Here's a really fascinating story. Many years ago, film director Mamoru Hosoda noticed how badly his little son reacted to his then infant sister, thus inspiring him to create a film called Mirai. Released in 2018, the film was a critical hit to the point of being nominated for a Best Animated Feature oscar in 2019, despite losing to the superior Into the Spiderverse. Despite that, it has been ranked pretty high amongst the other works from Hosoda such as The Girl Who Leapt through Time and Wolf Children. Perhaps the main reasoning for its appeal lies in its themes of childhood growth over emotional reactions.
Centered around the life of a young boy named Kun who feels forgotten by his family when his little sister Mirai arrives, the film is structured in a somewhat repetitive nature. Essentially, Kun's tantrums cause him to nearly run away from home until he stumbles upon a magical garden that showcases where he encounters an alternate perspective on his world. These include seeing his pet dog Yukko as a human, Mirai in the future as a teenager, and his mother as a little girl. From that premise alone, Hosoda depicts the philosophies of consequences during youth as cautionary tales for what could lead into the future and how one's family can help you in the long run. Considering how little Kun knows about the world at age four, whatever happens around his family concerning Mirai is so foreign to him that even the simplest of hurdles feel detrimental to the little guy. Any parent who has struggled with their jobs and kids simultaneously can relate to Kun and Mirai's parents, but actually seeing how much Kun learns from his family history makes his struggles through childhood even more understandable.
Given that the film is brought to life through the art of animation, it would almost seem like the film's down to earth nature wouldn't really feel necessary in the medium. However, Hosoda and the team at Studio Chizu elevated the film's narrative through colorful visuals that metaphorically express Kun's imagination. Depending on the individual sequence, the film recaps past events in Kun's family tree through clever editing, painterly backgrounds and lighting tricks to give off the illusion that we're in a creative landscape interpretation of reality. Even the down to earth moments feel like contrasts compared to the occasional magical moments between Kun and the characters he interacts with, all of which range from soaring heights to transforming into bizarre creatures. With how much the film shows the lessons Kun learns in the end as opposed to merely explaining them, the viewers are able to comprehend Kun's inner emotions through what happens in his time travelling gateway. And how funny that it all started because of his reluctance to being a big brother?
There are only a handful of movies that explore childhood development as imaginatively as Mirai. As unconventional as its narrative may be, since it might as well be a five act movie instead of three, that makes it all the more unique as a story of maturity through past actions. We've all been there as trouble makers at our youth, but those past mistakes help us improve further down the road until we've eventually gotten to a better state in our later years. Give this film a viewing if you yourself would like to gain the experience of childhood wonderment and lessons in more ways than one.
Centered around the life of a young boy named Kun who feels forgotten by his family when his little sister Mirai arrives, the film is structured in a somewhat repetitive nature. Essentially, Kun's tantrums cause him to nearly run away from home until he stumbles upon a magical garden that showcases where he encounters an alternate perspective on his world. These include seeing his pet dog Yukko as a human, Mirai in the future as a teenager, and his mother as a little girl. From that premise alone, Hosoda depicts the philosophies of consequences during youth as cautionary tales for what could lead into the future and how one's family can help you in the long run. Considering how little Kun knows about the world at age four, whatever happens around his family concerning Mirai is so foreign to him that even the simplest of hurdles feel detrimental to the little guy. Any parent who has struggled with their jobs and kids simultaneously can relate to Kun and Mirai's parents, but actually seeing how much Kun learns from his family history makes his struggles through childhood even more understandable.
Given that the film is brought to life through the art of animation, it would almost seem like the film's down to earth nature wouldn't really feel necessary in the medium. However, Hosoda and the team at Studio Chizu elevated the film's narrative through colorful visuals that metaphorically express Kun's imagination. Depending on the individual sequence, the film recaps past events in Kun's family tree through clever editing, painterly backgrounds and lighting tricks to give off the illusion that we're in a creative landscape interpretation of reality. Even the down to earth moments feel like contrasts compared to the occasional magical moments between Kun and the characters he interacts with, all of which range from soaring heights to transforming into bizarre creatures. With how much the film shows the lessons Kun learns in the end as opposed to merely explaining them, the viewers are able to comprehend Kun's inner emotions through what happens in his time travelling gateway. And how funny that it all started because of his reluctance to being a big brother?
There are only a handful of movies that explore childhood development as imaginatively as Mirai. As unconventional as its narrative may be, since it might as well be a five act movie instead of three, that makes it all the more unique as a story of maturity through past actions. We've all been there as trouble makers at our youth, but those past mistakes help us improve further down the road until we've eventually gotten to a better state in our later years. Give this film a viewing if you yourself would like to gain the experience of childhood wonderment and lessons in more ways than one.