Chirin no suzu

This movie is simply amazing! I can't even begin to describe the many emotions you feel while watching it.

Every time I watch this I never feel like I am watching an animated movie. This film is so powerful and gripping! The movie is about a young lamb who's mother is killed by a wolf. Chirin is devastated and goes out seeking the wolf; hell bent on getting revenge.

This film is dark and may not be for everyone. I must say that this is one of my favorite films and it is very touching while being sad at the same time.

Supposedly this film was made based to be a cautionary tale about Japanese children being sent off to war and never coming back. Thus the mother sheep telling Chirin never to leave beyond the farm gate. Leaving the farm only meant death.

*** SPOILERS*** ***SPOILERS***

I own this wonderful movie, one film of many that I am proud of. Basically, the plot of the film short is based on a baby lamb named Chirin, a playful and curious lamb who goes just beyond the safe boundaries of the paddock fence he lives in one day and is scolded by his mother. He also wears a bell around his neck to keep him out of danger. (Think "Bambi") Well, one night the wolf that Chirin's mother kept warning him about that lives on the mountain outside the fence comes to their farm and invades the barn in which they live. (There are many sheep, not just Chirin and his mother) The wolf comes to the farm occasionally for a feast of lamb, and when he's about to pounce on and devour Chirin, his mother jumps over him to protect him. She dies. Then, Chirin, fueled by rage of his mother's death, leaves the farm in search of the wolf. He pursues the wolf, determined to be stronger in order to strike down the wolf that had killed his mother. (Yes, the very wolf Chirin wants to have train him, he also wants to kill.) Well, years pass, Chirin grows up to be a merciless killer with the wolf at his side. As partners, they ravage the land and kill all that stand in their way. As a last lesson the wolf teaches Chirin, he takes him back to the very place he had left years before to go join the wolf. He begins as if he is fearless of the thought of killing his own kind but, sees a lamb and he remembers his childhood and refuses to do it. The wolf heads in toward the barn to do it for him but, Chirin won't let him kill his past life. He charges the wolf one last time, and runs him through with his dagger-like horns. Then, even after slaying the wolf the sheep are too afraid of him to let him live with them. They lock him out and finally he realizes that without the wolf now, he is completely alone. He leaves, and later the sheep claim to hear the bell Chirin wore as a child to protect him from danger, ringing quietly in a raging blizzard. The End. It's a bit depressing but, most children would probably be too young to understand the deeper concepts the movie displays. All in all, the movie is really very good, enjoy!

This is a classic cartoon that anyone should avoid 'judging a book by its cover'. It looks exactly like any other cheesy Disney cartoons...but it is TOTALLY the opposite.

This 40-minute clip is one huge character development influenced by the choices in life made by a sheer little lamb, and the consequences that followed. There are other anime with equally dark/depressing themes, but this is probably one of the first few that I noticed that made it very obvious & convincing part in the latter. The unfairytale-like ending -- definitely something you won't expect from a cartoon like this -- is one such powerful testimony. Aside from the first 8 minute, the rest of the movie is very dark but true to anything anyone has to face in reality. If i have kids, I will definitely include this cartoon at the top of the 'cartoons for kids' list. Cartoons should not be meant to give kids false impression of life but instead prepare them for the real moral lessons. This anime absolutely nailed it.

I first watched this movie as a young child and several more times over the last 40 years. Every time, the message/lesson changes.

When you're a young child, the message is to listen to your mother, stay close and be safe.

When you're a teen, it's a cautionary tale of letting your emotions control you and how revenge doesn't solve anything.

As an adult, it's more about the harsh reality of the world, an acknowledgement that nature can be cruel, unfair, and random. "Someone has to die so someone else can live," sums it up well. Life relies on death.

Overall, it is a fantastic film that is great for all ages.

Well.. I Gotta Say.. It Was Kinda Dark To Be Honest.. But The Thing Is, I Watched The Film On YouTube.. I Only Knew Two Sentences On A Book With The Same Name Of The Film..

"With Chirin's Bell, One Can Remember Those Gentle Eyelashes And Smile.."

"With Chirin's Bell, One Can Remember The Loneliness And Sadness In The World.."

Like.. Why Did The Wolf Kill Chirin's Mother In The First Place? And How Did He Find Where The Sheep Are?

Well.. The Film Had A Sad Ending To Be Honest.. I Cried My Eyes Out At The Film And The Ending...

Well... It Was Time To Say Goodbye To The Little Lamb Anyway...