Doubutsu no Mori

My first review, please bear with me.

I didn't even know there was an anime adaption of Animal Crossing before I came across it on this site. My first thought was, how could the make a movie out of a game that doesn't have a plot? But I was really interested, as I loved the game. Not sure what to expect, I watched it. And I was very surprised.

Story ; 9/10
The story centers around the main character, Ai, and how she adjusts to living in the animal village she just moved to. Again, I wasn't really expecting this to have a good plot, but it ... did! (or at least in my eyes)

Art ; 10/10
The backgrounds were a tad simplistic, but the people and animals were adorable. Bouquet was so cute! The designs of the animals stayed very close to their game counter parts. The colors were fantastic; bright and colorful and fun to watch. Very smooth animation.

Sound ; 8/10
Just sound pulled from the game, but it was still nice. It worked well in the situations it was put in. Along with the bright colors it had a calm and almost peaceful effect.

Character ; 10/10
The characters were all very fun to watch; each had their own distinct personalities. Ai, the main protagonist of the story was very outgoing and determined to be successful in her new village. The other characters personalities also were very similar to the game.

Enjoyment ; 10/10
Although this movie was aimed more towards kids, I loved it! This was one of the those rare shows/movies that made me laugh and almost cry at some parts! It was well put together, and a very heart warming movie with a good message at the end.

Overall ; 10/10
Whether you liked the game or not, this movie will have you smiling through out the whole thing.

Animal Crossing was really worth it. It dosn't matter if your a fan of the video games or if this is your first time seeing Animal Crossing; people are going to be watching through this till the very satisfying end. The story, altough at first dosn't really have a strong plot in the beginning, will make you stay on the edge of your seat and will be making you wonder what will happen next. The art is a bit toned down from most anime. It has a more kiddish feel to it, but it goes well with the anime in this case and it makes ... it up with cute and adorable style. The music is really calming and relaxing and fans will hear many familar tunes from the game. It has a good amount of comedy in it. Weither it be Mr Resetti's attitude or Blathers rambling, people will get a good chuckle out of some parts of the anime.

The reason that I liked Animal Crossing is that unlike most movies or animes, it really is faithful to the video game and has a story of it's own to keep it strong. It is really worth a watch and if you gather you friends to watch it, all the better. It has a good moral towards friendship, which I highly admire. If your out and about and looking for something cute with a bit of adventure in it, pick up Animal Crossing. You won't be dissapointed ^_^

As a fan of the game Animal Crossing (both Gamecube and DS versions) I was pleasantly surprised to discover an anime adaptation had been made. If you haven’t played the game, Animal Crossing is basically just living your life in a new town, but while you’re a human, the other villagers are all other animals. It’s a nice RPG slice-of-life, and it’s very fun living your life in your town. This experience is different, obviously, considering you’re watching the character living her life in a new town instead of being the character himself/herself.

The main character’s name is Ai, a magnanimous yet somewhat undecided girl ... who comes to live in the village of animals, moving away from home. As she goes through her days in the new village, she meets new animals and opportunities arise from their influence on her, especially Sally, the fashion-designing elephant who shortly moves away to pursue her dream of becoming a fashion designer. But she inspires Ai to find her own dream, or, as the two playfully allegorized, her own cherry pie. She does find her ambition by the end of the movie, and also fits in a little more in the village by helping out with what occurred proving to be the mysterious “miracle” on the night of the Winter Festival. Because previously Ai had found bottles with notes explaining that if she planted a fir trees in certain spots, a wonderful miracle would happen on the Winter Festival night.

While you’re watching it, it’s very relaxing and calming, much like its game counterpart. The art is absolutely adorable, keeping the style similar to the game. The colors are bright and the animation flow is fluid and rich; I love especially the beautifully rendered backgrounds. Everything was so nice to look at! I loved the music too, because it’s all the same tunes as in the game, and if you play the game you’ll recognize that immediately.

One thing I didn’t understand that some of the names were different than in the game. I suppose they were the original names in the Japanese, but then again, why would the English translation bother to change them if they were just names like “Sally” (or I should say Sari) or “Bouquet”? That has nothing to do with the enjoyment you get out of the movie.

I really liked it overall; I guess the only thing that irked me was the whole bit concerning the notes and the UFOs. I would have rather if it was just a poignant but sweet story about finding your ambition and at the same time, maintaining a strong friendship. This is recommended if you like the game, or you just want something nearly saccharine to watch.

You know what game franchise would really lend itself to film well? I'm sure you all had different answers to that, but I'll bet none of you said Animal Crossing. And why should you? It's a repetitive game about collecting random rubbish with basically no story that many call "slightly less boring than watching paint dry." And yet, it has a film adaptation. I've been thinking about checking it out for some time just out of curiosity and this seemed like a good time. So let's look at the Animal Crossing movie.

The story opens with a young girl named Ai moving to the animal ... village, pretty much exactly like the games. She introduces herself at the post office and heads to get her key from a massive tosser, Tom Nook. Who instantly put her to work without giving her much say in the matter, just like the games. Nice to see that he's still a giant wanker. We then spend the rest of the film watching Ai collect random rubbish, just like the games. Okay, that part's a lie. We actually follow Ai as she interacts with the folks in the village. She makes good friends with a cat named Bouquet and an elephant named Sally who dreams of becoming a fashion designer. Most of the film is just a slice of life look at their interactions with each other and several other colourful characters. It's all very simple, light-hearted and whimsical. Surprisingly, I don't really have anything to complain about storywise. Sure it's really simplistic, but it's also a kid's movie. The pacing is pretty well handled. There's always something happening, but it never feels overly hectic. The humorous elements work pretty well and the overall theme of finding yourself works effectively. The cherry pie metaphor that they use for the theme is silly, which adds to the whimsical nature of the film as a whole.

The characters in this are pretty shallow, but they're mostly a lot of fun. Halberd and Yu's misadventures provide quite a bit of amusement. Kotobuki's re-election side plot has a lot of amusing moments. Ai's relationship with Sally and Bouquet is pretty well handled. The interactions between characters tend to be very lively.

The art in this is actually pretty amazing. I'm not a big fan of the art in the Animal Crossing games, but the translation into film is very vibrant. The characters look pretty much exactly like they do in the games. The flowers, fossils, and other various background features are amazingly detailed. The animation itself is very smooth and it all just looks really good.

The voice acting is well handled. There are some really good actors in this like Kanai Mika, Yamaguchi Mitsuo, and Horie Yui. The entire cast does a good job with their roles. The only real weakness is K.K Slider's live performance. It sounds pretty much exactly like it does in the games. Like an overly-synthetic piece designed to empty a room.

The yuri factor is a 1/10. It's Animal Crossing, what did you expect?

And that was Animal Crossing, the film. I thought this was going to be a crappy tie-in film with lots to poke fun at, but there was a lot of effort put into this. It's almost like the production team said "Yeah, this is an Animal Crossing movie but let's give it our all anyway." It's a simple but highly entertaining piece that's sure to appeal to fans of the series, kids and people who can appreciate whimsy. For myself, I give it a 7/10. I find the whole thing rather charming and enjoyed it quite a bit more than the games themselves.

For those of you who enjoyed the game, Animal Crossing was an interesting movie. It summarized the game fairly well, adding in different characters and giving Ai, the main character, a home to live in. It was a fun thing to watch. The animation was cute and the storyline similar to that of the games.

One thing that I didn't like much about this was that it didn't have much of a plotline to go off of. Much like the game, you get a job and fix a house up and that's pretty much it. Where do you go with that in a movie?

Really, you would think that there is not much to say about Animal Crossing, but that just is not the case with this movie. It is simply wonderful when you watch it for what it is: Pure and simple enjoyment. This movie captures all the best elements from the game (the character archetypes, events, chores, etc.) and puts them together seamlessly with a plot that, while certainly not Shakespeare, is certainly cute and simple but workable. And the best part is that it never feels like this is trying to sell you something. Did it make me want to play the ... games again? Surely. Did it feel like I was watching an hour and a half commercial for a product? Not in the least, and that was great.

The animation is crisp, clean, bright, and fun. It might not be amazingly detailed, but it follows the style of the games almost to the letter. And while I could probably go on and a bit more about this movie, I'll just leave it at this. Animal Crossing is a very fun, refreshing movie that allows even "old folks" like myself to just take a break and smile for a little while.

What can I say its Great. Animal Crossing just melts the heart strings but also ...

THIS IS THE GREATEST FAN DUB I have ever seen. When Nintendo of America say no just do it yourself and it works so well. I honestly don't know why Nintendo of America never dubbed this movie as it would obviously been great for bringing fans into the franchise. I understand some people prefer subs but as a child's movie a dub just makes sense. Plus listening and being able to focus on all the details the movie has to offer is really enjoyable.

All thats left is to vote for ... 1. me the mayor 2. me the mayor 3. me the mayor or 4. me the mayor. #tortimerformayor

Animal Crossing, much like the games, doesn't really have a complex story. That is, things don't really happen for a reason, they just kind of happen at random and don't have any real point to them. This made the whole thing very difficult to sit through, and about 1/3 of the way through the movie I was already bored of it. They do try to spice it up here & there, having some adventure-themed moments, and trying to throw in a bit more plot by introducing some mysterious elements... but both of these still manage to come off as forced, and also somewhat uninteresting.

The characters ... tend to be the real focus of the whole thing, and they're lively and represented well. Many of your favorite characters from the game make cameo appearances, as one would expect, but there are also some original characters introduced, too. The original residents of the town all have specific personalities to them. Despite that, they don't actually have very much depth to them, but it works pretty well for the context of the setting, and mirrors how the residents in the game would act. However, in terms of characters, I thought the main-character, Ai, was just a very typical, bubbly, cute girl... and she didn't really appeal to me at all as a character. She was very uninteresting to watch on screen, and her motivations throughout the story were also not very interesting. Why they chose her as the main character, I'll never understand.

The art captures the style of the game pretty well, but it doesn't end up looking all that splendid. The animation never "wowed" me, but it was certainly passable, and seems like it accomplished what it set out to do, despite being basic, and not very impressive.

The soundtrack, on the other hand is fantastic! We get a bunch of arranged tracks from the game, as well as some original material, and it all blends together wonderfully, creating the exact kind of atmosphere you expect from Animal Crossing. I watched it in Japanese, and the voice acting is pretty well done, for the most part, but a few of the voices didn't seem to fit, and I thought Ai-chan's voice was a bit generic and annoying, as well.

Animal Crossing started off as a fun little movie, but it quickly became boring, and difficult to sit through. Nothing really stood out as being interesting, and even when they threw in some exciting moments, it still managed to feel pretty tepid and unexciting. This mellow atmosphere suits Animal Crossing well, and it would have been fine in a shorter production... but I just feel like this movie is far too long, and would have been better served if it was only a half hour or so. On top of that, the art is somewhat average, making the whole thing feel really average. There's a few decent moments here & there, but I'd definitely say my time would have been better spent elsewhere.

Overall, I give Animal Crossing a 5/10.

Ok. So I watched the movie and it was ok, I am not an Animal Crossing fan, but this movie is changing my mind a bit. Well, without further ado, lets get to the score.

Story:
The story pretty much follows the Animal Crossing one abit, and I liked how it turned out. Its pretty much about the main character, called Ai, and how she meets the neighbors and new friends, and gets to her new home. I give this a pretty 9.

Art:
The art was fantibulostic. Well, not that of the WOW! But to the animal Crossing style, it fits pretty well, and every character is pretty ... well drawn. Every single detail of the game can be there, you might even think you're in the game! ....A little... But anyway, the backgrounds are simple and cool, and the characters move smoothly. THats why I give this section a 10.

Sound:
The sound wasn't that urgent, it seems, when I played the game, I heard the same things. It wasn't that different. But it fits pretty well! So I'm not going low with this one, but there isn't much to say either. Here is a 9.

Character:
Perfect. Golden. Can't be touched. Every character acts the way he/she is supposed to and doesn't change through the entire movie. I couldn't see this movie any better if this was changed. Everything, some acted friendly, some acted weird, and some funny. There was a lot of variety! You know my score for this, if not, here is is: Golden 10.

Enjoyment:
I liked it. I wasn't expecting it to be like this and even bring me to play the game. Even though some of you find it boring, or that the main protagonist is a girl, I think otherwise. I'm not forcing you to see this movie, but this movie confirmed me the point that not all games have to be played to see a certain movie. This gets a well-deserved 10.

Overall:
Well to finish this, its a pretty cool movie I recommend watching, even though you haven't played the game. It might even give you the spirit to play it like me.

With all that said, I give my farewell!

9/10.

If you are a major fan of Animal Crossing, you should watch this. The main character, Ai, is reminiscent of the journey one goes on when they play the game. She starts off confused, until she eventually starts to fit into town after a while and she even made some friends.

The worst part of this movie was Whitney by far. I never liked her as a villager, and she's even more of a stuck-up jerk in this movie. Other than her, the rest of the characters are likable and fun. I loved how they portrayed Mr. Resetti especially.

The artwork stands out as it is ... consistent to the game's art style while also having a bit of flair. Everything just looks cute and colorful.

Watching this again makes me feel that the series could lend itself well to an anime series or another OVA. With the recent popularity thanks to new leaf, it would be worth a shot!

Like many of the others I had no idea what to expect going into an animated version of Animal Crossing; as the games themselves have little to no plot other than what you make of it by yourself.
However, what I found was a loving adaptation of the video games that any fan of the series would enjoy! (Especially those who loved Animal Crossing: Wild World) This was a beautiful, heartfelt, and child-friendly movie with a plot that anyone could follow.

Final Line: If you're a fan of the games or just love cute things in general this is a must see!

"It gives the Player the ultimate AC feeling."

It's nearly 10 years since this movie came out, and I watched it for the first time today. So how does it hold up?

If you are a fan of the Animal Crossing games, you know how addictive it is. Doing in game activities that you rarely do in your own life. (Fishing, Collecting bugs, sharing gifts with friends on a regular basis)

Thinking, how on earth could Animal Crossing have a film, when there is no plot? That is sort of the charm it got. The film uses the simple lifestyle of the villagers, as well as their day ... to day activities. Showing the viewer most of the possible activities, and events within the earliest games.

For what the game has to offer at any plot related material, there is evolution stages of friendship, which is seen by most of the villagers, and the plot itself surrounds over interaction and friendship.

The art was nostalgic, and quite enjoyable to look at. Colourful, and full of background material, that gives you the feeling of being in the Animal Forest.

The music is a direct homage to the original game, and does not bring any new material to the mix, but for a fan of Animal Crossing, just listening to the tunes alone are great.

Characters where alright for the time. It is hard to actually pick out the main characters for a film such as this, with over 200 at the time to pick from, I think they used some of the better ones in the film.

For being this simplistic, it brings me the feeling of actually looking at Animal Crossing, which is what the film should be all about, so if you have any interest in Animal Crossing on any level, then this film will not disspoint.

I have in my life, had many thoughts. One such thought that has occurred to me in the duration of my life time is the following. Animal Crossing (Doubutsu no Mori) is easily described in two words:

Pog movie

I really enjoyed the film.

I would recommend everyone gives it a shot. It made me happy.

KK Slider was my favorite character. Underrated GOAT

... All my friends I showed this movie to enjoyed it. My sister loved it as well. The music in the movie was great.

It's not as amazing as the GOAT Ping Pong, but it is still a fantastic movie I would recommend.

8/10

Alright, I'm jumping into this review, trying not to be biased whatsoever.

Animal Crossing has and will always be my favorite game franchise, so I was ecstatic to find out there was a movie. The movie, however, was not dubbed (or subbed?) for Western viewers, but some voice actors came together and made their own (very good) dub.

Now, onto the movie. I'm pretty biased when it comes to rating things, but this I can give a proud 8. While it plays out like a slice-of-life, it's definitely something I'd say the average Animal Crossing fan would enjoy, especially after winding down from school or work. Plus, ... it's enjoyable for all ages.

While it may not be the world's best anime movie, it was way better than the Mario one, that's for sure.

First review, so please bear with me.

I was surprised at seeing that majority of the reviews I've seen on here are positive, so here's one with an opposite tone. Naturally, this review is overall negative. I'm a relatively new fan of Animal Crossing (starting with AC:NL just this year), but I've instantly fallen in love with it, so finding out it had an anime adaptation made me instantly drawn to it. I expected a lighthearted, character driven slice of life, but what I got was a movie too ambitious for it's own good.

Story: ... 4/10.
The story is bad. There are around 3 or 4 different arcs in this movie, each of which feels like it should have been 6 episodes long. Instead, they're condensed to around 30 minutes each, which just makes them feel really rushed and full of plotholes. There really isn't much more for me to say.

Art: 7/10.
The art is pretty good. They tried to make the artstyle closely resemble the Animal Crossing games, and I think it worked out pretty well. The animation isn't anything to write home about, but there are some excellent usage of CGI which can occasionally make it a blast to watch.

Sound: 9/10.
Most of the music in this game are remixes of music from various Animal Crossing games, mainly the Wild World and City Folk ones as that's the time period this movie was produced in. So naturally, the OST is fantastic. They even included a live performance of K.K. Bossa, one of my favrouite K.K. Slider songs in! The music is generally used appropriately, athough there are some places where it seems a bit awkwardly put.

Character: 6/10.
I feel like the movie introduces way too many characters to get attached to, so in the end it just makes you not have much emotional attachment to any of them. The individual characters are fine, as most of them are faithful to their in-game counterparts, but I feel like the directors were reaching way too far for this. This may be just me though, as I have never really interacted with any of the characters in the movie save Celeste and Blathers.

Enjoyment: 6/10.
Most of the parts I liked about the movie are the OST and the characters interacting with eachother, but I feel like the story significantly hinders my enjoyment of this movie. However, I did manage to enjoy it.

Overall: 6/10.
Despite all it's shortcomings (mainly the story), I still managed to enjoy the movie. I feel like it could have been much better for me if I had any prior significant attatchment to any of the main characters, but I don't. However, the movie set a beautiful message and executes quite well on it, and for me that makes it all the more memorable. In the end, this is a kid's movie, targeted at kids, so I think taking it too seriously would really hinder your enjoyment.

Since I'm a fan of the game I decided to watch the movie. I liked how they had the same sound effects in the right spots and the same music as well. I was surprised how good the movie was since it was a video game that all you had to do was collect items, sell them, and pay your debt to your house and what not. They had a lot of the characters in it like Tom Nook, The Able Sisters, K.K. Slider etc. For K.K. Slider they had actual lyrics to the music. I didn't know they had lyrics to the songs. It ... also reminded me that K.K. sung in front of the train station in the Game Cube version. I forgot about that. Overall the movie was really good.

How do you make a movie based on a game with no story? Like this, apparently.

What impresses me the most about Animal Crossing: The Movie, is how perfect of an adaptation it is. Not only are a lot recognizable being portrayed here, but nearly almost scene connects to something you can do in the the game, whether it be letter-writing, digging for fossils or shaking trees. The film even portrays the feelings surrounding your favorite villager moving away without telling you. That way it feels both self-aware and genuine at the same time.

The only problem is that if you haven't played any of the games, ... a lot of what happens in the film might not make much sense to you. But if you have played at least one of the games, or just enjoy slice of life in general, there's a lot to enjoy here.

It hits me that slice of life is not just a fitting genre for this movie, but the only one that would have worked for film based on a game series that depends on not having much of story to work. The film has a great uplifting atmosphere. Relatively mundane conversations are made enjoyable by a lighthearted and whimsical nature. Much like other entries to the genre, it's very light on story and has a lot of scenes where not much happens and you just get to see the characters living their lives. There still is a story, it's just not the focus, nor should it be in this case. The film does take a rather strange turn towards the third act, as the characters have to deal with the arrival of an alien. What's even stranger than that though, is that it kind of made sense to me at the time of watching, only after finishing the film did I question the decision to include aliens. What is this film doing to me?

The characters all have enjoyable personalities that are expanded upon from the games. The ones that are featured all stand out in their own way. Blathers was one of the most amusing to me, as he's tendency to talk at insane lengths is much funnier when he doesn't stop himself from doing it and someone else has to step in. Of course, the fan-favorite K. K. Slider gets his own amazing scene as well. I'm also happy that the main character, (called Ai in the film,) isn't just the default design for the player character, like what you'd see in the trailer for the new Super Smash Bros. When a film is based on a game with a customizable main character, it's always nice to see a bit of creativity in the character design department.

The film also introduces another kid, Yuu, based on the player character, who is from a neighbor village, an idea that's probably based on ability to visit other people's towns in the game. In fact, I almost regretted him not being the main character, as he was much more active and did more things you typically do in the games, like catch bugs and bury pitfalls. What I found the most amusing was how he had a completely different outfit in nearly every scene he was in. Towards the end he's also the one risking his life to help others, yet it's still Ai who gets rewarded for some reason.

The film may survive on charm alone, but there's a lot of it. With nice tone, good animation, fitting voice acting and enjoyable characters, it's a movie I didn't think could work, and yet turned out really well.

Does anyone else find it weird that an 11 year old is moving out on her own though? That can't be just me, can it?

Random Award of the Day: Child Labor Simulator
Disney Sidekick(TM) Award: Pretty much everything in the entire film

Writing: 6.5/10
Animation: 8/10
Voice acting: 7/10
Adaption: 10/10
Overall: 8/10

A little crushed that the Animal Crossing movie was just a feature-length commerical for the DS game and coasted on its charm with zero notable elements. But I don't know what I was expecting anyway, considering Nintendo never released this movie in the West.

It has many nice moments and it's very cute. It's also a movie for kids so whatever. But it feels like a compilation movie to a 26-episode TV series that doesn't exist and its meandering plotless slice-of-life story is just the kind of boring thing so many Japanese comedies and dramas fall prey to.

Something quieter and more laid back would have been ... way better for me, but I guess if they did that they couldn't show off all the cool gameplay features.

It's not easy to adapt such a strange concept into a movie. But whoever did it, they managed to keep (at least) the spirit of the game. Watching this movie makes you feel soothed and give you a smile you keep all along.

It's not really a great movie though. The story is kinda predictable, even boring considering the very slow pace of the movie. But, maybe by some spell cast on you, you end up appreciating this little moment in this little village with these little and cute characters. Especially when the ost comes from the game..

And that's why we love Animal Crossing.

Animal Crossing was possibly my favourite ever video game that I played growing up, so when I found out there was an anime film adaptation I knew I had to watch it no matter how bad it may turn out to be.

Thankfully, it wasn't wasted time.

This film is, in a word, beautiful. It captures all of the elements of the game seamlessly, from the world which the main character (Ai) lives in to her friends and other NPCs of the game with their unique personalities.

I was always wary of the story for this film as Animal Crossing doesn't actually have one, but yet the ... writers manage to tell a narrative that works on many different levels. Certain aspects go no deeper than those who would just be watching it casually as well as hardcore fans of the game which would have an expansive knowledge of every Easter Egg the film throws at them. There are some profound lessons to be learnt at the end as well.

Everyone should see Doubutsu no Mori, you'll have a good time.