PENGUIN HIGHWAY (Theatrical Release Japan 2018)

 Ben Meyers’ rating: 3.6|5.0 Starsììì

Penguin Highway—animated movie—uses that wonderful animation that Studio Ghibli (Tokyo) uses. Not fancy, not hi-tech, slower paced, flat style that is calming and more peaceful than some American hi-tech animated features. This story has been put together well but its story is hard to follow, unclear in its meaning and reason for being told. The characters, however, have been well fleshed out and backed with good voicing.

Film Poster Courtesy of Wikipedia

Storyline 

Penguins begin to appear where they should not be in normal circumstances and a young boy begins to research what has happened. 

Additional Thanks 

Thank you to Director Hiroyasu Ishida for directing effort. Thank you to Producers Taku Matsuo, Yôko Matsuzaki, Noriko Ozaki, and Katsuhiro Takei for making the film possible. Additional characters/cast include: Aoyama-kun (Voice of Kana Kita), Onê-san (Voice of Yû Aoi), Tamaru/Ueda/Y-A Driver (Voice of Tony Azzolino), Uchida (Voice of Landen Beattie), Kobayashi (Voice of Winston Bromhead), Police Officer A/Principal (Voice of Bob Buchholz), Additional Voices (Voice of Christine MarleCabanos), and Aoki/Miura/Ono/Female Citizen B/Chess Boy B/Guilty Neighbor Lady (Voice of Dorothy Elias Fahn). 

Buy a ticket? Yes? No? Maybe?

No. The story continually raises questions and suffers from no clarity of purpose or even a general understanding of its cultural significance. Two questions that becomes central to the film are: Why are there penguins and what is the ball of water called the ocean? Read a plotline before watching the film.

 Video Critique Available Here:

Ben Meyers