The stereotypical Christmas film involves plenty of coincidences, a corny, cheesy message and the extraordinary. Tokyo Godfathers has all of this in spades. The film even emphasises this at the beginning when Hana wishes for a Christmas miracle. However, unlike other Christmas films, this has Satoshi Kon's zany influence.
The premise for Tokyo Godfathers is a dark, yet interesting one; three homeless people finding an abandoned baby. In fact, most of the film deals with dark themes, such as the abuse of homeless people. But the film has an amazing ability to merge these dark themes with a lighthearted adventure. While convention would show these scenes involving tragedy to be incredibly depressing, there is somehow a positive twist to it. This leads to an entertaining and unique experience.
The first thing to notice while watching this film is that the surreal scene transitions that Kon is known for is kept to a minimum. This means for people who found Kon's other films difficult to follow, this one is much simpler. However, that does not mean the cinematography or any technical aspects to the film have been downgraded. The artwork is as impressive as ever; the expressions of the characters are just as varied and the voice acting is spot on. Tokyo Godfathers is definitely the most accessible Kon film, which makes sense considering it is a Christmas film.
The protagonists in Tokyo Godfathers are an odd bunch; a crossdresser, a drunk and a runaway teen. This combination allows for some easy comedy, however as the film progresses these characters are given depth. The first few scenes quickly establish the closeness of these characters, almost like a family (Hana the mother, Gin the father and Miyuki the daughter). Due to how genuine these relationships are, the characters are easy to relate to. They converse, care for each other and journey together as a family would. It also helps that their interactions usually end up with plenty of witty banter or slapstick. These characters drive the story and will have you laughing all the way through. The best part though is learning how important each character really is to each other and how they cope with their personal tragedies.
What makes Tokyo Godfathers a quality film is that while extraordinary coincidences occur frequently, the characters are mostly grounded in reality. The film reminds the viewer that homeless people are still people who deserve to be treated with dignity, but usually aren't. While this message isn't groundbreaking, what the film does manage to do is give its homeless characters dignity. They aren't just people in need of help/charity and there is no guilt tripping. Instead, by the end of the film they're heroes in both the fictional world and for the viewers, which is something rarely seen in any form of storytelling. Hence, going on an adventure with these characters becomes a fulfilling experience. The only real downside to the film is that at times the cheesiness can be a little over the top. For some people the coincidences can be too much, but remember, this is a Christmas film. It is meant to be a fun and engaging, almost fairy tale-esque story; it is not meant to be completely real or have a serious tone.
So my recommendation is that everyone should watch Tokyo Godfathers. It is a film that is easily accessible, hilarious and entertaining with a heartwarming message. Best of all, it rewards you with a great end credits.
