Bara no Hana to Joe

Hence there's no review for this short, obscure movie I've decided to write one myself, perhaps this might help other users decide whether or not to watch it themselves.

This is a fairly old film from the 70's produced by Sanrio, the same staff responsible for the much more acclaimed Chirin no Suzu , so is Bara no Hana to Joe as good as the aforementioned movie? I would have to answer: close enough.
First of all, the duration of Bara no Hana to Joe is less than half of Chirin no Suzu, yet in about 20 minutes, it manages to convey a rather unique and bittersweet tale involving Joe, a dog that falls in love with a rose and his dedication into keeping the delicate flower out of the harm's way.
The scenario unfolds in an outlandish manner with playful, colorful imagery and is accompanied by groovy jazz audio.
It is animated in a simplistic fashion resembling a cartoon, but has some artsy traits here and there to set it apart; everything seems to be manually painted and is a smooth job at that.
There's not much to be said about the characters, aside of Joe who is an endearing little pup that tries his biggie best to protect the rose from any perils, the rose is personified a bit as well , but nothing too distinctive aside of showing gratitude towards Joe.

Overall, even if Bara no Hana to Joe doesn't explore themes near as consacrated and jarring as Chirin no Suzu, it still manages to convey a lot of emotion in a lighthearted manner and makes for a nice, quick watch and I consider that it deserves at least a bit more recognition for its authenticity.

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Wow, for a story based on a children's book, this is one downer of a story!

The short (20 minute) anime is definitely laid out like a young children's book, with a simple story and just three characters, simple backgrounds, and a kindly narrator that will speak a few sentences of story, followed by a minute or two of music, then more story.

It's about the love story between a young puppy dog and a giant anthropomorphic rose. Yes, you read that right. This is the trippy-dippy Seventies, after all, and why not a kiddie story about love between an animal and a plant? All is well...until the introduction of evil Mr. Crow (cue the overdramatic villain music so you know he's bad). At times their antics devolve into Looney Tunes style chase scenes. But as I said at the beginning, this is a downer of a story, so you know that tragedy is in the cards.

Why anyone would want to traumatize their young children with this story is beyond me. But so it goes.

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