Hold Mah Eyes in charge. They have been drinking and shooting at everything that moves for several days without hitting so much as a single moose. It is precisely the Moose, that magnificent king of the mountain that proves to be Jimmy’s saviour. High above, on the rooftop of the world, an extraordinary and touching friendship evolves.
Now for the really good news…
Twitch reports that there is an English version of Free Jimmy on the way.
But it gets better…
I’ve just checked on the IMDb and none other than Simon Pegg has been roped in to write the English version of the screenplay.
And then go look at the English cast list (follow the timeline to December 2002)…
Woody Harrelson, Kyle Maclachlan, Steve Pemberton, Reece Shearsmith, Mark Gatiss, Jim Broadbent… the list goes on.
No trailer yet, but I have really high hopes for this film already.
Sunday 31 Jul 2005 | Paul | New and Upcoming Films
This movie is really really good.. I hope for you guys that the english version is as good, but I think they have put just as much work into the english voices and you will GUARANTEED not be disapointed with this movie. It’s cult…
We saw the english version and it was very very good!!!!! Yes voices, music, drawings/animation all very nice. Everbody should go and check it out!
I’ve only seen the Norwegian version, but this movie totally RULES! It’s so funny, well, see it for yourself. You won’t regret it! Nielsen is a real genius!