Tokyo Godfathers

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Tokyo Godfathers

PG-13

Released Aug 30, 2003

1h 30m

Comedy

Drama

Anime

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92%

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76 Reviews

91%

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10,000+ Ratings

Middle-aged alcoholic Gin (Toru Emori), teenage runaway Miyuki (Aya Okamoto) and former drag queen Hana (Yoshiaki Umegaki) are a trio of homeless people surviving as a makeshift family on the streets of Tokyo. While rummaging in the trash for food on Christmas Eve, they stumble upon an abandoned newborn baby in a trash bin. With only a handful of clues to the baby's identity, the three misfits search the streets of Tokyo for help in returning the baby to its parents.

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Critics Consensus

Beautiful and substantive, Tokyo Godfathers adds a moving -- and somewhat unconventional -- entry to the animated Christmas canon.

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Nick Schager

The Daily Beast

A modern animé classic fit for rediscovery by both adults and kids-not to mention a stirring celebration of inclusivity that remains ahead of its time.

Feb 2, 2021

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Chris Stuckmann

ChrisStuckmann.com

Tokyo Godfathers stands as an excellent anime film and a really fun Christmas movie.

Rated: A

Dec 28, 2020

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Joe Morgenstern

Wall Street Journal

In one sense the plot involves returning stolen goods to a thief, but Tokyo Godfathers is really about longing -- for family, for children, for parents and for the lost past.

Dec 9, 2013

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Tim Brayton

Alternate Ending

Grotty, unpolished, but lovable humanity.

Rated: 4/5

Dec 28, 2022

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Mat Brunet

AniMat's Review (YouTube)

Tokyo Godfathers is a wonderfully emotional animated feature that manages to deliver so much with so little.

Rated: 9/10

Nov 11, 2022

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Carson Timar

ButteredPopcorn

While perhaps unorthodox both for the genre it belongs to and the filmmaker it comes from, there is no denying that overall Tokyo Godfathers is a success.

Rated: B

Aug 28, 2022

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Babusee :

This movie is so fucking good. I LOVE HANA ESPECIALLY!!! I mean, the rest of the cast is amazing, but Hana has a special place in my heart! I just wish that (spoilers) the ending wasn't as open. Like, yeah, I get the artistic appeal of it, and I'm usually a sucker for open endings, but for this particular movie I genuinely wish there was like, at least a photo or something, years later with everyone smiling or something. These characters are too special to me. I *need* confirmation that they ended up okay. Anyway, 9/10. I wish it was a little bit longer so it could explore it's characters further, but it's one of the best holiday movies I've ever seen. And I'm jewish, and do not care about Christmas at all, so that's how GOOD the movie is to me

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

10/06/24

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Alex M

I was too young at the time to take in some of the themes of this great movie and there are a few. But the main one that lingered with me well after I saw it is how single moments in our past can effect us so much, it defines who we are for our whole lives. But if those moments were ones of shame, failure, or trauma, there is absolutely no reason we can't come back from that, and live a better life than what we are now.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

06/18/24

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Alec B

The movie avoids sentimentality by its utterly strange narrative that throws in so many coincidences and seemingly random events that you're never quite sure where this is going.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

05/21/24

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Crey Fish S

I love the idea of more adult animated films focusing on human connection but couldn't quite get behind the script and pacing.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/11/24

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Maíra S

It's one of those movies you don't forget about. It's interesting and very often unpredictable, and I like the characters a whole lot. I like the way every piece and every character fits the story. It's also weird, in a good way, it's really fun how there's crazy stuff happening one after another and yet everything just feels so real at the same time, there's this flavor of rawness of the story and the characters that just makes it so oddly good. I like it a lot.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

01/02/24

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john N

Very funny, and heartwarming anime Christmas movie. A little slow to start, but very soon it takes off and does not disappoint

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

12/23/23

Full Review

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Satoshi Kon

Director

Yoshiaki Umegaki

Hana

Aya Okamoto

Miyuki

Toru Emori

Gin

Shinichi Kobayashi

Executive Producer

Taro Maki

Executive Producer

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Tokyo Godfathers: Re-Release Trailer

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Synopsis

Middle-aged alcoholic Gin (Toru Emori), teenage runaway Miyuki (Aya Okamoto) and former drag queen Hana (Yoshiaki Umegaki) are a trio of homeless people surviving as a makeshift family on the streets of Tokyo. While rummaging in the trash for food on Christmas Eve, they stumble upon an abandoned newborn baby in a trash bin. With only a handful of clues to the baby's identity, the three misfits search the streets of Tokyo for help in returning the baby to its parents.

Director: Satoshi Kon
Producer: Masao Maruyama
Distributor: Sony Pictures Entertainment, Columbia Tristar, Samuel Goldwyn Company
Production Co: Mad House Company Ltd.
Rating: PG-13 (Thematic Elements|Some Sexual Material|Language|Violent Images)
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Anime
Original Language: Japanese
Release Date (Theaters): Aug 30, 2003, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 2, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA): $129.0K
Runtime: 1h 30m
Sound Mix: Surround

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