This is the latest work by the director, Hosoda Mamoru. His previous works include "Toki wo Kakeru Shoujo" and "Summer Wars." I loved TokiKake, but didn't care for Summer Wars. Now, I'm back to loving Ame to Yuki.
The surreal, fairy tale like theme, works wonders here. And the "family theme" in Ame To Yuki is unlike that in Summer Wars. Here, it's more logical. I don't think bloodline has as much influence on family bond as some people like to believe. After all, husband and wife normally don't share a bloodline (and they really shouldn't). Parent and child do, but so what? Long term relationships should be by choice, not by anything else, including biological connections.
From purely biological point of view, once the kid matures enough to be able to take care of him/herself, parents are not needed. In fact, in the animal world, it's more common for the offspring to leave and never come back.
Going back to the film itself, it employs some new animation techniques, like animated backdrops. Extra features on the second disc is helpful for figuring out what to look for. Voices for the kids are done by real kids, as they were in Summer Wars. They're all very impressive. Miyazaki Aoi is such a good fit for the role, it's almost surreal. It made me want to rewatch "Mahoutsukai ni Taisetsu na Koto." w
One part that's a bit disppointing is the audio commentaries. I don't think the host did a good job. I mean, the kid brings up going to a real-life shop featured in the animation and the host doesn't expand it to talk about featured locations in the animation?
Also, the music didn't grab my attention much. Maybe that's a good thing in a motion picture, but then, both TokiKake and Summer Wars had much more engaging music.
Full set. I'm sad that I missed wolf ears by just a few seconds in the film strip I got. It's still a good shot, though.
