A Letter to Momo

Young Momo Miyaura (voice of Karen Miyama) and her mother Ikuko (voice of Yuka) leave Tokyo and move to a remote Japanese island following the accidental death of Momo's father. Aside from feeling outcast and out of place, Momo also feels guilty because her last conversation with her father was an angry outburst; he started to write a letter to her, but after, "Dear Momo," no other words were written on the page. Once in the small fishing village, the children of the town, especially Koichi (voice of Takeo Ogawa) and his little sister, try to include Momo in their activities, but she isn't ready to deal with other people yet. Her mother is off on training courses or in the orchards all day, leaving Momo feeling even more alone. But then she starts to hear three voices in the house when she's apparently alone; these turn out to be three former gods turned goblins, including the Ogre with a huge rectangular mouth Iwa (voice of Toshiyuki Nishida), the frog-like and flatulent Kawa (voice of Koichi Tamadera) and tiny, childlike Mame (voice of Cho). Unlike most humans, Momo can see and interact with these beings, and although they get off to a rocky start, soon enough they find that they need and care for each other, in more ways than one. How the goblins help Momo resolve her feelings about her father's death, her mother's distance and her complete change of environment is all part of the charming and gentle "A Letter to Momo." This lovely film was written and directed by Hiroyuki Okiura, who devoted seven years to crafting this film, using the skills of artists to create an almost entirely hand-drawn, 2-hour animated film. The scenic landscapes are, as usual in Japanese animation, beautifully rendered, and the characters are all lovingly drawn with great attention to detail. I'm not very familiar with Japanese mythology, but the three goblins, in particular the rectangular-mouthed Iwa, looked familiar to me, suggesting that they might have more resonance with a Japanese audience than a North American one. Regardless of the depth of knowledge of the audience member, almost everyone is sure to be entertained, and touched at times, by this lovely fable.

A Letter to Momo is a sweet coming of age story where a child becomes introverted and frozen by grief over the death of her father. She is visited by 3 spirits to overcome this pain, become social again, and move on in her life.

This feels like a long lost Studio Ghibli film, as it has a similar to vibe to their chill films like Whisper of the Heart, Only Yesterday, Totoro, etc. The animation is also a similar style to Ghibli in that it has great detail on the facial expressions of the characters and the backgrounds. The story is like a fairy tale that kids could enjoy and get attached to, even if the subject matter can be emotional at times.

You do care for the main character as everyone around her attempts to help her recover. She is also adjusting socially to a new environment that all audiences can connect to.

I'm only docking points because it is still a standard story that has been told many times both in anime and live action. Also, if you are not into films geared towards general audiences and only like mature shows, you can skip this one as well.

I'm glad I checked it out, and its merits a watch if you are a fan of these types of Ghibli-esque dramas.

Anyone who has watched any anime features knows that they are able to serve a very different function from live action films. What films like Spirited Away, Wolf Children or Colorful are able to do that traditional live-action can't do quite as well, is find a way of integrating folklore and fantasy elements into the lives of its young protagonists in a way that helps them describe their distinct view of the world and the problems they face growing up in it.

In A Letter To Momo, a young girl Momo and her mother have sold up their apartment in Tokyo and gone to live near some relatives on Shio Island. Momo's father has just died in a boating accident, and an unfinished letter that opens only with 'Dear Momo...' doesn't bring about the kind of closure the young girl needs. Three drops of rain from the sky however accompany Momo to the island, where they take the form of ghostly goblins from an old picture-book.

Even though the creatures can only be seen by Momo, the trick with anime films of this kind is that the viewer needs to be drawn into Momo's view of the world, not seeing the line between fantasy and reality, letting the message that lies behind it weave a magic spell without being overstated. That of course if the cinematic art of illusion and A Letter To Momo does this particularly well, creating good interaction between the characters, exploring the opportunities for visual effects, and building it all up to towards an epic conclusion that gets message across sensitively, without preaching or speaking down to a younger audience.

After the death of her father 11-year-old Momo and her mother move to a remote island to live with her grandparents. Her mom isn't much at home because she has to commute to work every day and the two generally are quite estranged since the father's passing. Furthermore Momo has a hard time making friends in the new environment until one day she hears strange noises in the attic which turn out to come from three peculiar creatures that only the girl can see. They seem pretty mischievous but are they looking to hurt or to help the girl?

'A Letter to Momo' is a delightful anime that admittedly is quite a bit like the great 'My Neighbor Totoro', but it feels nothing like an uninspired rehash, in fact I liked this one even a bit better. As far as "substance" goes this is pretty slight but the story here is secondary to the gorgeous animation that feels very alive, every moment is lovingly animated with brilliant attention to detail to movement and the smallest of gestures. It has a captivating, consistent summertime atmosphere to which the rich sound work contributes almost as much as the animation.

This very much starts out as a slice of life drama until the monsters come into play at which point the film becomes really funny. But even though the antics of the creatures are hilarious and those guys are pretty crazy the character of the girl is well-fleshed out and she remains wonderfully real. The third act is mostly a very dramatic tearjerker. If this sounds like the film is all over the place or the tone is inconsistent, it is not. All the elements work together smoothly and it's a well-rounded experience. It is excellently paced but it does take its time and at two hours it might run a bit long. If you are a fan of slice of life anime with supernatural/magical elements this definitely comes highly recommended. Also suitable for your small ones.

When this film begins, it looks like another high quality film from Studio Ghibli (Miyazaki's studio) but it isn't, it's from Bandai-- the folks who make many anime series television programs. I didn't realize that they also did full-length films--but after seeing the quality of this movie, I sure would like to see more from these folks.

The film is about a girl named Momo (Japanese for 'Peach'). She and her mother move out to the country from Tokyo after Momo's father's death. Momo hates living there and wants to be back in Tokyo. She also has trouble getting to know the local kids, as she is rather shy. However, over time, three unexpected friends help her out during this time of need--three goblins who are scary looking but who are really quite nice. The problem is that she alone sees them- -and at first she's scared half to death and you cannot blame her! Eventually, however, the four make peace and the rest of the plot is just something you'll need to see for yourself.

So is it any good? Well, as I mentioned above the quality of the production is very nice--really nice animation, lovely music and some cute characters. The story is also lovely--a bit less strange than some of the Miyazaki films (such as "Spirited Away") and it has a very strong Shinto message involving the dead father trying to contact his daughter from the great beyond. Some religious folks might object to this message, but it is very sweet and very Japanese--so what do you expect from a cartoon from Japan?! Well worth seeing...and one that actually might be good to see with a box of Kleenex nearby.

By the way, the DVD I watched was the American version. Often, things are changed or mistranslated in the process and I assume there are some difference between the original and this version. I don't think they would have called these creatures goblins in Japan- -perhaps spirits or demons. Regardless, I just want you to know that my review is based on the Americanized version. Usually, I prefer to see subtitled and original products, not ones redone for local consumption but I oddly had problems getting the DVD to play the Japanese version (which was on the same disc but just wouldn't work on my DVD player).