I love this movie so much

This Movie Can Only Be Described With One Word.

Plot so thin, it passes unnoticed.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

The most striking aspect of Satoshi Kon's well-regarded 2003 anime feature is the fact, that the script could have easily been a live action. In fact, the story may be hindered slightly by anime format and certainly derives no benefit from it. To be fair, Kon's animators do an excellent job of using broad kabuki facial expressions to express the various emotions the characters encounter during a wildly improbable set of Christmas Day events. They also render the dark complexity of the Tokyo underground and its forgotten homeless population (Japan's legendary low unemployment rate is helped by not including people without a permanent, legal address in the statistics) with a fearful realism. Kon's production team does render the plot-driven character development that unfolds frame by frame throughout the film with the pathos of a Tennessee Williams' play. So you can't fault the execution of the animation, it just seems unnecessary. Live action or anime, however, the story of two homeless men – one transgender – and a runaway who find a baby abandoned among some Tokyo garbage and their effort to unravel the mystery of its parentage plays as compellingly backwards as it does forwards. In the effort to return the baby to the rightful parents, both men are forced to confront their pasts and their own allegorical abandonments. While the plot twists defy even the best efforts at suspending disbelief, they are entertaining even if some allow the mechanics of the writing to show through. In short, see this satisfying tale for the compelling story even if you are not into Japanese anime and definitely don't wait for the inevitable American remake (Nathan Lane as "Uncle Bag", Abigail Breslin as Miyuki, etc.).

A John Wayne film from 1946 gives us the initial thrust of plot, three homeless bums discover a baby in the trash and take it upon themselves to deal with it. It's a film so full of coincidence and magic happenstance, the kind of which produces oddball but heartwarming scenarios for characters not ready to deal with the, yet at the same time it doesn't ever ring false because it's about miracles of life and miracles are only false if we don't believe in them. I'm not generally taken in by animation but Satoshi Kon does some amazing things here, the atmosphere of Christmas in a country that celebrates it only passingly is unique, the streets are empty and there's a faint bell going off in a Shinto temple somewhere in the dark, and the painted faces emote like real people, they pout and scowl and snarl like real people do. And I loved Miss Hana/Uncle 'Bag', she's one of the most interesting characters of the decade I think, a woman born a man who takes the part of both mother and wife but repudiates her roles as both in search of family. The film is trying to make us 'feel' Christmas, it wants us to not be the cynic onlooker who observes plot contrivance but rather be conflated with the contrivance so that it becomes meaningful. This should be one of the great Christmas movies, where things are bitter funny and snow whirls under the lamp posts of cold empty streets, then they're sad and faith-restoring but we know it's all a feelgood fantasy that says 'everything will be alright'. I like how Satoshi Kon injects complex human behaviour here, one of the protagonists is in drag, another takes us in through a weepy personal story which is later revealed to be the complete fabrication of a cowardly man, the girl is like a cipher of teenage rebellion, stabbing her father seemingly over a cat.

This was quite an amazing movie. The story kept twisting around while never being confusing, and stayed surprising till the very end. While childish in many ways it touched on quite adult issues in others. Homelessness and the various reasons for it, Japanese healthcare, Yakuza, Immigrants, Drugs, Violence in its many facettes and, as always in Satoshi Kons movies till now, the human psyche. While many of those issues are only touched briefly (including psychology), it seems like the director wanted to show a crossover through society. Thus the movie is quite packed, and thus the movie is quite entertaining to say the least. Strangely enough though, no sex whatsoever.The characters were unique in their own way and believable on the stage the movie provided. The character animation was OK. We've all seen better, but with this movie that's hardly the point. Satoshi Kon definitely overused the deus ex machina in this one, but then again he always does (altough I still have to see Paranoia Agent), so I was expecting it. Plus he always does it in such unpretentious ways that I can simply enjoy it. So what? Coincidences DO happen. Especially on Christmas. ^^ I wouldn't want to exchange the end of this movie for anything more believable, its just to... fitting.In short I could find nothing wrong with this movie. While it didn't get me thinking, it certainly entertained me from start to finish. Well... I didn't care for the dancing skyscrapers.8/10One other thing though. I'm utterly sick of hearing comparisons to Miyazaki. It's like fanboys comparing every Fantasymovie or book with LotR. Seriously, HOW, can anyone compare this movie, or even more, something like Perfect Blue with Totoro, Chihiro or Laputa? What mindbending techniques are necessary to accomplish this task, I ask you? Comparing Miyazaki with Kon is like comparing Spielberg with del Toro. They just make different kinds of movies. Miyazaki and Kon are both terribly talented Directors and writers, they both make brilliant movies and they both happen to work in Japan. The End

Usually (maybe if it was another film) I'd say that all those coincidences how the people meet and how all turns good during the whole film (It just happens a hundered times!) are SO KITCHY but no way! **ck it! It's GREAT! It's a pleasure to watch! It's **cking hilarious! I didn't think for one second that I was going to rate this one lower then 10/10 pancakes here.It's a masterpiece! Kitchy? No way, it's an x-mess film AND it makes us feel happy!Somehow totally reminded my of Night on Earth by Jim Jarmusch...What beautiful anime!If you're out for some VERY positive, funny, crazy film that has still an excellent feeling for serious drama (elements and bits) and a titanium solid story then your choice must be Tokyo Grandfathers!Description in one word: ENJOY!