Dōbutsu no Mori (Animal Crossing) Review | Video Game Movie Anatomy

Video Game Movie Anatomy hosts break down Video Game inspired movies to answer the age old question: DO GAMES MAKE GOOD MOVIES?!?! In today’s episode, hosts Mark Donica, Stacey Shuttleworth and Emma Fyffe discuss Red Faction: Origins!

Dōbutsu no Mori (“Animal Forest: Theater Version”) is a 2006 Japanese animated film directed by Jōji Shimura and based on the Animal Crossing video game series, especially Wild World. It was produced by OLM, Inc. and distributed by Toho in association with Nintendo. The film opened in theaters in Japan on December 16, 2006, where it went on to earn an estimated ¥1.7 billion (approximately $16,216,000) at the box office.

The film retains the theme of the video games, and centers on a 11-year old girl named Ai who moves into a village populated with animals where she works to make new friends and find her own dreams. Dōbutsu no Mori was not released outside Japan, and Nintendo of America has no plans for an English release.