Penguin Highway is an incredible movie which blew my expectations higher than they already were. The aspect that made me want to watch this movie so much, the penguins, is what creatively amounts to the story to make what it is
_ #Summary The story put forward is on a boy by the name of Aoyama who investigates into why there are penguins in his village through the help of a few friends and a Lady he meets at the dentist who he frequently communes with. Aoyama and his friends soon discover a huge bubble which they soon name 'the Ocean' that floats in an open plain encircled by a forest. This bubble seems to have a connection to the penguins as they investigate further and the Ocean overtime begins to grow in size. Towards the end of the movie we see that the bubble is a threat to the village and in order to do something, Aoyama and the Lady enter, only to be welcomed by an empty blue sky and sea with some sort of village coated in white. The ending involves the Ocean bubble having been burst by the Lady and the twist that Lady is someone from Aoyamas imagination.
The plot puts a lot of focus on the coming of age as Aoyama, this kid, wants to grow up and this story effectively shows the effort needed to overcome trials and learn what it's like to be a grown up.
_ #Characters Aoyama the 10 year old genius has a set focus on growth by learning things an adult which seperates him and others his age due to them not understanding him. Its as soon as the penguins are seen that we see how serious he is in this manner of formality. Onee-san/Lady is the woman who Aoyama meets at the dentist who goes on to be his chess tutor but thats minor when we progress through the story. Onee-san is truly a very mysterious character with her power of creation at certain times of the day in correlation with how she feels and is clear that she is the main reason that these events are taking place, the penguins, the Ocean and even monsters called Jabberwocks. Having a character like this sets the pace for the movie and just like Aoyama we want to find out how she can do this and why she can do this.
Other characters such as Ushida and Hamamoto assist Aoyama in the investigation of the penguins and the Ocean, Aoyamas father is supportive for Aoyamas growth and investigations and his mother is supportive for his growth health wise. _
#Animation__
The animation is this film is outstanding and so beautiful. The studio that made Penguin Highway was Studio Colorido, co-founded by director Ishida and former Studio Ghibli animator Yojiro Arai and the animation Yojiro Arai provides from the setting to the characters and the scenes full of colour and action its all done so incredibly well.
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#Music__
Utada Hikaru does it again, Good Night is perfect for a movie like Penguin Highway as it says 'Mystery solving never ends' a stability that there is always something to find out and even though Aoyama found the correlation between Onee-san, the penguins and the Ocean he doesn't know who she is, trying to solve the mystery behind her that he sensed all the way back near the start of the movie. And the repetition of goodbye that is used indicates his acceptance in the fact that it's over and she is gone hinting his growth as an individual. If you haven't heard Good Night by Utada Hikaru its worth the listen.
In the end, my opinion on this film is how well it was executed through different means from its plot, characters, animation and music, all of it stands out to me making me love this movie so much. I hold it close because of its coming of age moral and how we all aspire to grow up like Aoyama does and we face the same moments of trial through our adolesence. This is all I need to give it a 10/10
