Entotsu Machi no Poupelle (Poupelle of Chimney Town)

On Halloween night, a young chimney sweep named Lubicchi befriends a man magically conjured out of garbage. Giving him the name Poupelle, Lubicchi is able to recreate a bond he lost when his father died to the tyranny of the Inquisitors—an oppressive force that aims to suppress outside knowledge and the town's true history. But their newfound relationship soon captures a lot of attention, and the threat of the Inquisitors and even the criticism of a few townspeople will test the duo's friendship. In spite of this, Poupelle has struck a particular chord with Lubicchi, and the two conspire to bring the truth to the surface and clear the chimney smoke that clouds the town's skies.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

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Background

Entotsu Machi no Poupelle is based on a picture book of the same name by artist and comedian Akihiro Nishino.

It was nominated for the Best Animation of the Year at the 44th Japan Academy Film Prize. The film made its North American premiere at the Animation is Film Festival in Los Angeles, California on October 23, 2021.

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Characters & Voice Actors

Lubicchi

Main

Ashida, Mana
Japanese

Poupelle

Main

Kubota, Masataka
Japanese

Dennis

Supporting

Oohira, Shousei
Japanese

Toshiaki

Supporting

Miyane, Seiji
Japanese

Toppo

Supporting

Patch

Supporting

Yamauchi, Takaya
Japanese

Letter I

Supporting

Letter II

Supporting

Doctor

Supporting

Letter XV

Supporting

Nomaguchi, Tooru
Japanese

More staff

Staff

Hirota, Yuusuke

Director

Kasamatsu, Kouji

Sound Director

Oomori, Takahiro

Episode Director

Hyde

Theme Song Performance, Theme Song Composition, Theme Song Lyrics

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Opening Theme

"Halloween Party -Poupelle Ver.-(HALLOWEEN PARTY -プペル Ver.-)" by Lozareena (ロザリーナ)

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Ending Theme

"Entotsu Machi no Poupelle (えんとつ町のプペル)"

Reviews

May 15, 2022

Firechick12012

Mixed Feelings

Man, I really wanted to like this movie, and there are things that I do like about it. Unfortunately, Poupelle of Chimney Town really isn't one of the better kids movies that came out in the 2020s. The premise at first seems pretty cool: In a town completely encased in smoke, where nobody knows what the outside world looks like, not even the stars, a young boy named Lubicchi spends his days cleaning chimneys despite his fear of heights. One day, a glowing heart gets dropped into a garbage pile, turning into a man made entirely of garbage, whom Lubicchi saves from getting incinerated. After ... a rough start, Lubicchi and the garbage man become friends, with Lubicchi giving him the name Poupelle. Their friendship winds up both drawing suspicion from the community and sparking a big adventure where the two of them discover just what's beyond the thick smoke of Chimney Town. The premise reminded me of this manga I'm reading right now called Beyond The Clouds: The Girl Who Fell From The Sky, though Poupelle doesn't have any people with wings in it.

Yeah...Poupelle of Chimney Town is pretty much a huge laundry list of cliches right off the bat. Human kid with no friends who wants to see something others don't want to? Check. Mysterious friend who winds up helping him do just that? Check. Sick mom? Check. One-note bullies who pick on him? Check. Mysterious villains who don't want the town to know about life outside their town? Check. Missing parent who influences them and winds up being the key to everything? Check. Follow your dreams and don't conform to the opporessors moral? Checkity check cheeeeeck. I wouldn't have minded all these cliches if the movie actually bothered to execute them well. I mean, my favorite romance anime of all time is Ride Your Wave, and that checks off a lot of clickes, but also managed to stand out on its own by way of the animation and exploring the death of a loved one through a fun, crazy idea it had. Instead, Poupelle of Chimney Town doesn't seem interested in doing anything new with its premise or characters, playing them so straight that everything is about as bland and charmless as white rice.

Speaking of the characters, all of them, from Lubicchi even to the side characters, have absolutely zero charm or depth to them, as they're all so cliche and one-note that you can easily recognize them from so many other media that have portrayed their archetypes better. Most of the side characters don't even so much as get any names, including some of the one-note bullies who pick on Lubicchi! Most of the side characters feel lifeless and shallow, with their only purpose being to advance the plot and nothing else. The talkative miner is just there to be an exposition dump who tells Lubicchi the secrets behind Chimney Town and the government, and the villains themselves are stereotypical villains ripped out of other things, yet somehow they don't do much of anything themselves! Lubicchi himself is okay, but he's really bland and forgettable, no different from other characters in other movies who act the same way he does. Even Poupelle himself is just a walking cliche, and you can predict his role in the story literally as soon as he and Lubicchi meet.

I'm also pretty mixed on the animation. For one, the movie is mostly CGI, with some 2D animation sprinkled in there on occasion. Honestly, I wasn't a fan of the CGI animation, as it just felt really clunky and uncanny at times, mainly for the human characters. It works better with Poupelle and a lot of the Halloween costumes in the beginning, but that's about it. On the other hand, the backgrounds and the setting fare much better. The steampunk skyscrapers and building designs all have great designs, and the backstory behind the setting really makes it feel like a world that's completely isolated from everything. I'm further conflicted on the soundtrack, as the actual songs are great, especially that epic Halloween-themed musical number that the movie opens on, but the background music itself is kind of obnoxious and could have benefited from holding back a bit. It also commits the cardinal sin of setting upbeat music to what are supposed to be sad moments, which really kills the atmosphere. Also, Poupelle of Chimney Town's pacing is surprisingly fact. The movie begins with Lubicchi trying to save Poupelle, and the two of them getting wrapped up in action packed, heart-racing situations that amount to a grand total of 20 or so minutes before they even get a chance to introduce themselves. Granted, the movie starts to calm down a bit after that, and with the pacing being what it is, it doesn't leave a moment to get bored, but often times it felt like Poupelle of Chimney Town was little more than shiny keys that a parent is waving in front of their kids' faces to keep them entertained.

As much as I hate admitting it, in the end, Poupelle of Chimney Town is just another kids movie that just rehashes the same cliches that others like it have done without doing anything new with them. It has a few good ideas, but barely utilizes them. The reason I like other kids anime movies such as Child of Kamiari Month and Okko's Inn is that while they also rely on a few stock cliches, they also knew to try and do new things with them, even if they don't always succeed. Kamiari Month stood out in its emphasis on Shintoism and Japanese folklore, and Okko's Inn went out of its way to rectify a lot of flaws that the original TV series had while tackling the original story it was based on in a different way. They still managed to be fun movies, even if they aren't trying to bring the house down, and I, a 28-year-old adult, still managed to enjoy them. I couldn't enjoy Poupelle of Chimney Town because it's just a boring, soulless cliche fest. If you want to show this to your kids, for babysitting fodder or as a way to introduce them to anime, go for it. You do you. But I'd recommend skipping this one, as other movies with a similar premise have done its ideas and characters better.

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Feb 7, 2022

ExCluSin90

Not Recommended

A veiled world independent of the central bank. Finding the constellations from fairy tales Between a young boy and a living garbage

It is Yuusuke Hirota's first film to direct. This movie plays the question of whether the existence of a central bank or having a currency How important is it?

The original is the work of Nishino Akihiro, and after its publication in 2016, it has received such a positive response that it currently has 600,000 copies in print.

A story in Chimney Town that, whether day or night, is shrouded in smog. causing no one to ever see or know the stars in the sky Except ... for Bruno, who plays the paper play (Kamishibai), who describes it to everyone but no one believes him and accuses him of being a liar, but suddenly disappears, leaving behind only Lubicchi, his son and wife, the people around him. They pointed at Lubicchi, who had convinced his father that there were stars in the sky. causing him to be alone One day on Halloween night, Lubicchi encounters Poupelle, a scumbag, born from a pile of trash. This meeting led the two to go on an adventure to find the stars together.

Recently, I rarely follow children's movies. Because I personally do not care about this kind of business, this Poupelle story goes in the same direction. I appreciate the connection to the story that is still beautiful, looks very well put together. The pace of narration at Pacing is quite slow. It opens with plot contrivances that seem repetitive and dislike that try to play out the warmth, the beauty, the friendship, the exaggeration, instead of the harsh, messy themes that Poupelle had tried to present in the first place.

This story focuses on the use of 3D animation, which, to be honest at the movie level, still has obvious problems with the fluidity and movement of the characters. As for the use of light and shadows, although most of them make them look unattractive against the background. But for the most part, I really liked the shadow play in this regard. (if each scene separately) Super realistic and outstanding Cyberpunk simulation city

The two main characters are designed simply. may not be deeply but no problem Except for the accompanying characters that are not very important. and no interesting dimensions The last character is Lubicch's father, who has a high regard for paternity. he is a story teller which although no one believed or cared But he still conveys the story. Because I still believe that there are still people who are waiting for those stories, which is the truth that everyone has always been looking for. The character Scooper voiced by Shingo Fujimori is very fluid.

As for the tone of feeling, it may not play out the gritty mood in one way or the other. Because the emphasis on other tones is inserted, which is not very harmonious. But he's doing well as a new director on the old team of Studio 4°C since 2000's.

All in all, Poupelle of Chimney Town is a story that conveys one person's dreams. Revealing the truth of the world Or is it just a fairy tale from a fictional story that no one believes? looking for the stars in the sky Between a boy with no friends and rubbish lives a life that is seen as heretical. does not deserve to be present in society Focus on the adventures of men who don't care about danger. There is a small family drama. friendship fun It is a movie suitable for all ages. While there might be some issues that I personally don't really overlook in directing, it's certainly inspiring for someone more or less.

* Slightly added, look at house samyan, it's very good to have both sub TH and ENG together.

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Poll: Entotsu Machi no Poupelle Episode 1 Discussion DoomCraft - Jun 8, 2021	8 replies	by Terrestrious »» Mar 28, 2023 2:12 PM
Has these been subbed anywhere? Ronninn - Jan 18, 2022	3 replies	by Shapoop »» Oct 7, 2022 9:33 PM
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