Hottarake no shima - Haruka to maho no kagami (2009)

Having lost her mother, Haruka is now a 16 year old girl and feels neglected by her father. She escapes to her grandmother's house and discovers a fox-like creature who steals her keys. She... See full summary »

Director:

Shinsuke Sato

Writers:

Otsuichi (screenplay), Shinsuke Sato (screenplay),

Stars:

Christine Marie Cabanos, Cassandra Morris, Patrick Seitz

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Christine Marie Cabanos	...	Haruka (voice)
Cassandra Morris	...	Teo (voice) (as Cassandra Lee)
Patrick Seitz	...	Baron (voice)
Julie Maddalena	...	Cotton (voice)
Julie Ann Taylor	...	Haruka's Mother (voice)
David Roach	...	Haruka's Father (voice)
Mio Tanaka	...	Miho (voice)
Paul St. Peter	...	Elder Soldier Brother (voice) (as George C. Cole)
Derek Stephen Prince	...	Younger Soldier Brother (voice) (as Derek Stephan Prince)
Tara Platt	...	Vikki (voice)
Kyle Hebert	...	Decargot (voice)
Mark McCollum	...	Picanta (voice) (as Mark V. McCollum)
Xanthe Huynh	...	Researcher (voice)
Amanda Céline Miller	...	Puppeteer's Wife (voice) (as Amanda C. Miller)
Victor Sgroi	...	Passenger (voice)

Storyline

Having lost her mother, Haruka is now a 16 year old girl and feels neglected by her father. She escapes to her grandmother's house and discovers a fox-like creature who steals her keys. She follows him and is transported into a magical world.

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Plot Keywords:

magical world | girl | hostage | island | storybook | 

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Genres:

Animation | Action | Adventure | Family | Fantasy

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Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

22 August 2009 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Oblivion Island

Company Credits

Production Co:

Dentsu, Fuji Television Network, Production I.G.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

User Reviews

I am impressed... very impressed.

When I pressed play, I was not sure what to expect. I knew a girl loses her mirror and goes to a "magical world" to get it back. I was wondering, what would the moral be: "treat things with respect"? "Don't forget your stuff?" Anyway, my hopes were not that high and I expected something overly predictable. And what did I get? Well, it wasn't a total opposite of what I thought it would be, but it wasn't a cliché storm either. I liked where the movie went and how it ended. It was a truly magical adventure that made me happy, once I took it. I do not want to spoil anything, so, find it and watch it. There is a fansub (a very good one) floating around the Interwebs, plus there is also a DVD release by Funimation planned for 2012.

Now, to the technical details:

Look: 9/10. The character 3D models aren't the best in the industry, but they are alive with emotion and move nicely. The backgrounds steal the show however, since they are either hand-painted or made to look like it. And the colors in everything are AWESOME.

Length: 10/10. An hour and a half, perfect for this film.

Story: 8/10 or 10/10. It is not too complex, but little details here and there make it perfect. Perfect for me, at least. For this kind of movie, I cannot imagine another story. But some viewers might find it too simple for their sofistik8ted tastes, hence the possible rating of 8/10.

Voice acting: 10/10. I only watched the fansub, but I thought the lines were delivered with the right emotion for every scene.

Music: 10/10. Hear it to believe it. I, for one, am going to hunt the down the soundtrack CD.

Closing remarks - SEE IT.