Jacob, Mimmi and the Talking Dogs – Jekabs, Mimmi un runajosie suni (2019)

Directed by: Edmunds Jansons | 70 minutes | animation, adventure | Dutch voice cast: Oscar Siegelaar, Polleke van der Sman, Pepijn van der Sman, Simon Zwiers

Luize Pastore is a phenomenon in her home country, and the Latvian children’s author is now also starting to gain a foothold internationally. Although her work has not yet been translated into Dutch, it has been translated into English, for example. She made her English-language debut with ‘Dogtown’ from 2018 – and en passant won an entry for it in the list of Best New Kids Books of that year, as chosen by The Guardian. Poland-based New Europe Film Sales saw potential in Pastore’s book and bought the film rights. The Latvian filmmaker Edmunds Jansons, who previously won international animation festivals with ‘Choir Tour’ and ‘International Father’s Day’ (both 2012), has a very unique, simple but creative style that is a relief from the uniformity of animations. which currently features many cartoons. With forms and techniques that seem simple and naive on the one hand, but at the same time refined and stylish, he creates not only appealing characters but also very entertaining and adventurous films. And so Luize Pastore’s ‘Dogtown’ became Edmunds Janson’s ‘Jacob, Mimmi and the Talking Dogs’ (2019).

Jacob lives with his father in the Latvian capital Riga. He likes to draw a lot, preferably city maps and buildings. He dreams of becoming an architect, just like his father. When his father has to leave the city for a while for work, he sends Jacob to stay with his niece Mimmi and her father Arend (who claims to be a pirate by profession) in the run-down suburb of Maskatchka. Jacob actually doesn’t want to stay at all, and the brave but cheeky Mimmi is initially not eager to have to take her nephew in tow. Nevertheless, they learn to understand each other better and better. When they discover that a developer has nefarious plans for Mimmi’s beloved city park – he wants to build a skyscraper there – they decide to join forces and put a stop to it. They get help from an unexpected source: a pack of stray dogs who can talk and have excellent ideas about how to thwart the developer’s plans and save their park.

The technique that Jansons uses for ‘Jacob, Mimmi and the talking dogs’ is cut-out animation; moving clippings. A time-consuming job, because the cut-out models have to be moved frame by frame to suggest movement. Stop motion with paper. Cut-out is like clay animation, for example, because of the meticulous way of working and the angelic patience that the makers must have, already a labor of love. And you can see that in ‘Jacob, Mimmi and the talking dogs’: this film was made with a lot of love and attention and is worth watching for that alone. What also makes it pleasant to watch is the fine color palette that Jansons uses: instead of the exuberant candy cane colors we know from films like ‘Trolls’ (2016), this film is submerged in a bath of warm red, orange and brown tones. Which doesn’t make ‘Jacob, Mimmi and the talking dogs’ any less colorful and lively – quite the contrary. The film is further enriched with charming characters, each of which is designed in a unique way. You will immediately embrace Uncle Arend, who is endowed with an unbridled fantasy, and you will be amazed at the care and attention with which each dog from the pack of leader ‘Boss’ has been created. And small jokes are also hidden in the background, such as the group of mimes that pop up every now and then, without actually having a role in the story.

The adventure that Jacob and Mimmi experience is just like the film itself: less simple than you might think at first glance. And quite topical: in saving a beloved city park from the hands of a heartless and greedy businessman, the essence of the environmental movement is reduced to proportions that children can manage. And here, too, it is the youth who make their voices heard the loudest. But increasing gentrification is also under scrutiny. The film warmly welcomes the fact that children preserve and propagate their idealism and underlines once again: youth has the power to change the world – keep believing in it. A beautiful message to pass on to your children. And that makes ‘Jacob, Mimmi and the talking dogs’ not only a beautiful little work of art because of the way the film is made, but also an uninhibited and hopeful viewing experience.