Momo e no tegami (2011)

Clinging to an unfinished letter written by her recently deceased father, young Momo moves with her mother from bustling Tokyo to the remote Japanese island of Shio. Upon their arrival, she... See full summary »

Director:

Hiroyuki Okiura

Writer:

Hiroyuki Okiura (screenplay)

Stars:

Karen Miyama, Yuka, Daizaburo Arakawa

1 win & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview:
Karen Miyama	...	Momo Miyaura (voice)
Yuka	...	Ikuko Miyaura (voice)
Daizaburo Arakawa	...	Kazuo Miyaura (voice)
Toshiyuki Nishida	...	Iwa (voice)
Kôichi Yamadera	...	Kawa (voice)
Cho	...	Mame (voice)
Yoshisada Sakaguchi	...	Great Grandfather (voice)
Ikuko Tani	...	Great Grandmother (voice)
Takeo Ogawa	...	Koichi (voice)
Kota Fuji	...	Yota (voice)
Katsuki Hashimoto	...	Umi (voice)

Storyline

Clinging to an unfinished letter written by her recently deceased father, young Momo moves with her mother from bustling Tokyo to the remote Japanese island of Shio. Upon their arrival, she begins to explore her new habitat, meeting local children and learning their routines and customs. However, it's not long before several bizarre occurrences crop up around the previously tranquil island. Orchards are found ransacked, prized trinkets start disappearing and, worst of all, each morning after her mother leaves for work, Momo hears strange mumblings coming from the attic of their home. Annoyed by these creepy goings-on and her mother's refusal to believe them, Momo embarks on a strange and supernatural adventure to discover the source of the mischief, which leads her to a trio of troublesome imps: the flatulent lizard Kawa, the childlike Mame and their hulking ogre leader Iwa. Momo also learns that her visit to the island is in some way connected to her father's mysterious letter.

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Plot Keywords:

death | anime | family relationships | mother daughter relationship | father daughter relationship | 

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Genres:

Animation | Drama

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Details

Official Sites:

Official site [jp]

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

21 April 2012 (Japan)

Also Known As:

A Letter to Momo

Company Credits

Production Co:

Kadokawa Pictures, Kadokawa Shoten Publishing Co., Production I.G.

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

User Reviews

Delightful slice of life anime

After the death of her father 11-year-old Momo and her mother move to a remote island to live with her grandparents. Her mom isn't much at home because she has to commute to work every day and the two generally are quite estranged since the father's passing. Furthermore Momo has a hard time making friends in the new environment until one day she hears strange noises in the attic which turn out to come from three peculiar creatures that only the girl can see. They seem pretty mischievous but are they looking to hurt or to help the girl?

'A Letter to Momo' is a delightful anime that admittedly is quite a bit like the great 'My Neighbor Totoro', but it feels nothing like an uninspired rehash, in fact I liked this one even a bit better. As far as "substance" goes this is pretty slight but the story here is secondary to the gorgeous animation that feels very alive, every moment is lovingly animated with brilliant attention to detail to movement and the smallest of gestures. It has a captivating, consistent summertime atmosphere to which the rich sound work contributes almost as much as the animation.

This very much starts out as a slice of life drama until the monsters come into play at which point the film becomes really funny. But even though the antics of the creatures are hilarious and those guys are pretty crazy the character of the girl is well-fleshed out and she remains wonderfully real. The third act is mostly a very dramatic tearjerker. If this sounds like the film is all over the place or the tone is inconsistent, it is not. All the elements work together smoothly and it's a well-rounded experience. It is excellently paced but it does take its time and at two hours it might run a bit long. If you are a fan of slice of life anime with supernatural/magical elements this definitely comes highly recommended. Also suitable for your small ones.