Tokyo Godfathers (2003) DVD

Tokyo Godfathers

Thoroughly modern in its story, its characters, its urban Tokyo setting, its absurdly funny action sequences, and its understated and ironic self-mockery, TOKYO GODFATHERS is an anime gem from director Satoshi Kon (MILLENNIUM ACTRESS). It is a snowy Christmas in Tokyo and three homeless people--Hana, Gin, and Miyuki--who drift through the streets and alleyways of the city staying warm in the supermarkets and soup kitchens, make up a nontraditional family. Gin is a older man who once had a wife and daughter but lost them and spiraled downward into drinking and drifting. Hana is a flamboyant cross-dressing homosexual who dreams of having a baby. And Miyuki is just a kid--a young girl who ran away from home after a conflict with her father and is still battling familial demons. When the three motley but loving bums find a baby girl abandoned in the garbage on Christmas Eve, they know they've received a true gift. But in their attempts to return the baby to its real mother they go on a wild goose chase all over Tokyo solving mysteries, pursuing criminals, and all the while tackling their own personal problems. According to director Kon, the plot is based on the 1948 Western 3 GODFATHERS directed by John Ford. This immensely entertaining film features a jazzy score of electronic music, excellent illustrations, and superb character development.

Director	Shogo Furuya, Satoshi Kon
Studio	SONY PICTURES HOME ENTERTAINMENT
Run time	DVD: 1 hr 28 mins
Certificate
Genres	Animated, Anime, Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Language	Japanese
Dubbed	Spanish
Hearing-impaired	English
Subtitles	Arabic, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Icelandic, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Slovene, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish
Released	DVD: 13 Sep 2004 Production year: 2003
Format	DVD

Most helpful member's review of Tokyo Godfathers
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24 out of 36 people found this review helpful

[Highly rated reviewer]

Beautiful, just beautiful

I won't say I had low expectations of this but having seen a lot of anime (japanese animation) I know that sometimes it can be ponderous, preachy or sometimes surreal. That's not the case with Tokyo Godfathers.

As with most anime the animation is both well done and well drawn but it's the storytelling and characters that makes this film stand out. Each characters is well drawn and you learn their backstories at just the right pace to keep you intrigued. There are plot twists and surprises galore but they never seem contrived. The laughs come thick and fast and are well timed usually stopping poignant scenes from becoming too cloying.

Even if you've neve seen an anime before, see this one. You're guaranteed to be smiling by the end of it.
- - Devlin from Cardiff
  - Posted 11 Jan 2005 17:43
Most recent members' review of Tokyo Godfathers
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4 out of 4 people found this review helpful

So much fun

One of the best anime films I've seen. Too many people believe anime to soley be science fiction related and don't see films like this and Perfect Blue. From start to finish this is touching, and funny. The characters have a great depth that pulls you into the movie and makes it affecting. Hana constantly had me in stitches of laughter. A must see!
- - DM from UK
  - Posted 07 Feb 2005 16:33
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