Kitarô Kôsaka’s light-hearted and contagiously joyful film contains just enough beautiful imagery, positive messages of acceptance and touching moments to warrant a look.
Okko's Inn(若おかみは小学生!)
✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ Read critic reviews
Japan · 2018
Rated PG · 1h 34m
Director Kitarou Kousaka
Starring Seiran Kobayashi, Harumi Ichiryusai, Nana Mizuki, Satsumi Matsuda
Genre Animation, Comedy, Fantasy
Add to Watchlist
Please login to add films to your watchlist.
12-year-old Oriko Seki, who lost her parents in a car accident, ends up living at a traditional Japanese inn run by her grandmother. As she trains to become a young innkeeper, Oriko discovers that there are friendly ghosts who live at the inn and keep her company.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
Los Angeles Times by Charles Solomon
In a divisive era, Okko’s Inn carries a welcome message of acceptance and inclusion.
Even at its most serious, Okko’s Inn is calibrated for the attention span of a five-year-old; as mature and abstract as the lessons its protagonist learns might be, there’s no use making an uncommonly honest kids movie about death if kids aren’t interested in (or able to) sit through it.
Okko has to learn how to get along without her ghosts. Seems like a lot of learning, but the narrative fits it in so organically, and the characters and action are so lively and colorful, that the medicine goes down as if it’s been spun entirely of sweet stuff.
Kōsaka keeps Okko’s quest light and perky, not fully drilling into the vein of childhood trauma-induced fantasy that the best of Ghibli and Pixar hit upon. It proposes attentiveness to others as a means of self-care, but it has the same brisk impatience with real inner conflict that the grandmother has towards Okko’s outbursts.
Users who liked this film also liked
I'm a Cyborg, but That's OK
(싸이보그지만 괜찮아)
Convinced she is a cyborg, Youg-goon is admitted into a mental institution where she meets an unexpected match.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Korea • 2006
- Director Park Chan-wook
- Cast Lim Soo-jung, Rain, Oh Dal-su, Lee Yeong-mi, Kim Chun-gi, Park Jun-myun
- Genre Comedy, Drama, Romance
- Available on No streaming locations found.
Hotarubi no Mori e
(蛍火の杜へ)
A story of friendship and romance between two unlikely beings; a human girl and a mountain spirit.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 2011
- Director Takahiro Omori
- Cast Ayane Sakura, Koki Uchiyama, Shinpachi Tsuji, Hayato Taya, Izumi Sawada, Kanehira Yamamoto
- Genre Romance, Animation, Fantasy
- Available on No streaming locations found.
The White Haired Witch of Lunar Kingdom
(白发魔女传之明月天国)
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- China • 2014
- Director Jacob Cheung, Zhang Zhiliang
- Cast Fan Bingbing, Huang Xiaoming, Vincent Zhao, Xuebing Wang, Ni Dahong, Cecilia Yip
- Genre Fantasy
- Available on Hi-YAH, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, YouTube, Tubi TV, YouTube Free, Pluto TV, Plex, Plex Channel
Aria the Avvenire
(ARIA The AVVENIRE)
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 2015
- Director Junichi Sato
- Cast Kaori Mizuhashi, Ai Kayano, Mai Nakahara, Junko Minagawa, Tomoko Kawakami, Chiwa Saito
- Genre Animation, Comedy, Science Fiction, Fantasy
- Available on No streaming locations found.
The Pass
The night before their debut game, Jason and Ade, two nineteen-year-old professional soccer players, share a kiss.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom • 2016
- Director Ben A. Williams
- Cast Russell Tovey, Arinzé Kene, Lisa McGrillis, Nico Mirallegro, Rory J. Saper
- Genre Drama, Romance
- Available on Dekkoo, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Crackle, The Roku Channel, Pluto TV, VUDU Free, Plex Channel
Mary and the Witch's Flower
(メアリと魔女の花)
Young Mary follows a mysterious cat into the nearby forest and discovers an old broomstick and a strange flower.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 2017
- Director Hiromasa Yonebayashi
- Cast Hana Sugisaki, Ryunosuke Kamiki, Yuki Amami, Fumiyo Kohinata, Hikari Mitsushima, Jiro Sato
- Genre Fantasy, Adventure, Animation
- Available on Netflix, Netflix basic with Ads, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Spectrum On Demand
Fireworks
(打ち上げ花火、下から見るか?横から見るか?)
If only I could return to that moment.
- ✭ ✭
- Japan • 2017
- Director Akiyuki Simbo
- Cast Suzu Hirose, Masaki Suda, Mamoru Miyano, Shintaro Asanuma, Toshiyuki Toyonaga, Yuki Kaji
- Genre Animation, Drama, Fantasy
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Hoopla
Custody
(Jusqu'à la garde)
A powerful story about unhealthy family relationships.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France • 2018
- Director Xavier Legrand
- Cast Denis Ménochet, Léa Drucker, Thomas Gioria, Mathilde Auneveux, Mathieu Saikaly, Florence Janas
- Genre Drama
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Kanopy
Missing Link
Mr. Link, an investigator of myths and monsters, sets out to prove the existence of the Sasquatch.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Canada, United States • 2019
- Director Chris Butler
- Cast Hugh Jackman, Zoe Saldana, Zach Galifianakis, Stephen Fry, Timothy Olyphant, Emma Thompson
- Genre Animation, Comedy, Adventure, Fantasy, Family
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Tubi TV, Pluto TV, Hoopla
Burning
(버닝)
Jongsu's solitude is interrupted when he runs into a childhood neighbor and her enigmatic friend.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Korea • 2018
- Director Lee Chang-dong
- Cast Yoo Ah-in, Steven Yeun, Jun Jong-seo, Kim Soo-kyung, Choi Seung-ho, Moon Sung-keun
- Genre Drama, Mystery, Thriller
- Available on Netflix, MUBI, Fandor Amazon Channel, Peacock Premium, Peacock Premium Plus, AsianCrush, Netflix basic with Ads, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Tubi TV, The Roku Channel, Pluto TV, OnDemandKorea, Kanopy, Hoopla, Plex, Plex Channel
Next Gen
Friendship is the ultimate upgrade
- China, Canada, United States • 2018
- Director Joe Ksander, Kevin R. Adams
- Cast John Krasinski, Charlyne Yi, Jason Sudeikis, Michael Peña, David Cross, Constance Wu
- Genre Animation, Action, Adventure, Comedy, Family, Science Fiction
- Available on Netflix, Netflix basic with Ads
Masquerade Hotel
(マスカレード・ホテル)
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 2019
- Director Masayuki Suzuki
- Cast Takuya Kimura, Masami Nagasawa, Takako Matsu, Fumiyo Kohinata, Zen Kajihara, Nanao
- Genre Crime, Mystery
- Available on No streaming locations found.
Case Closed: The Fist of Blue Sapphire
(名探偵コナン 紺青の拳(フィスト))
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 2019
- Director Chika Nagaoka
- Cast Minami Takayama, Kappei Yamaguchi, Wakana Yamazaki, Rikiya Koyama, Nobuyuki Hiyama, Naoko Matsui
- Genre Action, Animation, Adventure, Crime, Family, Mystery
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, YouTube
Bombay Rose
An escaped child bride and a refugee fall in love on the streets of Mumbai.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- France, India, Qatar • 2019
- Director Gitanjali Rao
- Cast Amit Deondi, Gargi Shitole, Makrand Deshpande, Cyli Khare, Anurag Kashyap
- Genre Animation, Drama, Romance
- Available on Netflix, Netflix basic with Ads