The story takes some kooky turns and, at times, delves into the supernatural.
Tokyo Godfathers(東京ゴッドファーザーズ)
✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ Read critic reviews
Japan · 2003
Rated PG-13 · 1h 33m
Director Satoshi Kon
Starring Aya Okamoto, Yoshiaki Umegaki, Toru Emori, Satomi Kourogi
Genre Animation, Drama
Add to Watchlist
Please login to add films to your watchlist.
One Christmas Eve three homeless people — middle-aged alcoholic Gin, former drag queen Hana, and teenaged runaway Miyuki — discover an abandoned newborn while searching through the garbage for presents and set out on a journey to return her to her parents. A bizarre, heartwarming holiday tragicomedy inspired by Peter B. Kyne's novel "Three Godfathers."
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
Christian Science Monitor by David Sterritt
The story is sweet by animé standards, although it has harsh elements as well.
The film is as lively as a cricket and often very funny, but it's not for the cyberpunk crowd.
A welcome exercise in anime weirdness.
Wall Street Journal by Joe Morgenstern
A singularly strange and affecting comedy.
With its masterful grasp of comedy, pathos, social commentary and mystical weirdness, Tokyo Godfathers takes anime to a whole new level.
Entertainment Weekly by Lisa Schwarzbaum
Like the comic strips of Ben Katchor, Tokyo Godfathers artfully appreciates the beauty and humanity in junked lives and landscapes.
Los Angeles Times by Manohla Dargis
As with the greatest animated films, the triumph of Kon's work lies not just in its beauty and singularly sophisticated storytelling but in how that beauty and storytelling combine to give the films a sting so human you can forget you're watching a cartoon.
The A.V. Club by Tasha Robinson
No amount of shoehorned-in razzle-dazzle can keep this forced fable from feeling like a shadow of Kon's early work.
Users who liked this film also liked
Paprika
(パプリカ)
Just anyone can let themselves into your dreams now...
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 2006
- Director Satoshi Kon
- Cast Megumi Hayashibara, Tōru Furuya, Kouichi Yamadera, Katsunosuke Hori, Toru Emori
- Genre Animation, Drama, Mystery, Science Fiction, Thriller
- Available on DIRECTV, Microsoft Store, Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, AMC on Demand, Vudu, Spectrum On Demand, YouTube, Apple TV
Perfect Blue
(パーフェクトブルー)
A retired pop singer starts to lose her hold on reality when she is stalked by an obsessive fan.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1997
- Director Satoshi Kon
- Cast Junko Iwao, Rica Matsumoto, Shinpachi Tsuji, Masaaki Ōkura, Yōsuke Akimoto, Yoku Shioya
- Genre Animation, Thriller
- Available on DIRECTV, Microsoft Store, Shudder, Redbox, Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, Vudu, AMC+ Amazon Channel, YouTube, Shudder Amazon Channel, AMC+, Apple TV
My Winnipeg
A deeply personal look into director Guy Maddin's hometown of Winnipeg, where the lines of reality are blurred.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Canada • 2007
- Director Guy Maddin
- Cast Ann Savage, Amy Stewart, Darcy Fehr, Louis Negin, Brendan Cade
- Genre Comedy, Documentary, Drama, History
- Available on Apple TV
Only Yesterday
(おもひでぽろぽろ)
Is the life you have now really everything you imagined it to be?
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1991
- Director Isao Takahata
- Cast Miki Imai, Toshirō Yanagiba, Yoko Honna, Mayumi Iizuka, Masahiro Itou, Chie Kitagawa
- Genre Animation, Drama, Romance
- Available on Microsoft Store, Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, Vudu, YouTube, Apple TV, Max, Max Amazon Channel
Millennium Actress
(千年女優)
A documentary filmmaker interviews an aged actress about her legendary career.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 2002
- Director Satoshi Kon
- Cast Miyoko Shoji, Mami Koyama, Fumiko Orikasa, Shozo Iizuka, Masaya Onosaka, Showko Tsuda
- Genre Animation, Drama, Romance
- Available on Microsoft Store, Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, Hoopla, Vudu, Kanopy, YouTube, Apple TV
The Life of Oharu
(西鶴一代女)
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1952
- Director Kenji Mizoguchi
- Cast Kinuyo Tanaka, Tsukie Matsuura, Ichirō Sugai, Toshirō Mifune, Toshiaki Konoe, Kiyoko Tsuji
- Genre Drama
- Available on Criterion Channel
Lamerica
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Italy, France, Switzerland • 1994
- Director Gianni Amelio
- Cast Enrico Lo Verso, Michele Placido, Piro Milkani, Carmelo Di Mazzarelli, Elida Janushi, Sefer Pema
- Genre Drama
- Available on No streaming locations found.
Blow Up My Town
(Saute ma ville)
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Belgium • 1968
- Director Chantal Akerman
- Cast Chantal Akerman
- Genre Drama, Comedy
- Available on Criterion Channel
A Moment of Romance
(天若有情)
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Hong Kong • 1990
- Director Benny Chan
- Cast Andy Lau, Wu Chien-Lien, Ng Man-tat, Tommy Wong, Bonnie Wong, Sandra Lang
- Genre Drama, Romance, Action, Crime
- Available on Amazon Video, Night Flight Plus
Black Girl
(La Noire de...)
Senegalese woman goes to work for a family in France, only to be blindsided by her new employers' racism and brutality.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Senegal, France • 1966
- Director Ousmane Sembène
- Cast Mbissine Thérèse Diop, Anne-Marie Jelinek, Robert Fontaine, Momar Nar Sene, Toto Bissainthe, Sophie Leclerc
- Genre Drama
- Available on Criterion Channel, Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, Vudu, YouTube, Apple TV, Max, Max Amazon Channel
The Age of Swordfish
(Lu tempu di li pisci spata)
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Italy • 1955
- Director Vittorio De Seta
- Cast
- Genre Documentary
- Available on Criterion Channel
Good Morning
(オハヨウ)
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 2007
- Director Satoshi Kon
- Cast
- Genre Animation, Drama
- Available on No streaming locations found.
A Little Red Flower
(送你一朵小红花)
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- China • 2020
- Director Yan Han
- Cast Jackson Yee, Liu Haocun, Gao Yalin, Zhu Yuanyuan, Xia Yu, Yunpeng Yue
- Genre Drama, Family
- Available on No streaming locations found.