Doubutsu no Mori

How do you make a movie based on a game with no story? Like this, apparently. What impresses me the most about Animal Crossing: The Movie, is how perfect of an adaptation it is. Not only are a lot recognizable being portrayed here, but nearly almost scene connects to something you can do in the the game, whether it be letter-writing, digging for fossils or shaking trees. The film even portrays the feelings surrounding your favorite villager moving away without telling you. That way it feels both self-aware and genuine at the same time. The only problem is that if you haven't played any of the games, a lot of what happens in the film might not make much sense to you. But if you have played at least one of the games, or just enjoy slice of life in general, there's a lot to enjoy here. It hits me that slice of life is not just a fitting genre for this movie, but the only one that would have worked for film based on a game series that depends on not having much of story to work. The film has a great uplifting atmosphere. Relatively mundane conversations are made enjoyable by a lighthearted and whimsical nature. Much like other entries to the genre, it's very light on story and has a lot of scenes where not much happens and you just get to see the characters living their lives. There still is a story, it's just not the focus, nor should it be in this case. The film does take a rather strange turn towards the third act, as the characters have to deal with the arrival of an alien. What's even stranger than that though, is that it kind of made sense to me at the time of watching, only after finishing the film did I question the decision to include aliens. What is this film doing to me? The characters all have enjoyable personalities that are expanded upon from the games. The ones that are featured all stand out in their own way. Blathers was one of the most amusing to me, as he's tendency to talk at insane lengths is much funnier when he doesn't stop himself from doing it and someone else has to step in. Of course, the fan-favorite K. K. Slider gets his own amazing scene as well. I'm also happy that the main character, (called Ai in the film,) isn't just the default design for the player character, like what you'd see in the trailer for the new Super Smash Bros. When a film is based on a game with a customizable main character, it's always nice to see a bit of creativity in the character design department. The film also introduces another kid, Yuu, based on the player character, who is from a neighbor village, an idea that's probably based on ability to visit other people's towns in the game. In fact, I almost regretted him not being the main character, as he was much more active and did more things you typically do in the games, like catch bugs and bury pitfalls. What I found the most amusing was how he had a completely different outfit in nearly every scene he was in. Towards the end he's also the one risking his life to help others, yet it's still Ai who gets rewarded for some reason. The film may survive on charm alone, but there's a lot of it. With nice tone, good animation, fitting voice acting and enjoyable characters, it's a movie I didn't think could work, and yet turned out really well. Does anyone else find it weird that an 11 year old is moving out on her own though? That can't be just me, can it? Random Award of the Day: Child Labor Simulator Disney Sidekick(TM) Award: Pretty much everything in the entire film Writing: 6.5/10 Animation: 8/10 Voice acting: 7/10 Adaption: 10/10 Overall: 8/10

It's not easy to adapt such a strange concept into a movie. But whoever did it, they managed to keep (at least) the spirit of the game. Watching this movie makes you feel soothed and give you a smile you keep all along. It's not really a great movie though. The story is kinda predictable, even boring considering the very slow pace of the movie. But, maybe by some spell cast on you, you end up appreciating this little moment in this little village with these little and cute characters. Especially when the ost comes from the game.. And that's why we love Animal Crossing.

This anime adaptation is focused on the second entry in the game franchise Wild World for the Nintendo DS, and as such is filled with music, and art that is derived from that game. On that note, this movie is an incredibly charming and enjoyable ride. The plot focuses on a new arrival to the town, Ai, as she learns new things, makes new friends, and goes on a wacky adventure near the end. The anime, if you didn't know, is an adaptation of the (to my knowledge,) Japanese exclusive Animal Crossing Wild World manga, and as such adapts the first three issues, (to my knowledge.) Overall, this is a perfect example of what a videogame adaptation should be; accurate, enjoyable, and incredibly charming! And with that, this film gets an absolute 10!

Doubutsu no Mori really is just the embodiment of Animal Crossing, but as a film. As someone who's been playing Animal Crossing since they were a kid, this film just made me incredibly happy and all the small little details were so satisfactory. This is one of those films that makes you appreciate the finer things in life. With the story, there was about 3-4 different arcs in this one film and they're all pretty short. Usually, I would hate this is in an anime film. Something like this is a bold move and most of the time does not work out, but to me this just makes it feel more like Animal Crossing. Considering this is an Animal Crossing film, I feel as though this was a good choice due to the fact that when I do play animal crossing this is exactly what it's like. Doing small little things every day, running around my village and just having a grand old time. That's what was happening in this film, it was showing you the day to day life of villagers in the game. It was heartwarming, and in the end it all tied together. Like I said, usually doing something like this in a film is a risky move, but I think it paid off. Now, my two favourite things in this film- the art and the sound. Both of these aspects I feel not only made the film more enjoyable, but made it more homely and nostalgic. The art was exactly what you'd expect from an Animal Crossing film, it's nice and pleasing to the eye- but what's even better is the background art. The background art in this film was amazing, it really brought all the scenes to life and made them look like a scene you'd see on someone's background or as their header. And then the sound, the sound was just amazing. The Animal Crossing soundtrack is one of my favourites ever, and the way it was used in this film was great. Not to mention all the atmospheric sound effects made the film feel so much more cozy and again, added to the nice animal crossing feel of it. When it comes to the characters in this film, they were all true to the games I feel. And to top it off, all the characters are unique and loveable. They all have their moments, and they're all memorable. The characters work well together, and we get to see their friendships slowly develop up until the end. Overall, I really enjoyed this film. It was definitely worth the watch and I might come back and watch it again someday, maybe show it to my friends as I'm sure they'd enjoy it. 8/10.

I was pleasantly surprised by this movie. Going into it, I heard that it was quite wacky and weird but that it had a good story. I'd argue I had the opposite experience. The movie seemed to tease at a plot a couple times, but never actually deliver a plot. It gave a couple questions and then seemingly abandoned them for another part altogether. The story didn't seem to have much of a drive, which, would probably be normal for an Animal Crossing movie, but I didn't quite feel satisfied by it. Perhaps I didn't pay attention enough but the whole 'cherry pie' thing also flew by me and I struggled to fully understand what that meant. This movie has a very distinct art style, I'm not a major fan of it, some of the backgrounds looked good but after playing multiple animal crossing games I felt like some parts of the art style looked too elongated or off slightly. I was surprised by how good the backgrounds in some parts were though, and I really enjoyed alot of the sunset shots. Sound-wise I didn't really notice anything too spectacular, the sounds were good and very much quite like the game itself but I wasn't overly blown away by them or anything. They did the job. The characters didn't have too much going on, Sally had quite a deep and complex storyline but I struggled to understand most of the other characters, there were hints at a deeper and more complex stories in them, but it wasn't developed further and it felt like a let down. As a gentle wander through the Animal Crossing series and a display of how features of the game would play out in the anime style, I think that this movie is very good. It doesn't have a compelling plot or a overly beautiful art style but it has charm in its own right. If you're looking for a happy night with your partner it's a good movie to choose, especially if you've both played 1 or 2 Animal Crossing games. I think that this movie should've been a mini-series though, as it seems like plot-wise, that's what it was actually planned to be.