Mizugumo Monmon

Mizugumo Monmon (or Monmon the Water Spider) is one of six short films shown exclusively in the theatre at the Ghibli Museum in Mitaka, a short train ride out of Tokyo. It is perhaps the best-suited for foreign visitors, being as it is completely free of dialogue.

It follows the titular Monmon, first seen carefully manoeuvring a precious air bubble back to his lair. On the way, he bumps into a (seemingly female) water strider, and is enraptured. When the object of his affection is endangered, Monmon is forced into action...

Hardly a totally original premise, then, if you ignore the fact that it's about an aquatic arachnid in love with an insect of another species, but it is exceedingly well executed. Monmon himself is a beautifully endearing protagonist, and the slapstick is superbly handled. A good comparison would be to the first half of Pixar's recent Wall-E, not only in terms of comedic style but right down to the nature of the leads: a timid, eccentric heart-of-gold weakling infatuated with a strong, feminine beauty.

The animation, as always, is top-notch, with a genuinely thrilling action sequence to boot. While not quite up to the standard of the other short this reviewer has had the pleasure of viewing at the museum (Hoshi o Katta Hi, or The Day I Harvested a Star, absolutely superb) it is nevertheless a privilege to have experienced.

Those planning to visit the museum should be aware that tickets are best booked at least a month in advance, more if you wish to go on a weekend or public holiday. It may not be possible to determine which film will be showing on the particular day one visits, either....

I've travelled half the world before to Ghibli, and when we were planning on going to Japan again this year (2009) I was so excited to go back to Mitaka and see Ghibli's next exclusive for the museum only short, I made sure we added the out of the way leg from Yokohama to see it.

I am a strong man, and only 35, but near the end of the superb emotionally provocative piece the magic of Ghibli overcame me and I found myself both grinning and tearing up.

My wife smiled at me, she knew how much it meant to me to come. Later I brushed away my tears, and admitted to her that to me it was such a special thing, coming all this way to see something very few people would get a chance to see... (It's quite a mission to get to the museum and you need to book a month before you leave your own country with the actual date set in stone...) And of course, it was classic Hayao Miyazaki too... It's so hard to explain that sensation.

Make the effort if you love the director or potentially miss out forever on the experience.