Absolutely amazing

Excellent characters with emotional depth. My wife, daughter and granddaughter all enjoyed it...and me, too! Very good movie! You won't be disappointed.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

I even liked the animals who visited Gauche and made him play songs for them. It's very good to see an anime like this with such great art and that is very uplifting. Bravo to all involved!

I was expecting to connect emotionally with this film, since I found that I'm a sucker for movies/TV shows/commercials that have big "everything-changes-for-the-better-and-you-prove-everyone-else-wrong" scenes. I mean, have you seen that inspiring Pantene commercial? Unfortunately, "Goshu the Cellist" didn't do that for me.I felt like this movie lacked character development. All that was shown were different animals coming to Goshu's house each night and requesting him to play the cello for them over and over again. I felt like there was no development in Goshu's part. His playing seemed all right in the beginning. There were no loud pauses or screeches or anything that showed that Goshu needed to improve. It was the same until the very end. Maybe Goshu's personal development was only caught by people with a more professional musical ear.While watching this, I got reminded of "Bambi", "A Christmas Carol" and "Aesop's Fables". Those are all great works, so I didn't understand why "Goshu the Cellist" didn't make me feel anything throughout the whole movie, even until the very end. This film was made for children, seeing as it is a fairytale, though a few people who are older, may find some kind of enjoyment in it, I guess. Not for me, though.Viewed on: May 2, 2011

*Summary is at the top, Review is at bottom* Goshu the Cellist is a great fantasy that tells the story of Goshu, a cellist, and how he improves his cello playing by learning from four different animals, or spirits. Accompanying the story is an amazing score and beautiful, detailed artwork.The story begins with Goshu and the orchestra he is playing in practicing for a recital. His maestro begins to get frustrated with his lack of emotion and out of rhythm playing.Goshu later goes home and begins to practice and hears a knock at his door and opens it to find a Cat, probably prototype artwork for The Cat Returns and Whisper of the Heart. This Cat requests that he play a piece, but Goshu refuses and plays "The Indian Tiger Hunt". This makes the Cat fly around the room and hit his head, among other things.The next night he is visited by a Cuckoo, who asks him to play the scale so he can practice. Goshu does this, reluctantly, and goes into a dreamlike state where he is in a clearing in the forest and the Cuckoo is flying into the sky, which is later broken when he thinks of Beethoven as a bird. He begins to yell at the Cuckoo and makes the him leave.A young Raccoon (possibly another prototype for Pom Poko) is the next animal, or spirit, to visit Goshu. The Raccoon asks Goshu to play a song so he can play the drums on Goshu's cello. The first time Goshu plays it, the Raccoon tells Goshu that whenever he plays the second string, he feels like he is stumbling. Goshu then plays the song again and goes into another dream, where he and the Raccoon are playing on a moonlit field. It soon becomes morning and the Raccoon leaves.Goshu's last visit comes from a Mouse and her child. She tells him that her child is dying and Goshu is the only one who can cure him. Goshu proclaims that he is not a doctor, therefore can not help. He soon finds from the Mouse that his music cures the animals, and that whenever an animal gets sick, they go under his floorboards and are cured almost instantly. Goshu agrees to play, and the child mouse is cured.You then see Goshu performing with his orchestra. When they are finished, the maestro begins to cry. They are asked for an encore, so the maestro sends Goshu to play. Goshu thinks that this is to make fun of him, so he plays "The Indian Tiger Hunt" again. Even though he played this piece of music, everyone gave him a standing ovation. The maestro then comments on how he improved so much in just 10 days. The whole orchestra then goes to celebrate.*Review* Goshu the Cellist is a wonderful piece of art. You could expect something this great from Takahata, and it also shows prototypes for the art in Pom Poko and The Cat Returns. The movie is filled with great artwork and music, and is very relaxing and gently paced. Although short, it will stick with you for a long time. This movie is hard to come across, so don't pass up the opportunity. You will not regret it.

My grandson and I enjoyed this film together. We have developed a taste for such from Totoro and Castle in the Sky. In a quiet way you come to see the development of Goshu, enjoying the artwork, music and animal characters along the way. What a nice change of pace from the current stuff on Cartoon Network!