A Letter to Momo

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A Letter to Momo

2011

2h 0m

Drama

Anime

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Popcornmeter

80%

Tomatometer

30 Reviews

76%

Popcornmeter

1,000+ Ratings

Momo is recovering from her father's death and her mother's decision to move their family from Tokyo to a remote island when she discovers a message from her father that causes strange events to occur.

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Critics Consensus

Sweet, sad, and visually striking, A Letter to Momo is a hand-drawn experience for animation fans to savor.

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Tom Hughes

Guardian

The hit-and-miss English dub flattens some of the dramatic beats, but this is still a rather lovely piece of work.

Rated: 4/5

Apr 30, 2015

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Tirdad Derakhshani

Philadelphia Inquirer

A sweet, heartfelt, yet never maudlin story about an 11-year-old girl's coming to terms with the loss of her father.

Rated: 3/4

Sep 5, 2014

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Thomas Lee

San Francisco Chronicle

It's difficult to imagine any children's movie retaining the attention of its intended audience for two hours, but this movie feels especially monotonous.

Rated: 1/4

Sep 4, 2014

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Ard Vijn

ScreenAnarchy

Yet the stunning artwork and detailed description of daily life on the Japanese islands sure makes this one worthy of a few visits. Highly recommended!

Jan 14, 2020

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Brian Gibson

Vue Weekly (Edmonton, Alberta)

Here, magic-realism and emotional realism run together. The story can lapse into jokiness or drag its heels a little. But when Momo's anguish bursts, and she soon realizes how sad her mother's truly been, the film bursts to life.

Jan 9, 2016

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Katherine McLaughlin

SciFiNow

This accessible and heartfelt anime charms because of its honesty and impressive attention [to] detail.

Rated: 3/5

May 7, 2015

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Audience Member

The movie is really cool! Besides having a glib feel, it makes me nostalgic for some cartoons I watched in Japan.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/15/25

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Tom F

Swinging for the Totoro fences here, and reasonably successful at it.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

06/07/24

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Audience Member

I kinda have fun with it pretty good tho

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/16/23

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Audience Member

With a lot of fascination with Japanese obsession with death, goblins, guardian spirits and the grotesque and the macabre, Hiroyuki Okiura's 6th feature film examines how a young girl come to terms with the death of her father. The unusual fascination with death and ghostly realms is a bit odd for non-Japanese audience but the reference to old-style mangas is inspired and comical goblins and their antics breaks the emotional heaviness of the story. Okiura revels in the beauty of the Japanese landscape and gives a story that has a lot of tenderness and a dose of slapstick comedy.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/13/23

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camille l

Le gros problème de Lettre à Momo vient du fait qu'on a déjà vu cela auparavant en beaucoup mieux. En effet, en l'état, il n'y a aucun problème avec cette histoire de fillette qui découvre qu'elle peut voir des Yokai alors que personne d'autre ne le peut. Mais il n'y a rien de réellement original dans le film d'Okiura Hiroyuki, que ce soit dans l'animation, dans les personnages ou dans le script. Bien que le film parvienne parfois à être touchant, il l'est autant qu'il est ennuyeux dans son développement. Les rebondissements dramatiques sont attendus, les yokai particulièrement agaçants, mais il en reste que Lettre à Momo possède un certain charme lorsqu'il se concentre sur les humains. Difficile alors de l'envoyer paître totalement.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

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Audience Member

This is a great surprise. So emotional and made me laugh and cry a lot. It can be cerebral at times and subtle at other times but I loved the message behind it which struck me at my weakest points. I can describe it as the half sibling to Spirited Away. Should not be missed out on! Must-watch material â?¤

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/08/23

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Hiroyuki Okiura

Director

Nishida Toshiyuki

Iwa

Yoshisada Sakaguchi

Great Grandfather

Koichi Yamadera

Kawa

Yuka

Ikuko Miyaura

Karen Miyama

Momo Miyaura

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Synopsis

Momo is recovering from her father's death and her mother's decision to move their family from Tokyo to a remote island when she discovers a message from her father that causes strange events to occur.

Director: Hiroyuki Okiura
Screenwriter: Hiroyuki Okiura
Production Co: Bandai Visual Co. Ltd.
Genre: Drama, Anime
Original Language: Japanese
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 6, 2016
Runtime: 2h 0m

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