A few days ago I made the trek out to my local cinema to see a film I have been looking forward to for some time. If the title of this review didn’t give it away already, that film was Mirai. It’s the latest film from talented director Mamoru Hosoda who’s previous work’s I have reviewed on the site already. Mirai contains a very grounded family centered story but blends in many of the supernatural traits that made Hosoda’s previous films so great.
Mirai’s story is centered around a young 4 year old boy named Kun and his acceptance of no longer being the only child in the family after his parents arrive home with his newborn sister in the opening scenes of the film. After being initially excited about the arrival of the baby he quickly grows to resent her once he realises he’s no longer the centre of attention of his family and their friends.
This leads into the main story telling device of this film. After lashing out at his sister in a moment of frustration he steams off into the backyard, slamming the back door and heading down the steps. It’s here that Kun realises his backyard has transformed into a magical garden where his dog has taken the form of a human and conveys to Kun that before he was around he himself was the centre of attention of the family, was loved more and given better food.
Kun then wakes back in is home with everything, including the morphed back yard appearing normal again. This same loop of events occurs multiple times throughout the film and is usually kickstarted by Kun becoming frustrated at a member of his family and storming off down the backyard steps.
Although after the first time the backyard does more than morph into a new magical setting, Kun begins to travel backwards and forwards in time to be able to speak with a future version of his sister Mirai, experience childhood moments with a younger version of his mother and learn the battle hardened ways of his war veteran great grandfather.
Kun takes the life lessons and advice gained from these trips through time to gain more insight into who his sister will become and change his perspective and understanding on why his parents are raising him the way they are.
I went into this film completely blind. I had seen the initial teaser trailer months ago and was excited for the new Mamoru Hosoda film but other than that I remained in the dark and didn’t want to know the details of the films plot. And because of that it took me a while to realise what the story or message of this film was meant to be.
It wasn’t until Kun had traveled a couple of times that it clicked and I realised this wasn’t a film like his previous work Summer Wars or The Boy And The Beast where there was a story with an enemy or goal that the plot was building towards overcoming established withing the opening act. This film is more in tune with Wolf Children, a more family oriented story that is trying to convey a certain feeling or overall personal message to the viewer.
It was really cool though to see numerous nods to themes from Hosoda’s previous film’s here in Mirai. Such as the dog transformation scene, the theme of time travel and the visiting of strange, unfamiliar and supernatural worlds.
One thing I can’t praise enough in Mirai is it’s gorgeous background art. As with Hosoda’s previous work’s the backgrounds here are artworks of their own. With many of the film’s set-pieces featuring vividly coloured and stunningly detailed backgrounds that really adds to the overall look and quality of the film.
The characters in the film all carry the signature Mamoru Hosoda look. Having very flat colours and minimal to no shading or highlights on the character models themselves. This is the same art style that has featured in his previous films, even all the way back to the Digimon movie he directed. Looking at any screenshots from the film immediately indicate it’s a creation of Mamoru Hosoda and his team over at Studio Chizu.
Although when speaking of the visuals there was one thing I wasn’t a big fan of and stood out more because of how great almost everything else looks. And that’s the overuse use of CG in certain scenes. Towards the start of the film it’s used very subtly for some great looking snow effects but there are times in the film such as during an underwater scene with hundreds of fish, a scene on a fast travelling motorbike and the demonic train sequence towards the end of the film where it was used as the primary on screen animation and it’s glossy 3D look stands out like a sore thumb. I don’t mind the use of CG in animated films but I don’t want it to be so visually obvious.
And speaking of the demonic train scene, I was really not expecting that in this film after watching the first hour and twenty minutes or so of it. It was such a tonal shift towards the dark and eerie that it felt like Studio Chizu had teamed up with the folks behind the movie Coraline. This is for the most part a very family friendly movie but just beware this sequence towards the end may scare younger children.
The second problem I had with the film is that towards the end of the second act the pacing slows right down. Mostly noticeable during one of the time travelling sequences in which Kun visits his great grandfather of the past. It’s a good sequence and the story gained from this time travel loop is crucial for certain outcomes later in the film but it sticks around too long compared to other time loops that had more going on. The scene also isn’t helped by having it be silent for lengthy periods of time, making it feel stretched out to fill movie runtime.
The film ends on a heartwarming and peaceful note and in true Hosoda fashion leaves you with something to think about after it’s credits have finished rolling. This film carries a deep message which could be missed by some viewers, but for those that can relate to the grounded elements of the film there’s a good chance the themes in the film will resonate deeper. While Mirai is not my most loved of Hosoda’s work’s it’s still a film that’s very much worth watching and certainly carries that charming Hosoda DNA and is a welcome addition to his catalogue of films.
Final Thoughts
As mentioned, this isn’t my favourite Mamoru Hosoda film but it is one that I will definitely watch and enjoy again. I think this film will have a harder time resonating with a mass audience compared to his previous film’s but as a new father raising a family of my own I saw myself in it’s characters and could relate to the grounded family moments and the message the film was trying to convey.
While moments of the film are let down by noticable use of CG and slow pacing I still had an enjoyable time watching it and am looking forward to what Hosoda’s mind and the crew at Studio Chizu can come out with next.
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8
- + Visually gorgeous
- + A supernatural but family orientated grounded story
- + Contains that heartwarming Hosoda charm
- + Top quality animation (for the non CG scenes)
- - Noticeable CG effects overused in certain scenes
- - Pacing during the second act
