While it is a visually and audibly well made film, I found it was lacking in any kind of "wow" factor.
This is a pleasant film to watch, but even without the unavoidable comparison to Ghibli, there was nothing that made this film stand out or feel special, so it seems like a bit of an unfortunately missed opportunity for Ponoc's debut. At the end of the film you might think "ah, that was nice" and then forget about it, and continue with whatever you would otherwise be doing - this film didn't leave any particular impression on me, no matter how high the production level was. Because of this, although the animation was great, and the designs were lovely, I couldn't rate this above a 7.
Considering this, I'd recommend this to anyone who just wants to sit down and relax for a couple of hours, and not have to think to much, or to keep your children entertained - I imagine this would make a great bedtime film - not to say that it will put you to sleep for lack of interest, but just because of it's gentle atmosphere.
As far as the plot, well, there's not much to it, it's a bit predictable, but I guess it relays those good old moral messages, so again would be great for children who are new to any tropes that we may recognise in this film.
