Oblivion Island: Haruka and the Magic Mirror

The Japanese sure have an unmatched talent for creating such unusual and unexpected projects, creativity at its finest. What we have here is one of those films. The unique art style and story immediately caught my attention and thus I was naturally curious to check it out. IT WAS WORTH IT! This is the award-winning Oblivion Island: Haruka and the Magic Mirror.

Plot: 16-year old Haruka had just lost her precious hand mirror given to her by her mother, who died of a terminal illness long ago. Recalling an old story her mother used to read to her, Haruka visits an old shine, where she encounters and follows a strange fox-like creature named Teo to a mystical world called Oblivion Island. Here, these fox creatures collect forgotten or lost objects from the human world and use them for their own purposes. As she befriend Teo and her long lost stuffed sheep Cotton, Haruka must find her hand mirror before the island's ruler, the Baron, uses it for his own devious ends.

From beginning to end, this movie had an incredible effect on me. The characters are developed very well and they become lovable almost instantly. The art style combines CGI with traditional hand-drawn animation to create a visually-stunning world full of interesting creatures and colorful environments. The music is quite memorable and it complements or enhances the mood of various scenes throughout the film. There's also some surprising bits of action, which are thrilling to say the least.

By far one of the biggest elements that makes Oblivion Island so great are some of the emotionality of the film. Each of the main characters has a charm matched only by their vulnerable qualities, particularly the protagonist Haruka. Seeing her go through such an emotional journey as she searches for her lost mirror is heart-warming and it moved me a little. This characteristic in turn affects her friends such as Teo as they also have journeys of their own. It's like the old saying, it's not the destination as is the journey, which I totally agree.

I can see why this movie won some awards and be nominated for others. Oblivion Island is a very unique family film that, in my opinion, deserves greater recognition in the world. The English dub (done by Funimation) is solid as is the original Japanese. With that said, this charming film is worth every penny and I highly recommend that you check it out. Peace!