Release CalendarTop 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV News
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb SpotlightFamily Entertainment GuideIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsCannes Film FestivalStar WarsAsian Pacific American Heritage MonthSummer Watch GuideSTARmeter AwardsAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • Language
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Watchlist
Sign In
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Use app
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • FAQ
IMDbPro

Tokyo Godfathers

Original title: Tôkyô goddofâzâzu
  • 2003
  • PG-13
  • 1h 32m
IMDb RATING
7.8/10
51K
YOUR RATING
Tokyo Godfathers (2003)
Watch Trailer [English SUB]
Play trailer0:58
5 Videos
99+ Photos
Adult AnimationAnimeAdventureAnimationComedyDrama

On Christmas Eve, three homeless people living on the streets of Tokyo discover a newborn baby among the trash and set out to find its parents.On Christmas Eve, three homeless people living on the streets of Tokyo discover a newborn baby among the trash and set out to find its parents.On Christmas Eve, three homeless people living on the streets of Tokyo discover a newborn baby among the trash and set out to find its parents.

  • Directors
    • Shôgo Furuya
    • Satoshi Kon
  • Writers
    • Satoshi Kon
    • Keiko Nobumoto
  • Stars
    • Tôru Emori
    • Yoshiaki Umegaki
    • Aya Okamoto
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    7.8/10
    51K
    YOUR RATING
    • Directors
      • Shôgo Furuya
      • Satoshi Kon
    • Writers
      • Satoshi Kon
      • Keiko Nobumoto
    • Stars
      • Tôru Emori
      • Yoshiaki Umegaki
      • Aya Okamoto
    • 102User reviews
    • 110Critic reviews
    • 75Metascore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 8 wins & 1 nomination total

    Videos5

    Trailer [English SUB]
    Trailer 0:58
    Trailer [English SUB]
    Tokyo Godfathers
    Trailer 1:14
    Tokyo Godfathers
    Tokyo Godfathers
    Trailer 1:14
    Tokyo Godfathers
    Tokyo Godfathers
    Trailer 1:37
    Tokyo Godfathers
    Tokyo Godfathers
    Trailer 1:37
    Tokyo Godfathers
    6 Holiday Hits From Across the Globe
    Clip 2:01
    6 Holiday Hits From Across the Globe

    Photos141

    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    + 134
    View Poster

    Top cast60

    Edit
    Tôru Emori
    • Gin
    • (voice)
    Yoshiaki Umegaki
    • Hana
    • (voice)
    Aya Okamoto
    • Miyuki
    • (voice)
    Shôzô Îzuka
    • Ôta
    • (voice)
    Seizô Katô
    • Kâ-san
    • (voice)
    Hiroya Ishimaru
    Hiroya Ishimaru
    • Yasuo
    • (voice)
    Ryûji Saikachi
    • Rô-jin
    • (voice)
    Yûsaku Yara
    Yûsaku Yara
    • Miyuki no chichi
    • (voice)
    Kyôko Terase
    • Sachiko
    • (voice)
    Mamiko Noto
    • Gin no musume
    • (voice)
    Akio Ôtsuka
    Akio Ôtsuka
    • Isha
    • (voice)
    Rikiya Koyama
    Rikiya Koyama
    • Shinrô
    • (voice)
    Satomi Kôrogi
    Satomi Kôrogi
    • Kiyoko (Ôta's daughter)
    • (voice)
    Hidenari Ugaki
      Mitsuru Ogata
        Eriko Kawasaki
          Chiyako Shibahara
            Akiko Takeguchi
              • Directors
                • Shôgo Furuya
                • Satoshi Kon
              • Writers
                • Satoshi Kon
                • Keiko Nobumoto
              • All cast & crew
              • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

              User reviews102

              7.851K
              1
              2
              3
              4
              5
              6
              7
              8
              9
              10

              Featured reviews

              9Lord-Akiyama

              A delightfully funny holiday feature

              I honestly did not know what to expecting going into a viewing Tokyo Godfathers at the 2003 San Diego Asian Film Festival. It is the third film from Satoshi Kon, whose Perfect Blue was a creepy film that I liked and I am still awaiting to view Millennium Actress. Right from the start, Tokyo Godfathers was among the funniest animated features I had ever seen.

              The film quickly draw comparisons to Three Men and a Baby as well as the idea of the three wise men. Three homeless folk with different, and perhaps strange, personalities find an abandoned baby on Christmas and make it their mission to find its parents. And right from the start, the three end up on these crazy adventures that is nothing short of funny.

              Kon and fellow screen writer Keiko Nobumoto create a very witty film that at least provides endless laughter, even in moments that would normally be intense. At the same time, the provide a touching story of three people with nothing but the clothing on their bodies going out of their way to find the child's home.

              If you get the chance, Tokyo Godfathers makes for the perfect holiday feature for everyone to watch. It is highly recommended and I hope the Academy takes serious consideration when viewing this film as it is among the eleven eligible for being nominated for next year's Best Animated Feature category.
              noisy_mouse

              A different kind of Christmas story

              At first glance, I wasn't sure if I would like this movie. The "miracles DO happen on Christmas" cliché is very boring and I typically don't enjoy movies that employ it, but this is a very different kind of Christmas movie.

              We are given three homeless characters with complex personalities and backgrounds, who are as endearing as they are repellent. They take up the task of caring for a baby they found in the trash, and trying to bring it back to its mother. We learn the secrets that made these people homeless, we learn about the workings of human shame and desperation, and we learn that "miracles DO happen on Christmas." But in the least cheesy way possible!

              The plot is very slow-moving, but still, it is interesting and very carefully laid out. This would be a very compelling live-action movie, but the use of animation adds so much visual interest, particularly the expressive (and sometimes hideous!!) face of Hana, the gangly transvestite. The choice of music is unique and very fitting: the song played during a walking-around-the-city montage is reminiscent of Clockwork Orange.

              Interesting and careful story, complex and realistic story, tremendous visual appeal and excellent music. I guess this movie pretty much has it all!
              10jwolff-1

              A visually stunning third film, worthy of the director

              No spoilers - you just have to see it. Satoshi Kon continues his directorial success with Tokyo Godfathers. Like Perfect Blue and Millennium actress, TG wows the watcher immediately with the attention to detail. The scenes are exquisitely painted - when it is snowing you can almost smell it and feel the stillness. And the characters expressions convey emotions expertly by subtlety or caricature as occasion demands. Leave behind your Hollywood ideas of what a movie or worse, a cartoon should be. And then go see his previous two films as well. Satoshi Kon's films are true works of art.
              culturedogs

              Thwarted families, homelessness in Tokyo and strange twists of fate...

              Director Satoshi Kon has concocted a little wonder of an animated film, a character based ensemble action comedy about thwarted families, homelessness in Tokyo and strange twists of fate. A loose knit trio of homeless companions (an alcoholic ex-bike rider, a teenage fugitive runaway and a castoff drag queen) find a baby on top of a trash heap at Christmas, and find themselves caring for the child while hunting down her parents. Warm, funny and as action-packed as many an anime (with hilarious action set pieces), this one's a charmer. Sure, it's always possible to do these kind of things in live action (more or less) but thank God we have a filmmaker of Kon's vision applying his ample animation skills to stories like this. It ain't all cardfighters, bounty hunters and grim vampire killers. Sometimes, it's people, too. (not that there are anything wrong with cardfighters, bounty hunters and grim vampire killers... well, o.k., maybe cardfighters)
              9itamarscomix

              Sensitive and beautiful

              Having suffered through the painfully pretentious and shallow, pseudo-Lynchian mess of Perfect Blue, I was understandably skeptical about watching another film by Satoshi Kon (I have not yet seen Millennium Actress, but am now quite intrigued to do so). Tokyo Godfathers (a title which at first struck me as belonging most probably to a pseudo-psychological mafia thriller) was not only a pleasant surprise; it was the best anime feature I've seen in many years, probably since Ghost in the Shell, excluding anything by Hayao Miyazaki. Like the classic Grave of the Fireflies, Tokyo Godfathers struck me as unusual in the fact that it draws much from European cinema – English, Irish, German or Italian – while most commercial anime features try to mimic American film-making. But while Grave of the Fireflies was painfully sad and bleak, Tokyo Godfathers is irresistibly charming, and manages to be funny and incredibly touching at once like few anime films – few animated films, at that – ever achieve.

              Tokyo Godfathers is remarkably non-violent, as pacifistic perhaps as Miyazaki's films. You won't find any grand futuristic structures or fantastical creatures here; in fact, the animation may seem crude at first. But the characters are where the film really hits its mark. Kon triumphs, like in his excellent series Paranoia Agent, by not succumbing to the accepted prototypes and standards of how characters should look in an anime film; the lead characters in the film are all gorgeously ugly, in a way that even Miyazaki had not yet dared to do. Even the child character, Miyuki, is chubby, and not cute and beautiful in the way little girls 'should' be, by the unwritten laws of anime. Thus, Kon's characters are believable and true to life; they are three anti-heroes, outcasts from society, each running away from their pasts. Especially charming is Hana (AKA 'Uncle Bag'), the golden-hearted transvestite, who supplies much of the film's comic relief but also some of its most touching moments.

              Tokyo Godfathers – despite some far-fetched but amusing plot twists and coincidences – is at its core a very simple story, a beautiful little story about family, love and friendship. Few anime films are so unpretending; and thus, few anime films manage to be so strong. Watch Tokyo Godfathers; you'll laugh, you'll cry. And believe you me, ten minutes into it you'll forget it was ever animated.

              More like this

              Millennium Actress
              7.8
              Millennium Actress
              Paprika
              7.7
              Paprika
              Perfect Blue
              8.0
              Perfect Blue
              Paranoia Agent
              8.0
              Paranoia Agent
              Akira
              8.0
              Akira
              Ghost in the Shell
              7.9
              Ghost in the Shell
              Memories
              7.5
              Memories
              Summer Wars
              7.4
              Summer Wars
              The Boy and the Beast
              7.6
              The Boy and the Beast
              Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind
              8.0
              Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind
              Porco Rosso
              7.7
              Porco Rosso
              Look Back
              7.8
              Look Back

              Storyline

              Edit

              Did you know

              Edit
              • Trivia
                The number "12-25" (the date of Christmas) appears throughout the film: the number on the key ring, the cab fare (12,250 yen), a stopped alarm clock, the address in the newspaper ad, the cab license plate.
              • Quotes

                Hana: I am a mistake made by God. In my heart, I am a woman.

                Gin: Women can have children.

                Hana: What if a miracle like the Virgin Mary getting pregnant... was to happen to a homo?

                [to soup kitchen server]

                Hana: Better give me a little extra. I'm eating for two.

              • Crazy credits
                The opening credits appear on billboards, store signs, truck lettering, etc.
              • Alternate versions
                There was another English dub of the film aired on Animax in Southeast Asia, in which generic baby sounds were used for Kiyoko.
              • Connections
                Featured in Troldspejlet: Episode #31.16 (2004)
              • Soundtracks
                Climb Ev'ry Mountain
                Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II

                Music by Richard Rodgers

                ©1959 Williamson Music Co.

                Licensed by EMI Music Publishing Japan Ltd.

              Top picks

              Sign in to rate and Watchlist for personalized recommendations
              Sign in

              FAQ20

              • How long is Tokyo Godfathers?Powered by Alexa

              Details

              Edit
              • Release date
                • November 8, 2003 (Japan)
              • Country of origin
                • Japan
              • Official sites
                • Mad House Ltd. / Sony Pictures Online (Japan)
                • Sony (United States)
              • Languages
                • Japanese
                • Spanish
                • English
              • Also known as
                • Héroes al rescate
              • Production companies
                • Dentsu
                • Genco
                • Madhouse
              • See more company credits at IMDbPro

              Box office

              Edit
              • Gross US & Canada
                • $367,131
              • Opening weekend US & Canada
                • $29,259
                • Jan 18, 2004
              • Gross worldwide
                • $605,610
              See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

              Tech specs

              Edit
              • Runtime
                1 hour 32 minutes
              • Color
                • Color
              • Sound mix
                • Dolby Digital
              • Aspect ratio
                • 1.85 : 1

              Related news

              Contribute to this page

              Suggest an edit or add missing content
              Tokyo Godfathers (2003)
              Top Gap
              By what name was Tokyo Godfathers (2003) officially released in India in Hindi?
              Answer
              • See more gaps
              • Learn more about contributing
              Edit page

              More to explore

              Recently viewed

              Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
              Get the IMDb app
              Sign in for more accessSign in for more access
              Follow IMDb on social
              Get the IMDb app
              For Android and iOS
              Get the IMDb app
              • Help
              • Site Index
              • IMDbPro
              • Box Office Mojo
              • License IMDb Data
              • Press Room
              • Advertising
              • Jobs
              • Conditions of Use
              • Privacy Policy
              • Your Ads Privacy Choices
              IMDb, an Amazon company

              © 1990-2025 by IMDb.com, Inc.