Gekijô-ban Dôbutsu no Mori

I knew when i discovered this japan-only release movie for one of my favorite games, that the cards were stacked against it. it was based on an open world sandbox-like game that really didn't have a story worth making a movie about, and that really shows. for the first three quarters of the film, there is no clear plot or conflict. its just aimless and blind events and cameo plugs that add no value and just serve to irritate because of the extent of their uselessness to the story. but when the plot does get going, it has nothing to show for it, and it was not very rewarding anyway. also, it has a bunch of sub-plots that go nowhere or actually conclude then proceed to tell you nothing insightful or entertaining about anything, such as the Tortimer sub plot.

On that note, the characters are even more flat and boring than i might have expected, with really no one changing throughout the experiences of the story that seemed convincing. and don't give me that "it's for kids" crap, kid films can and should have great plots and characters. this film has neither.

One of the main problems, that I found quite novel and surprising, is that it follows the games TOO closely. its almost exclusively the game mechanics just put into animated film. its quite off putting at times.

But that being said, the movie is not terrible, its just not good. there are some very funny scenes, you'll know them when you see them, and overall i enjoyed watching it, simply because of how ridiculous it was and how forced and contrived it was. but, if you don't like movies for this quality, or you know nothing of the animal crossing series of games,I would not recommend this film to you.

This is an awful movie by every metric, but I am obliged to rate it at ten stars for the sake of consistency. Consistency is the critic's greatest strength after all.

Compared to Earwig, Animal Crossing: The Movie has a better understanding of children, at least a rudimentary understanding of basic filmmaking techniques, a plot with more integrity and completeness, relatively more humor, more established stakes and goals, sports a better script, understands the appropriate use and strengths of 3D CG in animation as well as a somehow more believable world which is built from animal-people and a super deformed kid.

Of course, the film still has some solid innovations that bring it to comparable levels to Earwig, like having many "flashback" sequences with scenes that have never happened in the movie. At the end of the day though, if you have enough free time to watch Earwig and the Witch, do yourself a favor and watch Animal Crossing the Movie instead.

Honestly I remember watching this on YouTube, back in the days when copyright issues were not a big deal then! I was thoroughly excited that a Ninetendo DS game that I have played for so long, transformed into an anime movie that is so well hidden in which I am disappointed that it didn't get fully recognised.

I thought this video game inspired movie was so colourful, had great music, good storyline and best of all, it had a good main character. It's gonna be interesting to see what the 2020 movie will bring. It's a shame this anime was hidden in the corner and completely forgotten.

Honestly to the folks who have grown up with the Animal Crossing series, definitely give this anime a shot like it felt nostalgic to my eyes!!!!

Whoa! Cool! When COVID-19 has concluded, Mom, Dad, & I are going to get that DVD as a souvenir! I translated it into English! I felt like that movie was released in North America! Good! Awesome! Also I think that Aí learned some Reactions! How mysterious!

Not a good story... very empty to be a "movie" seems for more like a special episode of a show or a season finale not a movie... Also characters are boring as heck! And are even weird looking at some points. The only thing that's good is the animation.