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Dōbutsu no Mori (lit. Animal Crossing: The Movie) is a 2006 Japanese animated film directed by Jōji Shimura and based on the Animal Crossing video game series. It was produced by Nintendo, OLM, Inc. and VAP and distributed by Toho. The film opened in theaters in Japan on December 16, 2006, where it went on to earn ¥1.7 billion (approximately $16,216,000) at the box office.
The film retains the theme of the video games, and centers on an 11-year-old girl named Ai who moves into a village populated with animals where she works to make new friends and find her own dreams. The film was not released outside Japan, and Nintendo of America currently has no plans for an English release.
Plot[]
The film opens with Ai, an 11-year-old young girl, moving into the Animal Village during the summer. After being put to work by Tanukichi to deliver goods, Ai befriends four of the village's residents: Bouquet, Sally, Albert, and a human boy named Yū, participating in several activities. Ai begins to find a series of anonymous messages in bottles that state that a miracle will occur during the upcoming Winter Festival if pine trees are planted in specific points of the village. Ai complies with the messages and begins planting the trees, half-believing that the messages may have been placed by aliens.
During autumn, Bouquet scolds Ai for not attending Sally's farewell party, which comes as a big surprise. Ai becomes heartbroken, learning that Sally has moved away to embark on a career in fashion design. Ai ends up at the museum café, and ends up crying when K.K. Bossa plays, as the song reminds her of Sally. Bianca scolds Ai, and tells her that she should be happy as a friend for Sally. Ai then responds by saying that she is happy, but she is instead sad that Sally never told her anything, and leaves the café. Sally sends a letter of apology to Ai, explaining that a goodbye would have been too upsetting, and encourages her to embark on her own personal journey. Bouquet apologizes to Ai for her harsh reaction.
Winter comes, and all the pine trees that Ai has planted have fully grown and are decorated with Christmas lights. A spaceship crash-lands in the middle of the forest, and Johnny, a seagull, emerges. Johnny, who had planted the bottles in order to make an entrance dressed as an alien, asks the villagers to help locate some of the pieces that broke off his ship during the descent. Ai, Bouquet, Yū, and Albert head towards a cave, where Yū claims to have seen one of the pieces fall. The entrance, though, is blocked up by a large boulder from a recent event. Though the team tries to move the boulder, it eventually turns out it is too heavy for them to move. Sally then appears and helps unseal the cave.
The five retrieve the missing piece and return to Johnny, who they discover had already obtained them all. The missing piece turns out to be an injured UFO, one of a larger group that was attracted to the village due to the pattern formed by Ai's lit-up pine trees. The injured UFO reunites with its group, and as they depart, create a constellation in the night sky resembling Ai. Ai then wins the Winter Festival contest for the best decoration, leaving her feeling for the first time as a true member of the village.
Cast[]
- Yui Horie as Ai
- Misato Fukuen as Rosie
- Fumiko Orikasa as Margie
- Yu Kobayashi as Yū
- Takatoshi Kaneko as Alfonso
- Masaki Terasoma as Apollo
- Yurika Hino as Whitney
- Yasuhiro Takato as Champ
- Yuji Ueda as Cyrano
- Kazuya Tatekabe as Cesar
- Hisao Egawa as Hopper
- Naoki Tatsuta as Tom Nook
- Kenichi Ogata as Tortimer
- Akio Suyama as Pete
- Otoha as Pelly
- Yuko Mizutani as Phyllis
- Kappei Yamaguchi as Blathers
- Mika Kanai as Celeste
- Takaya Hashi as Brewster
- Shun Oguri as K.K. Slider
- Yuichi Kimura as Mr. Resetti
- Junpei Takiguchi as Wendell
- Mari Adachi as Mable
- Saori Hattori as Sable
- Tetsuo Sakaguchi as Redd
- Takashi Miike as Pascal
- Wataru Takagi as Gulliver
- Mitsuo Iwata as Kapp'n
Other characters, such as Dr. Shrunk, Lyle, Katie, Kaitlin, and Saharah, make non-speaking appearances.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- During the credits sequence, a present attached to a balloon appears in nearly every outdoor scene.
- In 2020, the film was rebroadcast in Japan to commemorate the release of Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
- It is the last non-Pokémon Nintendo film until The Super Mario Bros. Movie in 2023.
External links[]
- Dōbutsu no Mori at Animal Crossing Wiki, the Fandom wiki on Animal Crossing.
- Gekijōban Dōbutsu no Mori at Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- Animal Crossing: The Movie at the Internet Movie Database
Nintendo-related movie adaptations | |
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Mario | Super Mario Bros.: The Great Mission to Rescue Princess Peach! (1986; JP; video) • Super Mario Bros. (1993) • The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023) • Untitled Super Mario Bros. film (2026) |
Pokémon | Pokémon film series (I Choose You! continuity) |
Other series | Animal Crossing: The Movie (Animal Crossing; 2006; JP) • Star Fox Zero: The Battle Begins (Star Fox, 2016) • Untitled The Legend of Zelda film (The Legend of Zelda; TBA) |
Compiled | Donkey Kong Country: The Legend of the Crystal Coconut (1999; video) • Kirby: Fright to the Finish (2005; video/TV) |
Miscellaneous | The Wizard (1989) • Super Hornio Brothers (1993) • Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children (2005) • Wreck-It Ralph (2012) • Pixels (2015) • 8-Bit Christmas (2021) |