Written by TheChoujinVirus
Note: this review may contain spoilers to the movie.
Also, though I do link a fandub of the movie, I do strongly suggest ya support the franchise through buying their games. Pirates may be free, but creators and devs need that cash.
Happy Thursday, everyone, it’s ya boy Choujin here.
A few weeks ago, ya boy here got his copy of Animal Crossing: New Horizons and has been playing it for a pretty long while (especially with the Stay at Home order). However, we’re not going to be talking about the game..yet. That’ll be for another time, for now, I got a question for you. Did you know that Animal Crossing had a movie released in 2006? Betcha you didn’t see that coming? Yes, it’s true the franchise had its first movie, made by Nintendo, OLM Inc, VAP, and distributed by Toho on December 6th, 2006. Animal Crossing the Movie (or by its movie title Dobutsu No Mori) is something not many people expected. So how is the movie? Well, let’s dive into this movie together. Lucky for us, I’ve watched a fandub version made by SillhouettedProductions, who put his heart and soul into this.
Our movie starts out inside of a Taxicab driven by Kappin’ as we’re introduced to our protagonist named Ai. She’s moving to the town of Animal Village and is all excited to live on her own. At Town Hall, she is introduced to Pelly and Mayor Tortmire (who is so worried about his upcoming election), Pelly informs Ai to meet Tom Nook, the shopkeep (and her landlord). Upon arriving at Nook’s Cranny, Tom Nook already puts her to work as “The quickest way to getting used to your life in Animal Village is working.”. Nook’s advice pays off as she meets Rosie, a blue cat, and Alfonzo, a sandy brown alligator who follows a ninja. She also meets Whitney, a snowy white wolf who seems calm but with a sharp tongue. She then stops by the Abel Sisters, and this is where we meet Ai’s BFF, Margie. She’s got a dream of wanting to be a fashion designer. Ai finishes her job and heads home, only to run into the ninja boy again. This time, he introduces himself as Yu, the neighboring boy from the other village who visits Animal Village to play with Alfonzo. Throughout the few days, she helps Tom Nook and starts to shape her house out nicely.
Though one day, she’s about to do a delivery for Apollo, an eagle villager. Yu comes out of nowhere and knocks her into the blue rose garden. This suddenly brings the attention of Mr. Resetti, the “Enforcer of Justice,” who enforces the rules in Animal Village. He takes it easy on Ai as they deduced that she didn’t do it on purpose. Ai wants to apologize to him, so Resetti points her to a place called the Roost. Ai heads there, only to get lost in the Animal Village Museum. Her screams attract the attention of the owl Blathers and his sister Celeste, who calm her down. Blathers starts blabbing about the fossils, to which Ai explains she was here to look for the Roost, to which Celeste points to her the way. Though she spots an empty Diplodocus display. Blathers explains that he hopes to one day find and display the fossil (all while blathering about the Diplodocus). Ai enters the Roost and accidentally mistakes Cesar(a Gorilla) and Cyrano (anteater) for Apollo. It was until the real Apollo (an eagle) walks into the Roost and calmly laments at someone destroying his rose garden. Ai delivers her package and admits that she was the one who did it. Apollo simply leaves, leaving Ai worried if Apollo hates her now.
While delivering supplies, she meets Margie again (who helps her) while the two discuss, Margie, makes a comment about she dreams of wanting people to wear her original inspired clothing designs, comparing it to her “cherry pie.” One night, after writing a letter to her mother, Ai spots a note in a bottle on the beach. Ai opens and reads the note, telling her that “Above the Pine forest, On the Eve of the Winter Festival, a miracle will occur.” Ai is so puzzled about it until she sees a strange object streaking across the sky.
We’re given a time skip to the Summer, everyone is enjoying their fun under the sun as Ai, Margie and Rosie watch Whitney walking down the beach. Rosie mentions that Whitney and Apollo were rumored to be dating a long time ago. Margie chastises her for spreading rumors while mentioning that Mabel would help find a store that would sell one of her best designs, though she feels she’s not that good. Ai reassures Margie that she needs to keep at it, and sooner or later, she’ll be enjoying her Cherry Pie in no time. A few minutes later, we see Yu and Alfonzo digging holes in the hunt for fossils. Leaving tons of holes and angering Mr. Resetti in the process. The two managed to evade Mr. Resetti’s tongue lashing. Ai finds another letter on the beach telling her to plant pine trees marked on a map. The next day, everyone is having a nice day as Pelly tells Ai and the girls that the town’s preparing for the fireworks festival and that K.K. Slider will be arriving. The trio spots Yu and Alfonzo digging for fossils, and they successfully fond an ammonite fossil. Rosie replied that she found a ton of those fossils in a cave. Yu, so eager to find the fossils, drags the girls along the journey (to the three’s annoyance). While their makeshift pirate ship nearly got battered, they found the cave and the ammonite fossils inside.
Yu and Alfonzo cheered at their bounty until Ai notices that the cave also has the fossilized remnants of a Diplodocus. Yu suddenly sees this and tries to get to the fossil, only for the group to escape a near cave in. Ai and Rosie hold a now distraught Yu from running back into the cave for the fossils with Margie telling Yu to listen to them. After that adventure, the town is now prepped for the Fireworks Festival. Rosie is nervous that K.K. Slider hasn’t shown up yet while Ai notices Margie drawing a new design inspired by their fossil fun. K.K. Slider shows up, and as he asks the crowd for a request, Margie asks for him to play K.K. Bossa (a song from the A.C. game). While he sings, Ai has memories of what Margie told her. Once K.K. Finishes singing, everyone enjoys the festivities. Yu and Alfonso buy a “very rare” (though revealed not) Golden Slingshot from the shyster Crazy Redd. Ai, talking with Rosie and Margie, states she wants her own cherry pie (oh and Tortimire has a firework off his face while feeling reassured that his election is secured).After the festival, Ai writes to her mom and explains that she felt a bit jealous that Margie has a dream she can chase. She finishes writing her note as she reads the four letters she got, all related to the winter festival and miracle. She goes back to writing her letter, telling her mom that she doesn’t know what her cherry pie will be, but she can smell it in the oven.
. We’re given another time skip, this time in the cold autumn. Ai is seen running, as we’re given a brief flashback. Rosie asked Ai why she wasn’t at Margie’s going away party, to which Ai had no clue she was leaving. Rosie explained that Margie moved away in order to pursue her dream of being a fashion designer. A distraught Ai cannot find Margie anywhere and is left distraught. Meanwhile, Yu and Alfonzo plan a pitfall prank on the town, trapping Cyrano and Cesar. However, their traps fail on Champ, the athletic monkey. Ai falls into one of these traps but is so saddened that she doesn’t seem to respond or anything. She heads to the Roost Café as it starts to rain, asking Brewster for a cup of coffee. Whitney notices Ai, then the song K.K. Bossa plays on the speakers. Ai gets a memory of her best friend as she starts to cry when Brewster asks if Margie is listening to this song. Whitney angrily argues that Ai shouldn’t cry that her friend moved and that a proper lady should be happy that her friend moved on. Ai states she wasn’t upset about her dream but was upset that Margie didn’t tell her she was moving. Whitney laughed and explains to our protagonist, telling them that she needed to believe in herself and that Margie and Ai’s friendship was already set and not shattered. Ai leaves the Roost with Whitney’s advice, all while Whitney talks to Brewster about how the bond between women are strong as they can be separated but their friendship will last, but a bond between a man and a woman is different as even when it’s a short time, it won’t be mended so easily.
Ai, feeling better, returns home and notices a famished walrus named Wendell. She invites him to his house so he can eat some food. Wendell discussed that when he gets hungry, he gets depressed, and thus when he’s depressed, he gets hungry. Ai then gets a letter from Pete, the pelican mailman, and is ecstatic that it’s from Margie. Wendell left while she got the letter, so Ai reads the letter. Margie wrote that she is sorry that she never told Ai as she didn’t want her to be upset. She leaves Ai a picture of herself with a note telling her its time to eat her Cherry Pie. Rosie arrives to check up on Ai, and she reads Margie’s letter all while a meteor shower is happening. Ai feels better and happy that Margie is happy with her dream, and that she’s got confidence. Our next time skip puts Animal Village in the powdery white winter. Everyone’s getting ready for the Winter Festival and preparing for the contest as Ai heads to the museum to study with Celeste. Resetti is puzzled over all these pine trees that showed up, while everyone is doing their best. Yu and Alfonso now hopping about in bunny outfits. Ai, while on her way to the museum, wonders if the miracle will happen as the winter festival lights turn on. Once at the museum, Celeste and Ai discuss the possibility of UFOs and which Ai wondered if the notes she found were a prank. Celeste reassures Ai that the thought of UFOs is becoming popular, which makes her excited.
Ai looks through a telescope and notices a UFO plummeting down and into Animal Village. Everyone in the village heads toward the crash site, all scared to get close to the UFO. Ai suggests they help it, while Yu and Alfonzo warn she might get zapped or chipped. The UFO opens up, and we are greeted by Gulliver, the pilot of the UFO. He explains that he needs his five spaceship parts in order to get back home. Everyone heads out to find the missing parts as Champ states he saw apart. Yu states he saw another part as well, so Ai follows behind him as their chase takes them back to the cave that caved in. Just as it was futile to moving the large boulder, the group is reunited with Margie, who is visiting the town on holiday. The rest enter the cave as they find the UFO part resting on top of the Diplodocus skeleton. Yu climbs the fossil (easier as winter hardened the rock) and is able to get the spaceship part though falls and is rescued by his friends (Rosie humorously leaves Alfonzo holding the bag as Yu falls on him). Yu is alright, though is disguise is knocked off as he compliments her for catching the spaceship part.
They return back to Gulliver with their part, and it’s revealed that Champ found the same one as well. It’s then revealed the part Ai found is an actual alien. Gulliver wondered if the object he bumped into was this creature. Ai helps the little guy get back to which the alien is healed and thanks Ai. Ai thanks Yu for his help as the UFOs ldepart, Whitney wonders if the aliens have their own village. The UFOs thank Ai by creating a constellation for her, everyone is at awe. Afterward, Ai meets Apollo, and he explains that he wasn’t mad over it while glad that the miracle happened. Ai wins the competition for her constellation, and Tortimer wins the election by voting for himself. Gulliver leaves and thanks to the villagers, all while wondering why he left. As Gulliver left, he lamented his plan in creating a large landing pad was for bust as it attracted real aliens.
Ai writes to her mom about how she feels she’s an honorary member of Animal Village…
During the Credits, we get to see what happens after the Winter Festival. Tom Nook opens up his new shop Nook N’ Go, Blathers with the help of Mr. Resetti is able to secure the Diplodocus skeleton and now displays it in the town museum, Rosie is ecstatic over a new outfit as Ai and Apollo now are good friends. Whitney finds a bouquet of blue roses and Margie is inspired from what happened at the Winter Festival and Ai is happy, wondering what life will bring her. With that, our movie is officially over
What made the movie shine
The anime has a pretty cute slice of life basis, a good change of pace if you want an anime that’s got some heartwarming stuff that isn’t something made by Disney (not knocking on them). The main characters that are shown have some personality that gives them something unique than their video game counterparts. For example, Margie’s character mentions her dream of being a fashion designer or how Tortimire obsesses over his mayoral election. For an animated movie, it went out of their way for their characters. Another thing that’s likable is the music, which is actually redone for the movie, especially with K.K. Bossa (which actually has lyrics for something that in-game is just musical furniture for your virtual house). Lastly, this is just a nod to the fandubbers, but they did a pretty good job with the work and doing their best to capture the personality of the characters from the game. Also, the series is based on Wild World, the D.S. Animal Crossing game. Most game-based things would try and be more original, but making a nod of a game that was released not too long ago
What the movie pitfalls in
Though the movie itself is awesome, it does have some issues. One such is the main focus on just a few characters, Ai, Yu, Alfonso, Rosie, and Margie. There was something interesting about characters like Whitney, Cyrano, Cesar, and Apollo. They didn’t get much screentime, heck Hopper, the penguin in the movie who existed as a gag for fishing, seemed to have more screentime than most of the cast. Some are just passing by or just a one-time view that’s a “blink, and you’ll miss it” for characters like Dr. Shrunk or even Katie. Lastly, the fandub may have been a great attempt, but there are moments the audio buzzes, and some parts may not feel as professional, but it’s good.
Conclusion
In short, the anime (including the fandub) is a nice adaptation of the Animal Crossing series. It’s a shame the series was never released to the U.S., nor was any plans of a sequel being made in the future. If you’re a fan of Animal Crossing, I would suggest you watch this movie either from the Veoh links here or somewhere easier. Other than that, I enjoy this movie.
References
- Reddit Link of the fandub. Fandubbing done by user Silhoulette
- Animal Crossing The Movie (Fandub) Part One and Part Two
- IMBD info on the movie and cast
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