Review: Tokyo Godfathers
Blu-ray: Tokyo Godfathers (2003)
There are certain movies which always get rewatched every year during the Christmas period at 60MW Towers; It’s a Wonderful Life, Jingle All the Way and Die Hard being just a select few that immediately spring to mind. After watching this great Blu-ray release from Umbrella Entertainment, Tokyo Godfathers will be joining that list.
It is Christmas Eve in Tokyo when 3 homeless people; an alcoholic, a teenage runaway and a former drag queen, find a newborn baby abandoned in a pile of rubbish. Now given a purpose to their lives which the 3 had previously given up hope on, they begin a search of the streets of Tokyo to try and return the baby to its parents.
The anime style in Tokyo Godfathers gives the lead characters a distinct style that complements their individual personalities very well. Though after about 10 minutes, you forget that you are watching an animated movie and are drawn into the world and hoping that their quest is successful. Busy backgrounds not only give more of a sense of a living breathing world, they also give you something else to look out for on the next viewing.
You’ll laugh and you’ll cry as Gin, Miyuki and Hana have to overcome various obstacles which are put before them, and if any criticism can be said, it is that there are plot twists and coincidences which occasionally stretch the story a little thin. However, put these to one side, let your imagination run free, and you have a classic animated movie that demands repeat viewings every Christmas…and at ANY time of the year.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
- Unexpected Tours: Behind the scenes featurette
- Process of Animation: The making of Tokyo Godfathers
- Animal Featurette (Big Apple Anime Fest 2003)
- 5:1 surround sound art gallery & interview with music director Keichi Suzuki
- Japanese and US trailers.
Review by Dave (host of 60 Minutes With) from a disc kindly supplied by Umbrella Entertainment.
