Tokyo Godfathers (2003)

Directors:

Satoshi Kon
Shôgo Furuya (co-director)

Writers:

Satoshi Kon (screenplay)
Satoshi Kon (story)
(more)

Release Date:

8 November 2003 (Japan)

Genre:

Adventure | Animation | Drama | Comedy

Tagline:

Meet the ultimate dysfunctional family.

Plot:

On Christmas Eve three homeless people living on the streets on Tokyo find a newborn baby among the trash and set out to find the parents.

Plot Keywords:

Transvestite | Christmas | Tokyo Japan | Baby | Flashback

Awards:

5 wins

Cast

Toru Emori	...	Gin (voice)
Aya Okamoto	...	Miyuki (voice)
Yoshiaki Umegaki	...	Hana (voice)
Shôzô Îzuka	...	Oota (voice)
Seizô Katô	...	Mother (voice)
Hiroya Ishimaru	...	Yasuo (voice)
Ryûji Saikachi	...	Aged Man (voice)
Yûsaku Yara	...	Miyuki's Father (voice)
Kyôko Terase	...	Sachiko (voice)
Mamiko Noto	...	Kiyoko, Gin's Daughter (voice)
Akio Ohtsuka	...	Doctor (voice)
Rikiya Koyama	...	Bridegroom (voice)
Satomi Koorogi	...	Kiyoko, the Gangster's Daughter (voice)
Mitsuru Ogata	...	Hidenari Ugaki (voice)
Chiyako Shibahara	...	Eriko Kawasaki (voice)
Kazuaki Ito	...	Akiko Takeguchi (voice)
Atsuko Yuya	...	Nobuyuki Furuta (voice)
Jin Horikawa	...	Toshitaka Shimizu (voice)
Masao Harada	...	Youto Kazama (voice)
Yoshinori Sonobe	...	Tsuguo Mogami (voice)
Mitsuru Sugita	...	Rin Sakurazawa (voice)
Ryô Takahashi	...	Hikaru Koga (voice)
Ryo Takahashi	...	Hikaru Koga (voice)
Syuho Miki	...	Ayaki Nishimura (voice)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Inuko Inuyama	...	Kurumizawa

Directed by
Satoshi Kon
Shôgo Furuya		(co-director)

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Satoshi Kon		screenplay
Satoshi Kon		story
Keiko Nobumoto		screenplay

Produced by
Shinichi Kobayashi	....	executive producer
Taro Maki	....	executive producer
Masao Maruyama	....	producer
Masao Takiyama	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Moonriders
Keiichi Suzuki

Cinematography by
Katsutoshi Sugai

Film Editing by
Takeshi Seyama

Art Direction by
Nobutaka Ike

Sound Department
Masafumi Mima	....	sound director

Animation Department
Masashi Ando	....	animator
Shigeru Fujita	....	animator
Hideki Hamazu	....	animator
Toshiyuki Inoue	....	animator
Kumiko Kawana	....	animator
Hiroko Kazui	....	animator
Satoshi Kon	....	character designer
Ken'ichi Konishi	....	animation director
Ken'ichi Konishi	....	character designer
Shinji Otsuka	....	animator
Michiyo Suzuki	....	animator

Production Companies

• Mad House
• Tokyo Godfathers Production Committee

Distributors

• Metacinema (2005) (Italy) (theatrical)
• Sony Pictures Entertainment (Japan) (theatrical)
• Animax Latin America (2008) (Venezuela) (TV)
• Columbia TriStar Films de Argentina (Argentina)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (2004) (Spain) (DVD)
• Columbia TriStar (2004) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Columbia TriStar (USA)
• LK-TEL (Argentina) (DVD)
• LK-TEL (Argentina) (VHS)
• Samuel Goldwyn Films (USA) (subtitled)
• Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) (USA)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2005) (Italy) (DVD)
• Universal Pictures Nordic (Sweden)

Also Known As:

"Ükskord Tokyos" - Estonia (festival title)
"Héroes al rescate" - Argentina (video title)
"Oi nonoi tou Tokyo" - Greece (DVD title)
"Rodzice chrzestni z Tokio" - Poland (imdb display title)
"Tokiói keresztapák" - Hungary (imdb display title)
"Tokyo godfathers - löytölapsen arvoitus" - Finland (TV title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for thematic elements, violent images, language and some sexual material

Runtime:

USA:92 min | Argentina:93 min | UK:88 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese | Spanish | English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

South Korea:12 | Australia:M | Canada:14A | Sweden:7 | USA:PG-13 | Argentina:13 | UK:12 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | Spain:13 | Singapore:PG

Company:

Mad House

Trivia:

A number of the minor characters appear to be named for well-known seiyuu. Thus, the cast of characters includes such names as "Eriko Kawasaki" (voiced by Chiyako Shibahara) and "Hidenari Ugaki" (voiced by Mitsuru Ogata).

Quotes:

Hana:I am a mistake made by God.In my heart, I am a woman. Women can have children. What if a miracle like the Virgin Mary getting pregnant... was to happen to a homo? Better give me a little extra. After all, l"m eating for two.

Movie Connections:

References Sennen joyû (2001)

A different kind of Christmas story

At first glance, I wasn't sure if I would like this movie. The "miracles DO happen on Christmas" cliché is very boring and I typically don't enjoy movies that employ it, but this is a very different kind of Christmas movie.

We are given three homeless characters with complex personalities and backgrounds, who are as endearing as they are repellent. They take up the task of caring for a baby they found in the trash, and trying to bring it back to its mother. We learn the secrets that made these people homeless, we learn about the workings of human shame and desperation, and we learn that "miracles DO happen on Christmas." But in the least cheesy way possible!

The plot is very slow-moving, but still, it is interesting and very carefully laid out. This would be a very compelling live-action movie, but the use of animation adds so much visual interest, particularly the expressive (and sometimes hideous!!) face of Hana, the gangly transvestite. The choice of music is unique and very fitting: the song played during a walking-around-the-city montage is reminiscent of Clockwork Orange.

Interesting and careful story, complex and realistic story, tremendous visual appeal and excellent music. I guess this movie pretty much has it all!