A Letter to Momo (2012)
Directed by Hiroyuki Okiura
A shy 11-year-old's life takes a strange turn when she discovers three hungry goblins living in the attic of her new house. She misses her old life. She misses her father so very much. Until she makes some new ghoulish friends.
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3 films that influenced A Letter to Momo
What critics say influenced A Letter to Momo
The story, of a girl coming to terms with the recent death of her father with the help of three goblins from the spirit world, owes more than a little to the far superior classic “ My Neighbor Totoro .”
This Japanese animation (2011) inspires comparisons to Hayao Miyazaki's My Neighbor Totoro at almost every turn, though rarely to its own benefit.
It's a vague mix of elements from My Neighbor Totoro and Spirited Away , with a sweet, lost girl and a few scary, but helpful monsters.
Through its small-town setting and sense of supernatural whimsy, A Letter to Momo confidently invites comparison with its Studio Ghibli forebearers as it sends Momo on fantastical adventures reminiscent of My Neighbor Totoro.
Borrowing a number of the elements that make anime classic “My Neighbor Totoro” one of Japan’s most beloved toons, the film opens with a family’s move from Tokyo to the island of Shio.
Hiroyuki Okiura's beautiful hand-drawn anime A Letter to Momo puts a slightly more mature spin on the themes of Hayao Miyazaki's beloved My Neighbor Totoro, both being tales of young girls relocated to the country during parental traumas, and who discover supernatural forces that help them come to terms with their grief.
Though his previous work as a director was 1999's very different "Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade," Okiura and the key members of his creative team have connections to many classic anime, including "Ghost in the Shell," "Spirited Away" and "Paprika."
It's a vague mix of elements from My Neighbor Totoro and Spirited Away , with a sweet, lost girl and a few scary, but helpful monsters.
But Letter’s animators, whose credits include Spirited Away (another influence) and Paprika, demonstrate their skill at seamlessly integrating such fantastical elements into the mundane world.
The story recalls “Spirited Away” in its tale of a young girl in a new home who discovers an enchanted world that parents can’t share, but it founders when it tries to evoke Miyazaki’s otherworldly wonder and surreal imagery.
It’s not as fantastical as “ Spirited Away ” or many other films about children who encounter the supernatural upon being forced to deal with death, as Momo always stays front and center.
Even so, the animation medium is essential to its unique surreal touches — especially the stunning climactic sequence, which rivals even “Spirited Away” as Momo’s mother falls ill and the spirits must intervene to help save her life.
Though his previous work as a director was 1999's very different "Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade," Okiura and the key members of his creative team have connections to many classic anime, including "Ghost in the Shell," "Spirited Away" and "Paprika."
Chalk the quality up to experience – Okiura has been in the animation game since the late 80s, and has varying credits on films ranging from Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade (which he directed), to Paprika (on which he was a key animator), to both Ghost in the Shell films (where he served as animation supervisor).
He also worked as an animator or in other capacities on Akira , Ghost in the Shell, Cowboy Bebop: The Movie , Metropolis , Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence , Paprika , and others.
But it’s produced by renowned studio Production I.G., known for the influential sci-fi anime Ghost in the Shell.
A girl mourning the death of her father is visited by three mischievous spirits only she can see in “A Letter to Momo.” Marking a dramatic departure from his bloody 1999 debut, “Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade,” director Hiroyuki Okiura brings a dash of magic to this modern-day story, crafting precisely the sort of imaginative family-friendly toon auds expect from Studio Ghibli — only this one hails from Production I.G , the outfit responsible for the more adult-skewing “Ghost in the Shell” series.
One of the leading anime production companies currently operating in Japan, Production I.G., is best known for its work across various highbrow sci-fi and violent horror series such as Ghost in the Shell and Blood the Last Vampire.