Tokyo Godfathers (2003)

90% of critics liked it
(59 reviews)
88% of users liked it
(12,164 ratings)

Japanese filmmaker Satoshi Kon directs his third anime feature with the holiday film Tokyo Godfathers. The story takes place in Shinjuku, Tokyo, on Christmas Eve. Middle-aged has-been Gin, aging transvestite Hana, and teenage runaway Miyuki are three homeless friends who have formed a kind of… More Japanese filmmaker Satoshi Kon directs his third anime feature with the holiday film Tokyo Godfathers. The story takes place in Shinjuku, Tokyo, on Christmas Eve. Middle-aged has-been Gin, aging transvestite Hana, and teenage runaway Miyuki are three homeless friends who have formed a kind of makeshift family structure. Their bond is tested when they find an abandoned baby while searching for food in a garbage dump. They have no choice but to care for the infant themselves. The group travels throughout the city, searching for the baby's parents and coping with their personal reactions to the situation. Tokyo Godfathers premiered at the Big Apple Anime Fest in 2003. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: PG-13, 1 hr. 32 min.
Directed By: Satoshi Kon, Shôgo Furuya
Written By: Sadayuki Murai
Genres: Drama, Animation, Art House & International, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Comedy

In Theaters: Aug 30, 2003 Wide
On DVD: Apr 13, 2004
Studio: Sony Pictures

Critic Reviews

J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader
Japanese animator Satoshi Kon has a striking sense of composition, but I'm more impressed by his storytelling skills.
Ken Eisner, Variety
Takes anime to a whole new level.
Gary Dowell, Dallas Morning News
One of the most moving, enjoyable and wholly unconventional Christmas stories to come along in a long time.
Wesley Morris, Boston Globe
Demonstrates an idiosyncratic human touch. Kon is unafraid of the unseemly and unsightly.
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune
It doesn't make sense to praise an anime movie's acting, does it? Yet you can't help but marvel at the expressive pen-and-ink performers.
Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post
Gritty yet surprisingly touching story.
Amber Wilkinson, Eye for Film
The score grates in places but the script hits the mark, with the potty-mouthed vagrants certain to be a hit with older children.
Pablo Villaca, Cinema em Cena
Depois do brilhante Millenium Actress, Kon conta uma história bem mais simples, mas igualmente tocante e mágica, brindando o público com uma belíssima animação de tirar o fôlego.
D.W. Smith, Film Threat
It's a modern-day fable with a big heart...
Nick Schager, Lessons of Darkness
A delightfully rambunctious holiday fable about the vital importance of family.
Ethan Alter, NYC Film Critic
The film mixes genuinely dramatic scenes with exaggerated comic bits.
Robert Roten, Laramie Movie Scope
Miracles, redemptions and reconciliations happen in the snow-covered Tokyo night.
Jeffrey Chen, Window to the Movies
A sweet little melodrama of deep, personal wounds being treated by dashes of holiday miracles, and it's enough to bring a smile to one's face.
Don Willmott, Filmcritic.com
this is a movie about Tokyo as much as it's a movie about three friends and a baby.
Walter Chaw, Film Freak Central
The greatest danger for Tokyo Godfathers is that it's read as drama when, in fact, it's a gentle, often delightful, slapstick comedy.
Jerry Renshaw, Reel.com
The three principals have more depth than those in many live action movies, and Kon handles them all with a great deal of tenderness and compassion...
Frank Swietek, One Guy's Opinion
Tugs at the heart more than it warms it...a lovely-looking film, but hardly the emotional powerhouse some are suggesting.
Sean Means, Salt Lake Tribune
Kon provides a gritty depiction of Tokyo street life, but balances it with a dose of fantasy (it is Christmas, after all) and comically exaggerated characters.
Jeff Vice, Deseret News, Salt Lake City
Does have a few things going for it, including some effectively dramatic plot points, as well as some unexpected twists.
Paul Sherman, Boston Herald
A convincing salute to family but, more distinctively, it's also a salute to the real-life difficulty of keeping one together.

Read all 22 critic reviews

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

Lewis C

Meh, not really my kind of anime. It was hard for me to keep interest in this story of a baby found by three homeless people during the Christmas holidays in Tokyo, and their search to find her mother. The characters didn't appeal to me, their pasts and how they became homeless… More
Meh, not really my kind of anime. It was hard for me to keep interest in this story of a baby found by three homeless people during the Christmas holidays in Tokyo, and their search to find her mother. The characters didn't appeal to me, their pasts and how they became homeless didn't endear them to me, and the art style and animation did nothing for me. I guess I just prefer fantasy or sci-fi flavored animation more. To be honest, I probably wouldn't have bothered to finish this if I hadn't told the person who recommended it to me that I'd watch it. Perhaps others will enjoy this more than I did. Tokyo Godfathers makes a genuine effort to tell a heartfelt and touching story, it just wasn't a story that I could bring myself to care about.
Robert C

A "delightful" little Christams story. Beats the hell out of that horrible "It's A Wonderful Life".
Saskia D

Saw this movie again and I decided that it deserves a higher rating! The story is a little unconventional for an anime, but that's why I like it so much. It's a perfect combination of humor and drama, and boy is it funny! Hana is definitely my favorite character, it's… More
Saw this movie again and I decided that it deserves a higher rating! The story is a little unconventional for an anime, but that's why I like it so much. It's a perfect combination of humor and drama, and boy is it funny! Hana is definitely my favorite character, it's how he/she talks, walks and looks. And I guarantee you, even if you're not a fan of anime, you're gonna enjoy this and have a good laugh n_n It's beautifully animated, the details, the facial expressions, the colors, the lighting, everything. Love it love it love it!!!! <div style="width:360px;"><a href="http://www.flixster.com/movie/tokyo-godfathers/photos?p=11455815"><img src="http://content9.flixster.com/photo/11/45/58/11455815_ori.jpg" border="0"/></a><div style="text-align:center;font-size:10px;"><a href="http://www.flixster.com">
Drew S

Tokyo Godfathers is a good movie, but it's probably the weakest of Satoshi Kon's films. I don't know if I've outgrown anime, because Paprika elicited a similar underwhelmed reaction, or if I just managed to watch all his best work before the bookend stuff. This for… More
Tokyo Godfathers is a good movie, but it's probably the weakest of Satoshi Kon's films. I don't know if I've outgrown anime, because Paprika elicited a similar underwhelmed reaction, or if I just managed to watch all his best work before the bookend stuff. This for sure has its moments, like the stunning climax (which gets immediately undercut by the lame ending), and Kon has put together a lovable ensemble of characters. But it's a huge tonal mismatch, for one. A Christmas comedy about three vagrants and a dumpster baby...followed by an insane woman trying to kill herself and said baby after kidnapping it from the hospital? Uh, I could imagine this causing some discomfort if you showed it at your next holiday party. This just doesn't hit like the rest of Kon's work does. Anime is a medium that can parlay a lack of focus into tonal strength since it's so visual/multisensory. The more you're getting the better, pretty much. Tokyo Godfathers, unlike Kon's other films, does not have the narrative required to take advantage of this. Simply put: it's done a disservice by being an anime. Worth watching, but if you've already seen Millennium Actress or Perfect Blue, you've gotten the best of Kon.
Tsubaki S

Feel-good story that manages to be fun and interesting to watch. Not the best from Kon, but still worth a check.
August S

Heartwarming and fun.
Lesley N

Unusual Christmas animation, unless your idea of convention is three squabling homeless people (a mouthy young girl, a transvestite and an alcoholic cyclist) finding a baby in the rubbish and trying to make it or find it a family. Sentimental but not in a cloying way, and full of… More
Unusual Christmas animation, unless your idea of convention is three squabling homeless people (a mouthy young girl, a transvestite and an alcoholic cyclist) finding a baby in the rubbish and trying to make it or find it a family. Sentimental but not in a cloying way, and full of inplausible coindidences but not in an irritating way, and refreshing too, compared to most Xmassy films. You could watch it as a double bill with BAD SANTA when you need an antidote to dewy-eyed kids lisping "I believe in Father Christmas".
Marion R

It was okay. The film had a couple of cute, funny moments. The animation itself was pretty interesting and the movements of the characters were almost theatrical at times.

Read all 8 featured audience ratings

Cast

Toru Emori
as Gin
Yoshiaki Umegaki
as Hana
Aya Okamoto
as Miyuki

Masato Harada
as Youto Kazama
Mitsuhiro Ogata
as Hidenari Ugaki
Jun Horikawa
as Toshitaka Shimizu

See full cast

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