Oblivion Island: Haruka and the Magic Mirror (2009)

A teenage girl discovers a magical world, which forces her to come to terms with her grief for her deceased mother, and her tenuous relationship with her father.

Director:

Shinsuke Sato

Writers:

Otsuichi (screenplay) (as Hirotaka Adachi), Shinsuke Sato (screenplay)

Stars:

Christine Marie Cabanos, Patrick Seitz, Julie Maddalena

4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Christine Marie Cabanos	...	Haruka (voice)
Patrick Seitz	...	Baron (voice)
Julie Maddalena	...	Cotton (voice)
Julie Ann Taylor	...	Haruka's Mother (voice)
Cassandra Lee Morris	...	Teo (voice) (as Cassandra Lee)
Keith Silverstein	...	Haruka's Father (voice) (as David Roach)
Maki Terashima-Furuta	...	Miho (voice)
Paul St. Peter	...	Elder Soldier Brother (voice) (as George C. Cole)
Derek Stephen Prince	...	Younger Soldier Brother (voice)
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.

---

Plot Keywords:

magical world | girl | handheld mirror | magical mirror | prayer | 

---

Genres:

Animation | Action | Adventure | Family | Fantasy

---

Certificate:

TV-G

User Reviews

Well made for a CGI though still not on par with the Western counterparts

Surprisingly well made for a CGI animated film. The storyline was very creative and well-made given the type of material it is based on - I would even say it kind of reminded me of the solid plot in Toy Story 3 which was made later?

Although it still suffered from the major setbacks seen in most other unsuccessful CGI films. For example, the lack of chemistry between characters, motivation, relationships between events), and the characters lacked the emotional features that can be seen in Finding Nemo/Toy Story 3.

Still, there were touching moments in the film and some good plot twists, overall the film still managed to impress.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

22 August 2009 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Oblivion Island

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$3,171,022

Company Credits

Production Co:

Dentsu, Fuji Television Network, Production I.G.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1