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| producer = Håkon Gundersen<br />Lars Andreas Hellebust
| producer = Håkon Gundersen<br />Lars Andreas Hellebust
| writer = Christopher Nielsen
| writer = Christopher Nielsen
| starring = '''English Version'''<br />[[Woody Harrelson]]<br />[[Simon Pegg]]<br />[[Phil Daniels]]<br />Jay Simpson<br />[[Emilia Fox]]<br />[[Samantha Morton]]<br />[[James Cosmo]]<br />[[David Tennant]]
| starring = '''English Version'''<br />[[Woody Harrelson]]<br />[[Simon Pegg]]<br />[[Phil Daniels]]<br />Jay Simpson<br />[[Emilia Fox]]<br />[[Samantha Morton]]<br />[[James Cosmo]]<br />[[David Tennant]]<br />[[Jim Broadbent]]<br />[[Kyle MacLachlan]]
| editing = [[Alastair Reid]]
| editing = Alastair Reid
| music = [[Simon Boswell]]
| music = [[Simon Boswell]]
| distributor = [[Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group|Columbia TriStar]] (Norway)<br />Breakthru Films (UK)
| distributor = [[Sony Pictures Releasing|Columbia TriStar Film Distributors International]] (Norway)<br />Breakthru Films (United Kingdom)
| released = {{film date|2006|4|21|Norway|2008|10|17|United Kingdom|df=y}}
| released = {{film date|2006|4|21|Norway|2008|10|17|United Kingdom|df=y}}
| runtime = 86 minutes
| runtime = 86 minutes
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}}
}}


'''''Free Jimmy''''' ([[Norwegian language|No]]: ''Slipp Jimmy fri'') is a 2006 [[adult animation|adult]] [[computer animation|computer-animated]] [[comedy film]] first released in [[Norwegian language|Norwegian]] in 2006, and later in English in 2008. The film was written and directed by acclaimed Norwegian [[subculture]] [[comic book]] artist [[Christopher Nielsen]] and features a number of characters from Nielsen's dark humor-laden comic books. The plot is an [[adult]]-oriented [[black comedy]] in which different groups of varying nationalities, and motives, all attempt to find a wayward and drug-addicted elephant in the Norwegian [[tundra|wilderness]] before the others do. The film explores a wide number of themes including [[addiction]], [[drug abuse]], [[Political freedom|freedom]], [[nature]], [[tragedy]], [[crime]], [[materialism]], [[urban decay]], [[animal cruelty]] and [[animal rights]].
'''''Free Jimmy''''' ([[Norwegian language|No]]: ''Slipp Jimmy fri'') is a 2006 [[adult animated]] comedy film first released in Norwegian in 2006, and later in English in 2008. The film was written and directed by acclaimed Norwegian [[subculture]] [[comic book]] artist [[Christopher Nielsen]] and features a number of characters from Nielsen's dark humor-laden comic books. The plot is an [[adult]]-oriented [[black comedy]] in which different groups of varying nationalities, and motives, all attempt to find a wayward and drug-addicted elephant in the Norwegian [[tundra|wilderness]] before the others do. The film explores a wide number of themes including [[addiction]], [[drug abuse]], [[Political freedom|freedom]], [[nature]], [[tragedy]], [[crime]], [[materialism]], [[urban decay]], [[animal cruelty]] and [[animal rights]].


It was Norway's first computer animated film. Costing in excess of 120 million [[Norwegian krone]]r it is the second most expensive Norwegian film to date, behind ''[[Max Manus (film)|Max Manus]]''. Several British CGI studios were involved in the production of the film, although the film was mostly a Norwegian production. The voice actors for the original Norwegian version included [[Kristopher Schau]], Jan Sælid, Are&Odin, Egil Birkeland, Terje Ragner, Anders T. Andersen and Mikkel Gaup.
It was Norway's first computer animated film. Costing in excess of 120 million [[Norwegian krone]]r it is the second most expensive Norwegian film to date, behind ''[[Max Manus (film)|Max Manus]]''. Several British CGI studios were involved in the production of the film, although the film was mostly a Norwegian production. The voice actors for the original Norwegian version included [[Kristopher Schau]], Jan Sælid, Are&Odin, Egil Birkeland, Terje Ragner, Anders T. Andersen and Mikkel Gaup.
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British comedy writer and actor [[Simon Pegg]] wrote a screenplay for the wider [[English-speaking world]] which was subsequently released [[Direct-to-video|straight to DVD]] on 7 October 2008 by BreakThru Films. The voice actors of the 2008 English-language version is made up of an international [[ensemble cast]] that includes Pegg himself, [[Woody Harrelson]], [[Phil Daniels]], Jay Simpson, [[Jim Broadbent]], [[James Cosmo]], [[David Tennant]], [[Steve Pemberton]], [[Reece Shearsmith]], [[Mark Gatiss]], [[Megan Dodds]], [[Douglas Henshall]], [[Kris Marshall]], [[Emilia Fox]], [[Samantha Morton]], [[Kyle MacLachlan]] and [[Lisa Maxwell (actress)|Lisa Maxwell]].
British comedy writer and actor [[Simon Pegg]] wrote a screenplay for the wider [[English-speaking world]] which was subsequently released [[Direct-to-video|straight to DVD]] on 7 October 2008 by BreakThru Films. The voice actors of the 2008 English-language version is made up of an international [[ensemble cast]] that includes Pegg himself, [[Woody Harrelson]], [[Phil Daniels]], Jay Simpson, [[Jim Broadbent]], [[James Cosmo]], [[David Tennant]], [[Steve Pemberton]], [[Reece Shearsmith]], [[Mark Gatiss]], [[Megan Dodds]], [[Douglas Henshall]], [[Kris Marshall]], [[Emilia Fox]], [[Samantha Morton]], [[Kyle MacLachlan]] and [[Lisa Maxwell (actress)|Lisa Maxwell]].


The film is dedicated to [[Joachim Nielsen]] (1964–2000), the director's brother and a rock musician famous in his native Norway, who had died of a drug overdose after quitting them successfully for many years. Whilst well received in its native country, reception to ''Free Jimmy'' has been mixed in the English-speaking world.
The film is dedicated to [[Joachim Nielsen]] (1964–2000), the director's brother and a rock musician famous in his native Norway, who had died of a drug overdose after quitting them successfully for many years. Whilst well received in its native country, reception to ''Free Jimmy'' has been generally negative in the English-speaking world.


==Plot==
==Plot==
{{Long plot|date=March 2022}}
''The events of the original movie took place entirely in Norway; in the English-language version of the movie, the story begins in Britain and ends up in Norway with the travelling Russian circus.''
''The events of the original movie take place entirely in Norway; in the English-language version of the movie, the story begins in Britain and ends up in Norway with the travelling Russian circus.''


At night, an [[animal testing]] laboratory in grimy downtown [[Oslo]] in Norway is broken into by the "urban guerrillas", a group of bumbling [[vegan]] [[animal rights activists]]. They first release some rabbits which refuse to leave. They then set the rats free, then the cats, which to the horror of the activists, eat the rats. They then release a small yapping dog which in turn, again to their horror, kills the cats. They bury the dead animals, vowing to at some point take revenge on "animal oppressing" society. One of them, Sonia, a British highly-strung and anxiety-stricken woman, keeps the dog and names the dog "[[Karma]]".
At night, an [[animal testing]] laboratory in grimy central [[Oslo]], Norway is broken into by a bumbling group of [[guerilla]] [[vegan]] [[animal rights activists]] called True Warriors Against Animal Torture and Subjugation (TWAATS). They first release some rabbits which refuse to leave. They then set the rats free, then the cats, which to the horror of the activists, eat the rats. Again to their horror, their dog [[Karma]] kills the cats. They bury the dead animals, vowing to at some point take revenge on "animal oppressing" society.


Meanwhile, three inept [[Cockney English]] [[stoner (drug user)|stoners]] and bungling [[habitual criminal]]s named Odd, Gaz and Flea (Odd, Geir and Kælle in the Norwegian version) sit around in a decrepit apartment, watching the news story about the lab break-in. Their shady Southern American friend Roy Arnie (a fellow Norwegian childhood friend in the original) arrives and offers them a once-in-a-lifetime job opportunity with Circus Stromowskij, a travelling Russian [[circus]] led by Ringmaster Igor Stromowskij. The lads agree as they are in debt with Roy Arnie and it is apparently a good money-raiser and to escape a British local gangster named Ivan. However, upon arriving at the circus, they find Stromowskij to be utterly deranged, the acts dangerous and the performers suicidal. The entire circus is full of useless, miserable has-beens and tired animals that will only perform under the influence of [[narcotics]]. What's more, the four lads are actually to be [[animal handler]]s with the dangerous animals in the circus stable. The star attraction is "Jimmy", a captive large male elephant who is paranoid of police and with an earring and half a tusk sawn off. Roy Arnie gives Jimmy [[speed (drug)|speed]] to incite the animal to go crazy and perform in the ring for the spectators. At night, he gives Jimmy heroin to sedate him. Soon the elephant becomes [[Drug addiction|addicted]].
Meanwhile, three inept [[Cockney English]] [[stoner (drug user)|stoner]] [[habitual criminal]]s named Odd, Gaz and Flea (Odd, Geir and Kælle in the Norwegian version) watch a news story about the lab break-in at a decrepit apartment. Their shady Southern American friend Roy Arnie (a fellow Norwegian childhood friend in the original) arrives and offers them a job opportunity with Circus Stromowski, a travelling Russian [[circus]] led by Ringmaster Igor Stromowski. As they are in debt with Roy Arnie, trying to escape a local gangster named Ivan, and believe it is lucrative, they agree. However, upon arriving at the circus, they find Stromowski to be incompetent and deranged, and the entire circus is full of useless, miserable has-beens and tired animals that are forced to perform under the influence of [[narcotics]]. They are supposed to work as the [[animal handler]]s. The star attraction is "Jimmy", a captive large male elephant who is paranoid of police, missing half his tusk, and [[Drug addiction|addicted to drugs]]. Roy Arnie gives Jimmy [[speed (drug)|speed]] so he can perform spiritedly for spectators, and gives him heroin at night to sedate him.


Roy admits to the others that he has stolen over a million pounds worth of heroin from a tanker owned by the [[Russian Mafia]]s and that he joined the circus to escape them. The four lads hatch a plan to smuggle the heroin out of Norway by putting it inside the elephant. Roy makes an incision in Jimmy's buttocks, places the bags of drugs inside and then sews it back up. He has a plan to set up his own circus with the money he makes from the heroin, the "Roy Arnie Circus", and believes Jimmy to be the key to his dream. However, on the night where the lads plan to steal the elephant, Jimmy escapes when he is accidentally given speed instead of heroin and bolts out of a door left open by the animal rights activists. Jimmy's drug-induced escape causes widespread chaos. Flea comically steals a van with no windshield in the ensuing chase of Jimmy which leads them up into the frozen [[moorland]].
Roy admits to the others that he has stolen seven kilograms of heroin worth over a million pounds from a tanker owned by the [[Russian Mafia]]s, whom he joined the circus to escape from. The four plan to smuggle the heroin out of Norway by making an incision in Jimmy's buttocks, placing the bags of drugs inside and then sewing it back up. Roy Arnie plans to found his own circus using the money and believes Jimmy to be the key to his dream. However, on the night where they plan to steal the elephant, Jimmy escapes when he is accidentally given speed instead of heroin and bolts out of a door left open by TWAATS. Flea steals a van with no windshield in the ensuing chase of Jimmy which leads them up into the frozen [[moorland]].


Three Lappish Mafia [[Motorcycle|motorbikers]] dressed in [[Sámi people#Clothing|traditional Sámi garb clothes]] have been tailing the lads the whole time. These motorbikers turn out to be members of the highly feared "[[Sámi people|Laplander]] [[motorcycle gang]]" who have been hired by the Russian Mafias and are looking for the heroin and revenge on Roy Arnie. After overhearing their conversations which they learn of where the drugs are and decide to first go after the elephant. Meanwhile, the animal rights activists are hot on Jimmy's trail with the intention of rescuing Jimmy. Jimmy is also hunted by a group of trigger-happy and [[redneck]]-type [[Scottish people|Scottish]] [[big game hunter]]s ([[Trøndelag|'''trøndere''']] in the Norwegian version) who want to shoot something bigger than a moose or a deer for a change. So it begins a mad-cap and cross-country [[road trip]] to find Jimmy with each group having different motives. The four stoners find a [[log cabin]] which is occupied by an elderly [[Asian Americans|Asian-American]] couple but the three Lappish Mafia motorbikers find them there, kill the couple and torture the four stoners for the information on the whereabouts of Jimmy the elephant.
Three Lappish Mafia [[Motorcycle|motorbikers]] dressed in [[Sámi people#Clothing|traditional Sámi garb clothes]] part of the notorious "[[Sámi people|Laplander]] [[motorcycle gang]]" who have been hired by the Russian Mafias and are looking for the heroin and revenge on Roy Arnie tail the lads. The bikers overhear their conversation and learn the drugs are stored in Jimmy, and decide to pursue him first. Meanwhile, the TWAATS pursue him, intending to make him an animal rights symbol, but two abandon them, tired walking through the moorlands on foot. Jimmy is also hunted by a group of trigger-happy and [[redneck]]-type [[Scottish people|Scottish]] [[big game hunter]]s ([[Trøndelag|''trøndere'']] in the Norwegian version) who want to shoot a larger animal. The four stoners find a [[log cabin]] which is occupied by an elderly [[Asian Americans|Asian-American]] couple but the three Lappish Mafia motorbikers find them there, kill the couple and torture the four stoners for the information on the whereabouts of Jimmy the elephant.


Jimmy nearly dies on the moors as he begins to go through [[cold turkey|withdrawal]], although a seemingly intelligent and benevolent [[moose]] with golden antlers befriends the elephant and attempts to nurse him back to health by nudging him towards water and bringing him grass to eat. The moose pushes Jimmy into a rocky overhang, protecting the elephant from the elements. The moose forces Jimmy to stand on occasion by pushing him up and holding him up with his antlers, bringing back the strength in Jimmy's legs. Over the course of a few painful days with the moose's help, Jimmy makes a full recovery from the drugs and again becomes one with nature away from the ugly trappings of man.
In the moors, Jimmy is close to death and suffering [[cold turkey|withdrawal]] when a benevolent [[moose]] befriends him and helps him by leading him to water, bringing him food, and providing shelter. The moose supports Jimmy to stand up on his own. Over the course of a few painful days with the moose's help, Jimmy recovers in nature away from exploiting humans.


When the groups converge on Jimmy's location, chaos ensues which results in most of the people involved getting killed in various ways, mostly violent and bloody. As the elephant and the moose escape into the sunset, the elephant accidentally steps on Sonia the activist's dog, Karma, splatting it. Sonia momentarily loses her temper and picks up one of the hunters' rifles and shoots Jimmy in the behind, unwittingly bursting the bags of heroin inside and causing Jimmy to die quickly of massive drug overdose. This causes Sonia to recoil in horror in what she has done and she flees amidst nervous breakdown in the knowledge that she has harmed an animal. The moose causes a landslide which buries Jimmy's body and after the moose sits poignantly by the mound of rocks which now entomb the elephant, the moose gallops off into the sunset alone.
When the groups find Jimmy, chaos ensues resulting in many of the people dying mostly violent, bloody deaths. The moose distracts the hunters who accidentally shoot a motorbiker - the other two and activist Marius die when he throws a grenade in the middle of a fall. Roy Arnie tries attract Jimmy with drugs, but he refuses and intimidates them. As Jimmy and the moose try to leave, Jimmy steps on Karma, splatting him. The naive, high-strung, grief-stricken activist Sonia loses her temper and shoots Jimmy in his incision using one of the hunters' rifles, unwittingly bursting the bags of heroin inside that quickly kills Jimmy from the massive drug overdose. Sonia recoils in horror and flees amidst her nervous breakdown with the other only surviving activist.


The only other survivors of the massacre, the four stoners, do not witness these events and are back at their apartment home to assault Roy for leading them to the situation in the first place because of his mad circus dreams and "for Jimmy", "our mate." Finally, Roy, full of remorse over his actions in the past, wanders out onto the moors alone to look for the elephant, unaware that Jimmy is already dead and entombed under rocks and out of sight. Roy disappears into a terrible [[blizzard]] calling out "Jimmy" in vain.
The stoners attempt to retrieve the heroin from Jimmy's corpse. The moose pushes some rocks which cause a landslide that buries Jimmy's body so his corpse can't be exploited. The stoners leave. At the mound entombing Jimmy, the moose poignantly mourns then gallops away into the sunset alone. Back at their apartment home, the three stoners assault Roy Arnie for leading them to the situation because of his circus dreams. Finally, Roy, full of remorse over his past actions, ventures to the moors alone to search for Jimmy. Roy disappears into a terrible [[blizzard]] calling out "Jimmy" in vain.


==English-language version==
==Cast==
===Overview===
===Voice actors of the Original Norwegian version===
The plot of the English-language version of the film remains virtually unchanged to the original in [[Norwegian language|Norwegian]]. The [[Music track|audio track]] is [[dubbing (filmmaking)|dubbed over]] with English voices, with contemporary British dialogue written by [[Simon Pegg]], and Pegg receives credit in the screenplay. It was released on DVD on 7 October 2008, by BreakThru Films, with Bill Godfrey as Executive Producer.
*Jan Sælid as Roy Arnie
*[[Kristopher Schau]] as Marius
*[[Janne Rønningen]] as Lise
*Dag Rønning as Tarjei
*Terje Rangnes as Kælle
*Are Sende Osen as Eirik
*Duc Paul Mai Phe as Erik
*Lars Eivind Lund as Vannhode
*Markus Beckstrøm Laurantzon as Barn på sirkus / Kid at cirkus
*Paul-Ottar Haga as Ansatt på bensinstasjon / Employee on gasstation
*Anders T. Andersen as Odd
*Egil Birkeland as Geir
*Mikael Holmberg as Igor Stromowskij
*[[Mikkel Gaup]] as Mattis Hætta


Unlike the original which was released in cinemas in Norway, ''Free Jimmy'' was a [[direct-to-video]] release in the English speaking world.
===Voice actors of the English-language version===
*[[Woody Harrelson]] as Roy Arnie
*[[Simon Pegg]] as Odd
*[[Phil Daniels]] as Gaz
*Jay Simpson as Flea
*[[Kyle MacLachlan]] as Marius
*[[Samantha Morton]] as Sonia
*[[Jim Broadbent]] as Igor Stromowskij
*[[Emilia Fox]] as Bettina
*[[Kris Marshall]] as Erik
*[[Lisa Maxwell (actress)|Lisa Maxwell]] as Lise
*[[James Cosmo]] as HudMaSpecs
*[[Douglas Henshall]] as Eddie
*[[David Tennant]] as Hamish
*Russell Barr as George
*[[Steve Pemberton]] as Mattis
*[[Reece Shearsmith]] as Ante
*[[Mark Gatiss]] as Jakki
*[[William Hope (actor)|William Hope]] as Harvey
*[[Megan Dodds]] as Claire


Although only the audio has been changed in the English-language version, the new dialogue makes for some changes to the original Norwegian film. For example, Roy, Odd, Flea and Baz are [[cockney]]s from London instead of east enders from [[Oslo]] in Norway (that curiously enough has a similar working class type of [[sociolect]] as cockneys from east London). The rest of the film does however still take place in Norway, as the Londoners end up there anyway as they travel with the touring Russian circus. Other significant plot changes are obvious, such as other characters are made British instead of Norwegian, and the [[redneck]]-type hunting party are apparently [[Scottish people|Scottish]] in the English-language version.
===Other voice actors of the English-language version===

*Jeremy Price as Jimmy / Moose
===Cast===
*John Abasini as Russian Voice
The voice actors of the English-language version make up an international [[ensemble cast]] that include:
*[[Sarah Radclyffe]] as TV Reporter

*Anna Webster as Policewoman
{| class="wikitable"
*Jazzi Melia as Woman in dream
|-
*Kami Naghdi as Man in radio
! Actor !! Role !! Notes
*Beck Farhall as Woman's Voice - Dream
|-
*Jon Duncan as Undercover Policeman
| [[Woody Harrelson]]
*Barnaby Smith as Petrol Station Employee / Nightwatchman / Policeman / Baloustradio / Football Commentator
| Roy Arnie
*Ben Meechan as Ivan / Policeman
| An American [[thief]] and ruthless [[wheeler dealer]] who has toured with the Russian circus and has dreams of starting his own circus. He is the catalyst for the events of the film which take place in Norway.
*Victoria Lohne as Young Child
|-
*Jonny Star as Guard
| [[Simon Pegg]]
*Craig Stokes as Petrol Station Employee
| Odd
*Mike Grimes as Additional Voices
| A [[cockney]] stoner and a down-and-out. Pegg also wrote the screenplay for the English-language version of the film.
*Jonathan Whittaker as Additional Voices
|-
*Sam Davey as Additional Voices
| [[Phil Daniels]]
*Jessie Hope-Weston as Additional Voices
| Gaz
*Shaula Lumley as Additional Voices
| Odd's flatmate and also a habitual criminal.
*Michelle Woods as Additional Voices
|-
| Jay Simpson
| Flea
| The third of the stoner trio.
|-
| [[Jim Broadbent]]
| Igor Stromowskij
| Ringmaster of a deranged and even dangerous travelling Russian circus
|-
| [[James Cosmo]]
| HudMaSpecs
| Leader of the Scottish big game hunters. His nickname is due to his short temper, which when lost he says this and gives over his beloved specs to a subordinate to stop them being broken in a fight.
|-
| [[David Tennant]]
| Hamish
| One of the hunting party who is always trying to control HudMaSpec's temper
|-
| [[Kyle MacLachlan]]
| Marius
| Leader of the communist, vegan, animal right's activists
|-
| [[Emilia Fox]]
| Bettina
| Marius' partner
|-
| [[Samantha Morton]]
| Sonia
| A highly-strung and naïve animal rights activist suffering from extreme [[anxiety]] and who loves animals. [[Twist ending|Ironically]], in a fit of rage after Jimmy the elephant trod on her dog Karma, Sonia shoots and kills Jimmy, the least likely character in the story to do so.
|-
| [[Douglas Henshall]]
| Eddie
|
|-
| [[Steve Pemberton]]
| Mattis
|
|-
| [[Reece Shearsmith]]
| Ante
|
|-
| [[Mark Gatiss]]
| Jakki
|
|-
| [[Megan Dodds]]
| Claire
|
|-
| [[Kris Marshall]]
| Erik
|
|-
|-
| [[Lisa Maxwell (actress)|Lisa Maxwell]]
| Lise
|
|}


==Themes==
==Themes==
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==Reception==
==Reception==
===Box office===
===Box office===
''Free Jimmy'' grossed $2.3 million worldwide.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl4244538369/weekend/ |title=Free Jimmy |work=[[Box Office Mojo]] |access-date=September 19, 2021 }}</ref>
''Free Jimmy'' grossed $2,277,607 worldwide on a production estimated budget of $100 million. The film also grossed $2,277,607 internationally.


===Critical response===
===Critical response===
[[File:Derek Malcolm.jpg|thumb|upright|English film critic and historian [[Derek Malcolm]] of ''[[Evening Standard|The London Evening Standard]]'' gave the film two out of five stars and wrote “But the characters don't add to the conception. Nor does the basic animation.”]]
[[File:Derek Malcolm.jpg|thumb|upright|English film critic and historian [[Derek Malcolm]] of ''[[Evening Standard|The London Evening Standard]]'' gave the film two out of five stars and wrote “But the characters don't add to the conception. Nor does the basic animation.”]]
''Free Jimmy'' has an approval rating of 10% based on 10 reviews from aggregate ratings site [[Rotten Tomatoes]].<ref>[http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/free_jimmy/ Free Jimmy – Trailers – Movie Reviews – Rotten Tomatoes<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> The website's critical consensus reads, "A weird, misfiring, Norwegian animated mess of a film. Unsure of who its target audience is, it misses every target." Xan Brooks of ''[[The Guardian]]'' described it as "joyless" and those who watch it to be "dumb animals themselves" and wrote "''Free Jimmy'' is a sledgehammer Norwegian animation that metes out all manner of cruelty to dumb animals, not least the ones in the audience."<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/film/2008/oct/17/free-jimmy The film]</ref> Many Norwegian fans noted that depth of story was missing in the new version and that the overall message of the film and the original ironic humour had been lost in translation and the target audience had become unclear.
''Free Jimmy'' has an approval rating of {{RT data|score}}% based on {{RT data|count}} reviews from aggregate ratings site [[Rotten Tomatoes]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/free_jimmy|title=Free Jimmy|website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]]|publisher=[[Fandango Media|Fandango]]|access-date={{RT data|access date}}}}{{RT data|edit}}</ref> The website's critical consensus reads, "A weird, misfiring, Norwegian animated mess of a film. Unsure of who its target audience is, it misses every target." Xan Brooks of ''[[The Guardian]]'' described it as "joyless" and those who watch it to be "dumb animals themselves" and wrote "''Free Jimmy'' is a sledgehammer Norwegian animation that metes out all manner of cruelty to dumb animals, not least the ones in the audience."<ref>{{cite web |title=Film review: Free Jimmy |date=2008-10-16 |website=[[The Guardian]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230314052433/https://www.theguardian.com/film/2008/oct/17/free-jimmy |archive-date=2023-03-14 |url-status=live |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2008/oct/17/free-jimmy}}</ref> Many Norwegian fans noted that depth of story was missing in the new version and that the overall message of the film and the original ironic humour had been lost in translation and the target audience had become unclear.


Richard Luck of ''[[Film4]]'' wrote "Norway may be wonderful for many things but feature-length animation currently isn't one of them." James Christopher of ''[[The Times|Times (UK)]]'' called the film "deeply unhinged" and "deeply awful". Tim Evans of ''[[Sky Cinema]]'' gave the film one out of five stars and wrote "They say an elephant never forgets. But even the most anally-retentive pachyderm would be desperate to banish this misfiring mess to the darkest reaches of memory." Anthony Quinn of ''[[The Independent|Independent (UK)]]'' also gave the film one out of five stars and wrote "The brief relationship that the escaped elephant forms with a resourceful moose is oddly touching, but the fatuities surrounding it ensure that any deeper involvement is unlikely." [[Derek Malcolm]] of ''[[Evening Standard|The London Evening Standard]]'' gave the film two out of five stars and wrote "But the characters don't add to the conception. Nor does the basic animation." Leslie Felperin of ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' wrote "Pic could be too dark, dirty and insufficiently funny to achieve more than cult success." Derek Adams of ''[[Time Out London]]'' gave ''Free Jimmy'' three out of six stars, saying: "This adult-orientated, computer-generated animation isn't an especially successful outing but still serves as an impressive antidote to the [[Disney]]-[[Pixar]] norm."<ref>https://www.timeout.com/london/film/free-jimmy-2008</ref>
Richard Luck of ''[[Film4]]'' wrote "Norway may be wonderful for many things but feature-length animation currently isn't one of them." James Christopher of ''[[The Times|Times (UK)]]'' called the film "deeply unhinged" and "deeply awful". Tim Evans of ''[[Sky Cinema]]'' gave the film one out of five stars and wrote "They say an elephant never forgets. But even the most anally-retentive pachyderm would be desperate to banish this misfiring mess to the darkest reaches of memory." Anthony Quinn of ''[[The Independent|Independent (UK)]]'' also gave the film one out of five stars and wrote "The brief relationship that the escaped elephant forms with a resourceful moose is oddly touching, but the fatuities surrounding it ensure that any deeper involvement is unlikely." [[Derek Malcolm]] of ''[[Evening Standard|The London Evening Standard]]'' gave the film two out of five stars and wrote "But the characters don't add to the conception. Nor does the basic animation." Leslie Felperin of ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' wrote "Pic could be too dark, dirty and insufficiently funny to achieve more than cult success." Derek Adams of ''[[Time Out London]]'' gave ''Free Jimmy'' three out of six stars, saying: "This adult-orientated, computer-generated animation isn't an especially successful outing but still serves as an impressive antidote to the [[Disney]]-[[Pixar]] norm."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.timeout.com/london/film/free-jimmy-2008|title=Free Jimmy}}</ref>


===Accolades and awards===
===Accolades===
[[File:Christopher nielsen 01.png|thumb|right|The film’s director and writer [[Christopher Nielsen]] won a [[Annecy International Animation Film Festival#Feature films in competition|Cristal Award]] for Best Feature at the [[Annecy International Animation Film Festival]] in 2007]]
[[File:Christopher nielsen 01.png|thumb|right|In 2007, the film’s director and writer [[Christopher Nielsen]] won a [[Annecy International Animation Film Festival#Feature films in competition|Cristal Award]] for Best Feature at the [[Annecy International Animation Film Festival]].]]
{|class="wikitable"
{|class="wikitable"
! Year
! Year
Line 142: Line 169:
| 2006 || [[Amanda Award]] || [[List of Amanda Award winners#Best Film (Norwegian)|Best Film (Årets norske kinofilm)]] || Lars Andreas Hellebust || {{Won}}
| 2006 || [[Amanda Award]] || [[List of Amanda Award winners#Best Film (Norwegian)|Best Film (Årets norske kinofilm)]] || Lars Andreas Hellebust || {{Won}}
|-
|-
| 2006 || [[Nordic Council Film Prize|Nordic Council's Film Prize]] || || [[Christopher Nielsen]] <small>(director and writer)</small><br>[[Simon Pegg]] <small>(writer)</small><br>Häkon Gundersen <small>(producer)</small><br>Lars Andreas Hellebust <small>(producer)</small> || {{Nominated}}
| 2006 || [[Nordic Council Film Prize|Nordic Council's Film Prize]] || || [[Christopher Nielsen]] <small>(director and writer)</small><br />[[Simon Pegg]] <small>(writer)</small><br />Häkon Gundersen <small>(producer)</small><br />Lars Andreas Hellebust <small>(producer)</small> || {{Nominated}}
|-
|-
| 2007 || [[Annecy International Animation Film Festival#Feature films in competition|Cristal Award]] || Best Feature || [[Christopher Nielsen]] || {{Won}}
| 2007 || [[Annecy International Animation Film Festival#Feature films in competition|Cristal Award]] || Best Feature || [[Christopher Nielsen]] || {{Won}}
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| 2007 || [[The Kanon Award#The Kanon Award 2007|Kanonprisen]] || [[People's Choice Awards|People’s Choice Award]] || ''Free Jimmy'' || {{Won}}
| 2007 || [[The Kanon Award#The Kanon Award 2007|Kanonprisen]] || [[People's Choice Awards|People’s Choice Award]] || ''Free Jimmy'' || {{Won}}
|}
|}

==Notes==
* [[Woody Harrelson]] and [[Kyle MacLachlan]] starred in the film as their voice acting debut
* The film's title is a parody of 1993's ''[[Free Willy]]''
* The [[James Cosmo]]'s Scottish character's nickname, called "HudMaSpecs", is due to his short temper which when lost he says this and gives over his beloved specs to a subordinate to stop them being broken in a fight


==References==
==References==
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==External links==
==External links==
* {{IMDb title|id=0298337|title=Free Jimmy}}
* {{IMDb title|id=0298337|title=Free Jimmy}}
* {{Rotten-tomatoes|free_jimmy|Free Jimmy}}
* [http://www.freejimmy.com/ Official homepage – English version]
* [http://www.freejimmy.com/ Official homepage – English version]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080426004546/http://www.slippjimmyfri.no/ Official homepage – Norwegian version]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080426004546/http://www.slippjimmyfri.no/ Official homepage – Norwegian version]

[[Category:2006 films]]
[[Category:2006 films]]
[[Category:2006 computer-animated films]]
[[Category:2006 computer-animated films]]
[[Category:Norwegian-language films]]
[[Category:2000s Norwegian-language films]]
[[Category:English-language films]]
[[Category:2000s English-language films]]
[[Category:Animated films based on comics]]
[[Category:Animated films based on comics]]
[[Category:Animated films about elephants]]
[[Category:Animated films about elephants]]
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[[Category:Norwegian satirical films]]
[[Category:Norwegian satirical films]]
[[Category:Norwegian animated films]]
[[Category:Norwegian animated films]]
[[Category:Norwegian films]]
[[Category:British computer-animated films]]
[[Category:British computer-animated films]]
[[Category:British films]]
[[Category:Films about animal rights]]
[[Category:Films about animal rights]]
[[Category:Films about drugs]]
[[Category:Films about drugs]]
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[[Category:Films with screenplays by Simon Pegg]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by Simon Pegg]]
[[Category:Films based on Norwegian comics]]
[[Category:Films based on Norwegian comics]]
[[Category:Films set in Norway]]
[[Category:Animated films set in Norway]]
[[Category:Annecy Cristal for a Feature Film winners]]
[[Category:Annecy Cristal for a Feature Film winners]]
[[Category:2006 comedy films]]
[[Category:2006 multilingual films]]
[[Category:Norwegian multilingual films]]
[[Category:British multilingual films]]
[[Category:British adult animated films]]
[[Category:2000s British films]]
[[Category:English-language black comedy films]]
[[Category:BreakThru Films films]]

Latest revision as of 23:34, 17 October 2024

Free Jimmy
Film poster
Directed byChristopher Nielsen
Written byChristopher Nielsen
Produced byHåkon Gundersen
Lars Andreas Hellebust
StarringEnglish Version
Woody Harrelson
Simon Pegg
Phil Daniels
Jay Simpson
Emilia Fox
Samantha Morton
James Cosmo
David Tennant
Jim Broadbent
Kyle MacLachlan
Edited byAlastair Reid
Music bySimon Boswell
Distributed byColumbia TriStar Film Distributors International (Norway)
Breakthru Films (United Kingdom)
Release dates
  • 21 April 2006 (2006-04-21) (Norway)
  • 17 October 2008 (2008-10-17) (United Kingdom)
Running time
86 minutes
CountriesNorway[1]
United Kingdom[1]
LanguagesEnglish
Norwegian

Free Jimmy (No: Slipp Jimmy fri) is a 2006 adult animated comedy film first released in Norwegian in 2006, and later in English in 2008. The film was written and directed by acclaimed Norwegian subculture comic book artist Christopher Nielsen and features a number of characters from Nielsen's dark humor-laden comic books. The plot is an adult-oriented black comedy in which different groups of varying nationalities, and motives, all attempt to find a wayward and drug-addicted elephant in the Norwegian wilderness before the others do. The film explores a wide number of themes including addiction, drug abuse, freedom, nature, tragedy, crime, materialism, urban decay, animal cruelty and animal rights.

It was Norway's first computer animated film. Costing in excess of 120 million Norwegian kroner it is the second most expensive Norwegian film to date, behind Max Manus. Several British CGI studios were involved in the production of the film, although the film was mostly a Norwegian production. The voice actors for the original Norwegian version included Kristopher Schau, Jan Sælid, Are&Odin, Egil Birkeland, Terje Ragner, Anders T. Andersen and Mikkel Gaup.

British comedy writer and actor Simon Pegg wrote a screenplay for the wider English-speaking world which was subsequently released straight to DVD on 7 October 2008 by BreakThru Films. The voice actors of the 2008 English-language version is made up of an international ensemble cast that includes Pegg himself, Woody Harrelson, Phil Daniels, Jay Simpson, Jim Broadbent, James Cosmo, David Tennant, Steve Pemberton, Reece Shearsmith, Mark Gatiss, Megan Dodds, Douglas Henshall, Kris Marshall, Emilia Fox, Samantha Morton, Kyle MacLachlan and Lisa Maxwell.

The film is dedicated to Joachim Nielsen (1964–2000), the director's brother and a rock musician famous in his native Norway, who had died of a drug overdose after quitting them successfully for many years. Whilst well received in its native country, reception to Free Jimmy has been generally negative in the English-speaking world.

Plot

[edit]

The events of the original movie take place entirely in Norway; in the English-language version of the movie, the story begins in Britain and ends up in Norway with the travelling Russian circus.

At night, an animal testing laboratory in grimy central Oslo, Norway is broken into by a bumbling group of guerilla vegan animal rights activists called True Warriors Against Animal Torture and Subjugation (TWAATS). They first release some rabbits which refuse to leave. They then set the rats free, then the cats, which to the horror of the activists, eat the rats. Again to their horror, their dog Karma kills the cats. They bury the dead animals, vowing to at some point take revenge on "animal oppressing" society.

Meanwhile, three inept Cockney English stoner habitual criminals named Odd, Gaz and Flea (Odd, Geir and Kælle in the Norwegian version) watch a news story about the lab break-in at a decrepit apartment. Their shady Southern American friend Roy Arnie (a fellow Norwegian childhood friend in the original) arrives and offers them a job opportunity with Circus Stromowski, a travelling Russian circus led by Ringmaster Igor Stromowski. As they are in debt with Roy Arnie, trying to escape a local gangster named Ivan, and believe it is lucrative, they agree. However, upon arriving at the circus, they find Stromowski to be incompetent and deranged, and the entire circus is full of useless, miserable has-beens and tired animals that are forced to perform under the influence of narcotics. They are supposed to work as the animal handlers. The star attraction is "Jimmy", a captive large male elephant who is paranoid of police, missing half his tusk, and addicted to drugs. Roy Arnie gives Jimmy speed so he can perform spiritedly for spectators, and gives him heroin at night to sedate him.

Roy admits to the others that he has stolen seven kilograms of heroin worth over a million pounds from a tanker owned by the Russian Mafias, whom he joined the circus to escape from. The four plan to smuggle the heroin out of Norway by making an incision in Jimmy's buttocks, placing the bags of drugs inside and then sewing it back up. Roy Arnie plans to found his own circus using the money and believes Jimmy to be the key to his dream. However, on the night where they plan to steal the elephant, Jimmy escapes when he is accidentally given speed instead of heroin and bolts out of a door left open by TWAATS. Flea steals a van with no windshield in the ensuing chase of Jimmy which leads them up into the frozen moorland.

Three Lappish Mafia motorbikers dressed in traditional Sámi garb clothes part of the notorious "Laplander motorcycle gang" who have been hired by the Russian Mafias and are looking for the heroin and revenge on Roy Arnie tail the lads. The bikers overhear their conversation and learn the drugs are stored in Jimmy, and decide to pursue him first. Meanwhile, the TWAATS pursue him, intending to make him an animal rights symbol, but two abandon them, tired walking through the moorlands on foot. Jimmy is also hunted by a group of trigger-happy and redneck-type Scottish big game hunters (trøndere in the Norwegian version) who want to shoot a larger animal. The four stoners find a log cabin which is occupied by an elderly Asian-American couple but the three Lappish Mafia motorbikers find them there, kill the couple and torture the four stoners for the information on the whereabouts of Jimmy the elephant.

In the moors, Jimmy is close to death and suffering withdrawal when a benevolent moose befriends him and helps him by leading him to water, bringing him food, and providing shelter. The moose supports Jimmy to stand up on his own. Over the course of a few painful days with the moose's help, Jimmy recovers in nature away from exploiting humans.

When the groups find Jimmy, chaos ensues resulting in many of the people dying mostly violent, bloody deaths. The moose distracts the hunters who accidentally shoot a motorbiker - the other two and activist Marius die when he throws a grenade in the middle of a fall. Roy Arnie tries attract Jimmy with drugs, but he refuses and intimidates them. As Jimmy and the moose try to leave, Jimmy steps on Karma, splatting him. The naive, high-strung, grief-stricken activist Sonia loses her temper and shoots Jimmy in his incision using one of the hunters' rifles, unwittingly bursting the bags of heroin inside that quickly kills Jimmy from the massive drug overdose. Sonia recoils in horror and flees amidst her nervous breakdown with the other only surviving activist.

The stoners attempt to retrieve the heroin from Jimmy's corpse. The moose pushes some rocks which cause a landslide that buries Jimmy's body so his corpse can't be exploited. The stoners leave. At the mound entombing Jimmy, the moose poignantly mourns then gallops away into the sunset alone. Back at their apartment home, the three stoners assault Roy Arnie for leading them to the situation because of his circus dreams. Finally, Roy, full of remorse over his past actions, ventures to the moors alone to search for Jimmy. Roy disappears into a terrible blizzard calling out "Jimmy" in vain.

English-language version

[edit]

Overview

[edit]

The plot of the English-language version of the film remains virtually unchanged to the original in Norwegian. The audio track is dubbed over with English voices, with contemporary British dialogue written by Simon Pegg, and Pegg receives credit in the screenplay. It was released on DVD on 7 October 2008, by BreakThru Films, with Bill Godfrey as Executive Producer.

Unlike the original which was released in cinemas in Norway, Free Jimmy was a direct-to-video release in the English speaking world.

Although only the audio has been changed in the English-language version, the new dialogue makes for some changes to the original Norwegian film. For example, Roy, Odd, Flea and Baz are cockneys from London instead of east enders from Oslo in Norway (that curiously enough has a similar working class type of sociolect as cockneys from east London). The rest of the film does however still take place in Norway, as the Londoners end up there anyway as they travel with the touring Russian circus. Other significant plot changes are obvious, such as other characters are made British instead of Norwegian, and the redneck-type hunting party are apparently Scottish in the English-language version.

Cast

[edit]

The voice actors of the English-language version make up an international ensemble cast that include:

Actor Role Notes
Woody Harrelson Roy Arnie An American thief and ruthless wheeler dealer who has toured with the Russian circus and has dreams of starting his own circus. He is the catalyst for the events of the film which take place in Norway.
Simon Pegg Odd A cockney stoner and a down-and-out. Pegg also wrote the screenplay for the English-language version of the film.
Phil Daniels Gaz Odd's flatmate and also a habitual criminal.
Jay Simpson Flea The third of the stoner trio.
Jim Broadbent Igor Stromowskij Ringmaster of a deranged and even dangerous travelling Russian circus
James Cosmo HudMaSpecs Leader of the Scottish big game hunters. His nickname is due to his short temper, which when lost he says this and gives over his beloved specs to a subordinate to stop them being broken in a fight.
David Tennant Hamish One of the hunting party who is always trying to control HudMaSpec's temper
Kyle MacLachlan Marius Leader of the communist, vegan, animal right's activists
Emilia Fox Bettina Marius' partner
Samantha Morton Sonia A highly-strung and naïve animal rights activist suffering from extreme anxiety and who loves animals. Ironically, in a fit of rage after Jimmy the elephant trod on her dog Karma, Sonia shoots and kills Jimmy, the least likely character in the story to do so.
Douglas Henshall Eddie
Steve Pemberton Mattis
Reece Shearsmith Ante
Mark Gatiss Jakki
Megan Dodds Claire
Kris Marshall Erik
Lisa Maxwell Lise

Themes

[edit]

Free Jimmy explores a wide number of themes including addiction, drug abuse, freedom, nature, tragedy, crime, materialism, urban decay, animal cruelty and animal rights.

Release

[edit]

Film festival premieres

[edit]

Theatrical releases

[edit]

Free Jimmy was theatrically released in Norway on April 21, 2006, Finland on November 17, 2006, Sweden on April 27, 2007, Russia on November 22, 2007, the United Kingdom on October 17, 2008 and the Netherlands on January 28, 2010.

DVD release in the United Kingdom

[edit]

Free Jimmy was released on DVD in the United Kingdom on January 22, 2010 by Granada Ventures.

Reception

[edit]

Box office

[edit]

Free Jimmy grossed $2.3 million worldwide.[2]

Critical response

[edit]
English film critic and historian Derek Malcolm of The London Evening Standard gave the film two out of five stars and wrote “But the characters don't add to the conception. Nor does the basic animation.”

Free Jimmy has an approval rating of 10% based on 10 reviews from aggregate ratings site Rotten Tomatoes.[3] The website's critical consensus reads, "A weird, misfiring, Norwegian animated mess of a film. Unsure of who its target audience is, it misses every target." Xan Brooks of The Guardian described it as "joyless" and those who watch it to be "dumb animals themselves" and wrote "Free Jimmy is a sledgehammer Norwegian animation that metes out all manner of cruelty to dumb animals, not least the ones in the audience."[4] Many Norwegian fans noted that depth of story was missing in the new version and that the overall message of the film and the original ironic humour had been lost in translation and the target audience had become unclear.

Richard Luck of Film4 wrote "Norway may be wonderful for many things but feature-length animation currently isn't one of them." James Christopher of Times (UK) called the film "deeply unhinged" and "deeply awful". Tim Evans of Sky Cinema gave the film one out of five stars and wrote "They say an elephant never forgets. But even the most anally-retentive pachyderm would be desperate to banish this misfiring mess to the darkest reaches of memory." Anthony Quinn of Independent (UK) also gave the film one out of five stars and wrote "The brief relationship that the escaped elephant forms with a resourceful moose is oddly touching, but the fatuities surrounding it ensure that any deeper involvement is unlikely." Derek Malcolm of The London Evening Standard gave the film two out of five stars and wrote "But the characters don't add to the conception. Nor does the basic animation." Leslie Felperin of Variety wrote "Pic could be too dark, dirty and insufficiently funny to achieve more than cult success." Derek Adams of Time Out London gave Free Jimmy three out of six stars, saying: "This adult-orientated, computer-generated animation isn't an especially successful outing but still serves as an impressive antidote to the Disney-Pixar norm."[5]

Accolades

[edit]
In 2007, the film’s director and writer Christopher Nielsen won a Cristal Award for Best Feature at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival.
Year Award Category Nominee Result
2006 Amanda Award Best Film (Årets norske kinofilm) Lars Andreas Hellebust Won
2006 Nordic Council's Film Prize Christopher Nielsen (director and writer)
Simon Pegg (writer)
Häkon Gundersen (producer)
Lars Andreas Hellebust (producer)		 Nominated
2007 Cristal Award Best Feature Christopher Nielsen Won
2007 Kanonprisen Best Music Simon Boswell Won
2007 Kanonprisen People’s Choice Award Free Jimmy Won

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "Things don't add up in Free Jimmy". Evening Standard.
  2. ^ "Free Jimmy". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
  3. ^ "Free Jimmy". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved 7 October 2021. Edit this at Wikidata
  4. ^ "Film review: Free Jimmy". The Guardian. 16 October 2008. Archived from the original on 14 March 2023.
  5. ^ "Free Jimmy".
[edit]
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