For his third feature film, Satoshi Kon, decided to make what would be what is probably his most straightforward film. Rather than make a complex blurring the line between fantasy and reality movie like his previous Millennium Actress, and especially Perfect Blue, this film would be a basically straightforward Christmas tale, though not exactly a usual one. Though director Satoshi Kon has stated that this film was inspired by John Ford's Christmas western Three Godfathers, this is by no means a remake as they are very different films.
What makes Satoshi Kon such a great filmmaker is that he uses animation to help tell his stories in ways that many animation directors don't. For instance in this film the style of animation can often times change depending on the mood it is trying to set. It can change from very realistic looking to very cartoony in no time. He also realizes how animation can allow him to play with pacing and cutting in ways live action wouldn't. This film can change from a slow pace to a very fast pace back to a slower pace, in a matter of seconds. This is something that would feel awkward n live action but works perfectly in animation.
All this works perfectly for the story of Tokyo Godfathers, as it is often times quite dramatic and funny at the same time. The combination of comedy and drama is abousultly perfect. The reason this combination works so well is that there are no real comedic scenes, The comedy comes out of the drama. The funny moments are also very dramatic, and emotional moments as well. What also makes all this work is that the characters are so engaging and you really care about them.
Tokyo Godfathers is not only an excellent movie, but is also one of the greatest Christmas films ever made. A must watch.
-Michael J. Ruhland
Resources Used
The Animated Movie Guide by Jerry Beck
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