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Helen
the Baby Fox |
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Helen and Arashi Fukusawa in Helen the Baby Fox.
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Year: |
2006 |
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Director: |
Keita
Kohno |
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Writer: |
Masaki
Imai |
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Cast: |
Takao
Osawa, Yasuko Matsuyuki, Arashi Fukusawa, Ryoko Kobayashi,
Shunji Fujimura, Hideko Yoshida, Ryoko Tanami, Sadao
Abe |
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The
Skinny: |
A young boy nurses an ailing baby fox back to health in this heartwarmingly cute children's movie. Fans of Old Yeller and The Yearling will not be disappointed. |
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Review by
Calvin
McMillin: |
Helen the Baby Fox
is the kind of children's movie that almost defies any
sort of conventional film critique. A simple litmus
test for whether you might enjoy it is probably the
title character herself. Just take one long look at
that little fox, and you'll know exactly where you stand.
If the mere image of Helen warms you to the core, well,
the movie has already won half the battle for your heart.
But what's commendable about Helen the Baby Fox
is that it isn't content to merely coast on the undeniable
"cuteness factor" of its non-human star. Nice performances,
beautiful imagery, and a decent time-tested "coming
of age" storyline, all contribute to making Helen
the Baby Fox a standout family film. Oh, and did
I mention the fox is almost unbearably adorable? That
helps A LOT.
Based on the book by Minoru
Taketazu, Helen the Baby Fox contains a fairly
by-the-numbers plot, but it's dressed up and executed
in such a way that it feels fresh. On his way home from
school, a little boy named Taichi (Arashi Fukusawa)
discovers an abandoned baby fox on the side of the road.
After playing with the animal for a bit and soon realizing
it has no place else to go, he takes it to the local
police officer (Sadao Abe) to see if he can locate the
fox's mother. Unsure of what to do about the situation,
the cop takes Taichi and the fox deep into the woods
to meet the local veterinarian, Koji Yajima (Takao Osawa).
The somewhat irascible Koji
lives with his feisty daughter Misuzu (Ryoko Kobayashi),
and although they won't admit it, they both have a soft
spot for taking on "charity cases" - even though the
number of animals they're taking care of is starting
to eat them out of house and home. Unbeknownst to the
cop, the Yajimas and Taichi are already well acquainted,
as it turns out that Taichi has been living with them
ever since his mother (Yasuko Matsuyuki) dropped him
off before embarking on a photo assignment. Of course,
Taichi wants to keep the animal, although Koji is a
bit frustrated about taking on yet another "freeloader."
Eventually, they discover the shocking truth about Helen
- she's deaf, blind, and mute. How's that for
a triple whammy?
Inspired by the story of Helen
Keller, the fox is soon "dubbed" Helen, and Taichi takes
on the nickname "Sullivan" (after Anne Sullivan, Helen
Keller's tutor). Viewing the abandoned Helen as a kindred
spirit of sorts, Taichi assumes a parental role, attempting
to nurse the frail young creature back to full strength.
In the meantime, Taichi does chores for the veterinarian,
and slowly, but surely, a ragtag "family" is born amongst
the four of them. But even all the love in the world
may not be enough to save Helen. Yeah, it's one of those
movies. Get out your hankies.
While adjectives like "heartwarming"
and "affecting" may turn off some viewers immediately,
Helen the Baby Fox achieves these qualities without
coming off as cloying schlock. The film earns its emotional
beats, even though I would imagine most adults are well
aware of how things are going to play out. As with most
family films, Helen The Baby Fox does attempt
to communicate the kind of "important life lessons"
that we've come to expect from the genre, but again,
the presentation of such matters is well-executed.
From a purely visual standpoint,
Helen the Baby Fox is a feast for the eyes, especially
in the amazingly picturesque outdoor scenes of rural
Hokkaido. But it's not all pretty pictures either: the
film is well served by its cast members. Young actor
Arashi Fukasawa does a fine job in the lead role, while
Takao Osawa (so good in Crying Out Love in the Center
of the World) anchors the film as the local vet
who comes across as half-curmudgeon, half-Good Samaritan.
With a cute young star and even cuter title character,
Helen the Baby Fox already contains the primary
ingredients for an enjoyable children's film, but what
makes the whole project all the more digestible is the
coming together of likeable performances, eye-catching
locales, and solid underlying premise. Under its cutesy
veneer, the film deals with serious issues of life and
death, and does so successfully. Fans of Old Yeller
and The Yearling will not be disappointed. In
fact, Helen the Baby Fox may just be a Japanese
family classic. Or maybe I'm just smitten by that damn
cute baby fox. Oh well, I'm betting you will be, too.
(Calvin McMillin, 2006) |
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Availability: |
DVD (Hong Kong)
Region 3 NTSC
Panorama
16x9 Anamorphic Widescreen
Japanese and Cantonese Language Tracks
Dolby Digital 5.1
Removable English and Chinese Subtitles
Various Extras |
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