My Dog Tulip bills itself as "a droll animated feature based on J.R. Ackerley's memoir." Just to refresh y'all, "droll" means "curious or unusual in a way that provokes dry amusement," and I can think of no more appropriate word to describe this pleasant, though defiantly odd film. "Why defiantly odd?" you might ask. Well, when's the last time you saw detailed renderings of canine genitalia thrusting and trembling to and fro? (I guess the answer depends on your pornographic proclivities.) But enough of that.

In his 1956 memoir, British man of letters Ackerley tells the tale of how a middle-aged bloke such as himself came to adopt a lively young German shepherd, and how she became the love of his life over 16 years. The Fierlinger's loving adaptation is apparently the first animated feature to be entirely hand drawn and painted, but with paperless computer technology. I'm not quite sure what that means, but it reminds me of Minority Report.

Put simply, My Dog Tulip is a delightful film. It is funny, touching, bittersweet, and filled with quirky, lively images. Christopher Plummer, narrating in the words of Ackerley himself, has one of those voices I could listen to for years on end. That this decidedly adult film is the first US release from the revived New Yorker Films should come as a surprise to no one.

My Dog Tulip has a two-week engagement, September 1-14, at Film Forum in New York City. A national release will follow.

Sum...ology: Like Marley & Me but better.