A 2-D Japanese animation movie that tells the story of Chirin, a baby ram who wears a ringing bell and wants to become a wolf.
The first part of the movie is very bucolic, with Chirin is in the farm with his mother and all the sheep eating, playing and frolicking around. Chirin is the cutest thing ever. The second part of the film, in which Chirin trains to be like a wolf, is much darker in colors, sharper in lines, and darker in mood, but it is also more interesting.
The story has all the elements of traditional storytelling, in which Nature, family, social relationships, life and death are explored naturally and organically, and in which the children are expected to learn about them from an early age.
In fact, the movie is a terrific way to teach children that Nature and the natural order is what it is, despite its harshness, we like it or not, that Nature has its own logic, that you cannot change your nature without becoming lost and isolated -an outcast. It also shows that all natural creatures have a right to live, and that you cannot consider one good and the other bad, as even the bad ones have their reasons to behave the way they do. Finally, the movie shows that resentment can harm and ruin your life.
To modern standards and moronic treatment of children, this could be considered an adult movie. The thing is, no child is going to like the end and is going to cry through, but with the parents by his/her side, he/she will learn an important lesson in life.
The animation is simple but very cute, with an adorable drawing of Chirin and of all animals, except for the wolf and other fierce animals, which are, of course, ugly and frightening. What is more, the animation reminded me of Disney, old-Disney, especially of Bambi, to which Ringing Bell relates both in the drawing style and in the message conveyed.
The movie just lasts 47 minutes.
