Usually when a film adaptation of a video game is announced, it makes me angry. Seldom are these movies good, and even when they are good they're usually just popcorn entertainment. Also, I can only think of 2 cases where the movie actually follows the games story: Final… More
Usually when a film adaptation of a video game is announced, it makes me angry. Seldom are these movies good, and even when they are good they're usually just popcorn entertainment. Also, I can only think of 2 cases where the movie actually follows the games story: Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children and Halo: Legends (interestingly these are also 2 of the better game adaptations that I've seen). Still, as a gamer, whenever a new one is announced I find myself shoveling out 10 bucks to see it. However, when Animal Crossing: The Movie was announced, it did not make me angry. It did, however, make me incredibly confused.
For those who have never played Animal Crossing, it's basically a life stimulator. You're character goes to a village inhabited by anthropomorphic animals. You visit your neighbors, do chores, decorate your house, and design clothes. Describing the game it may sound boring, but it's strangely addicting charming. The game's catch was it's internal clock that followed time in real life. For example, if you played the game during winter there would be snow on the ground, and there were special events during specific times and days throughout the year.
With a game that literally has no story, the movie adaptation would have to take some liberties. Right? Surprisingly no. The movie's story follows Ai as she moves into Animal Town, starts working for the devious raccoon Tom Nook, and begins friendships with her neighbors in the town. All of these things are taken straight from the game. There's an ongoing bit about Ai finding messages in bottles that tell her to plant trees in certain locations for a "miracle" to occur during winter, but that's about the closest thing to plot you're going to find in this movie. The biggest conflict involves one of Ai's friends moving away, and it's a conflict that is quickly and conveniently resolved.
It's a slice-of-life piece, and that's the only way you could make an Animal Crossing movie. This works for the movie though, and it manages to be enjoyable through its charm. It's been about 8 years since I played Animal Crossing, and it was fun for me to see characters I remembered translated to screen. Their personalities from the game come through in the movie. Even Mr. Resetti (a character who, in the game, yells at you if you reset your system without saving) makes an unexpected and hilarious appearance in the movie. Strangely enough, this is the most accurate adaptation of a video game I've ever seen. The characters look just like they did in the game, the design of the town has all the familiar locations, there's even dialogue and music taken straight from the game with virtually no alterations. Above all, it has the game's charm.
The movie has some points I didn't like. The bit involving Ai's friend leaving fell a bit too much into melodrama, and the Christmas "miracle" was kind of weird and made the movie briefly feel more like Contact than Animal Crossing. Ultimately though it's really hard for me to complain about this movie. It doesn't do anything revolutionary, but it doesn't do anything terribly wrong either. Plus it's just so delightfully charming that I can't help but love it. It left me smiling at the end, and you can't fault a movie for doing that. It's fluff, no doubt about it, but it's good fluff. It's a movie that knows exactly what it's supposed to be, and it delivers.
As a post note, this film has not recieved an official American release. However, it is very easy to find online (the entire thing is up in multiple parts on YouTube, along with a pretty good fandub). Also, I have no idea why RT lists this as a documentary.
