Surreal, beautiful and utterly engrossing

Rating: 8/10 (13 January 2003)

If you want a sensational headline for this movie or motivation to go see it I can offer this: "Wizard of Oz" meets "Alice in Wonderland" meets the Brother's Grimm in a very japanese sort of way.
This film has it all. Love, laughter, horror, confusion, suspense, serenity and like all good tales it teaches lessons. The animation is for the most part superb. The vocal talents of the english speaking actors is great and does not distract. The wild, surreal imagery and artistic quality of this movie is top-notch. You may never see anything quite like this again in your life. By far the most enjoyable japanese anime film I have seen (my previous favorites were "Ghost in the Shell" and "Akira".
I have a hunch japanese audiences would understand far more of the imagery and symbolism than I did. I'm sure at least some of the cast of characters in this film is as much a part of japanese culture as "Paul Bunyan", "Pecos Bill", and "John Henry" are a part of American folklore.
I do not hesitate to recommend this movie. It's worth full price on the big screen.