Summer Days with Coo (2007)

Kôichi Uehara is a fourth grade student living in Higashikurume City, a suburb of Tokyo. One day he picks up what he thinks to be a fossil of an ancient creature but turns out to be a baby ... See full summary »

Director:

Keiichi Hara

Writers:

Masao Kogure (novel), Keiichi Hara (screenplay)

Stars:

Kazato Tomizawa, Takahiro Yokokawa, Naoki Tanaka

3 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kazato Tomizawa	...	Kû (voice)
Takahiro Yokokawa	...	Kôichi Uehara (voice)
Naoki Tanaka	...	Yasuo Uehara (voice) (as Tanaka Naoki [Kokoriko])
Naomi Nishida	...	Yukari Uehara (voice)
Tamaki Matsumoto	...	Hitomi Uehara (voice)
Natsuki Uematsu	...	Sayoko Kikuchi (voice)
Michio Hazama	...	Samurai / Shimizu (voice)
Yuzuru Fujimoto	...	Nanushi (voice)
Kôsei Tomita	...	Toshio (voice)
Miyuki Ichijô	...	Shokudô no oba-san (voice)
Yasuo Iwata	...	Yado no shujin (voice)
Minoru Inaba	...	Yado no kyaku (voice)
Sayuri Sadaoka	...	Yado no kyaku (voice)
Hiromi Nishikawa	...	Densha-nai no oba-san (voice)
Ayumi Sena	...	Shin Hanamaki eki anaunsu (voice)

Storyline

Kôichi Uehara is a fourth grade student living in Higashikurume City, a suburb of Tokyo. One day he picks up what he thinks to be a fossil of an ancient creature but turns out to be a baby kappa (a mythical Japanese water creature) that was sleeping underground for the past 300 years, and he names it "Coo". Kôichi and Coo become good friends and the kappa starts living with the human boy's family. However, Coo cannot not fully adjust to life in present-day Higashikurume and starts to miss his own family. On a hot summer day, Kôichi and Coo decide to go on an adventurous road trip to find his own kind.

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Plot Keywords:

river spirit | kappa | riding dog | television studio | reporter | 

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Genres:

Animation | Adventure | Comedy | Drama | Fantasy

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Did You Know?

Trivia

Well-known academic Takeshi Yôrô, fellow animated film directors Isao Takahata, Kenji Kamiyama and Mamoru Hosoda as well as Shinji Higuchi and Kazuki Nakashima spoke out in support of Keiichi Hara and the film at the time of its theatrical release, contributing messages to the Japanese official website.

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Goofs

One of the early scenes shows a rainy day. There are slippery roads, people with umbrellas, cars skidding ....but no raindrops.

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Alternate Versions

The original theatrical version premiered in 2007 is 138 minutes long. An extended version with around 3 minutes of new scenes, totaling 141 minutes, was originally released exclusively as part of a limited collectors' box DVD edition in Japan in 2008. Since then, this version has also appeared on the Japanese Blu-ray Disc of the movie, which was released in 2010 and is not limited. Neither of these disc releases has English subtitles.

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Connections

Referenced in Panel Quiz Attack 25: Episode dated 29 July 2007 (2007)

User Reviews

Beware of Samurai Developers (and Humans in General)

A sad but ultimately uplifting story of a kappa whose father is killed by a samurai wanting to convert their swamp to farmland, and the boy who much later discovers his son, "Coo" (Japanese Kû, evidently) as a fossil, in modern Japan. Despite numerous difficulties, mostly from suspicious outsiders, spirit and human are reconciled, at least for this family. Oh, and Coo loves to sumo wrestle, despite his small size. Not by Miyazaki, but of Ghibli quality.

Sienna's Rating: 8 Stars Pauls Rating:8 stars Sebs Rating:9 stars.

Details

Official Sites:

GKIDS [United States] Kazé [France]

Country:

Japan USA

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

28 July 2007 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Summer Days with Coo

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$3,333,389

Company Credits

Production Co:

Shin Ei Animation, Shochiku, Dentsu

Technical Specs

Runtime:

141 min (extended)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital EX

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1