Many fans are aware of the Animal Crossing video game franchise, especially thanks to its popularity soaring when New Horizons was released in 2020. However, very few know that an anime adaptation of Animal Crossing already exists.
The anime adaptation is called Dōbutsu no Mori, or Animal Crossing: The Movie. It was produced by OLM, Inc., and distributed by Toho when it was released in 2006 in Japan. Though the film features many familiar faces, such as Tom Nook, it also featured other original characters such as human protagonists and even aliens.
10 There Is No American Release Of The Film
This film was exclusively released in Japan in 2006. In 2007, Nintendo of America made a statement saying that they had no plans to bring the film to North America. Though there are English-dubbed versions of the film that fans can find online, Nintendo of America still currently and officially has no plans to release the film in North America as of this writing. Fans hope that either a new movie will be made and distributed beyond just Japan, but whether that will happen is also currently unknown.
9 The Main Protagonist Is A Human
Much like how the player character is a human in the games, the main protagonist is a young girl named Ai who moves into Animal Village and bonds with the townsfolk there. This involves her interacting with not just characters in the village, but also a few characters from a neighboring village. Animal Crossing fans might recognize many of the villagers, since characters such as Blathers, Celeste, and Rosie all appear in the movie but are addressed by their Japanese names instead of the English versions (unless fans watch a dubbed version). Some traveling vendors are also shown in the film, such as Redd.
8 There Are Aliens Involved In The Film
It might seem strange to some fans that aliens exist in the world of Animal Crossing, but aliens do appear. During the events of the movie, the main cast ended up gathering parts of a spaceship. This led to them trying to find a missing piece in a cave blocked by a boulder.
This missing piece, however, turned out to be a real, damaged UFO and belonged to a larger group of UFOs that was attracted to the village thanks to Ai lighting up pine trees earlier in the film. Thankfully, the UFO reunited with its group and peacefully continued on its way, creating a constellation in the sky resembling Ai while doing so.
7 The Film Exists Thanks To Wild World’s Success
The film went into production thanks to how well one of the games in the franchise, Wild World, succeeded with audiences after being released in 2005. Wild World was so popular that three million copies were sold in Japan alone. Many of the Animal Crossing staff worked on the movie itself to give it the same vibes, appeal, and overall atmosphere that the games had. This turned out to be a success since it turned such a cozy game into a great anime movie adaptation that fared well in Japanese theaters during the year of its release.
6 There Is More Than One Human In The Movie
Even though Ai is the main protagonist and the main human that exists in the movie, there are also other human characters. One of them is a boy named Yū, who lives in a neighboring village. Ai and Yū end up working together later on to gather parts of a spaceship. This included them trying to find one of the missing pieces in a cave blocked by a boulder, though they had little success until one of the other villagers helped them out.
5 Tom Nook Appears In The Film
The fan-divisive Tom Nook appears as one of the many featured characters. During his time in the film, he put Ai to work shortly after she moved in by having her deliver goods from his shop to other residents. His behavior in the film made him off-putting to some fans even more than his in-game version.
Unfortunately for fans of Isabelle, she does not appear. This is attributed to her not yet existing in the franchise when the movie was initially created. Isabelle didn’t start appearing until the game New Leaf was released in 2012.
4 The Film Did Well In Theaters
The film was released in 2006 and debuted in Japanese theaters as the third highest-grossing Japan-only film of its opening weekend. By the end of 2006, it became the thirtieth highest-grossing film that year. The film was later released on DVD in Japan in 2007, and the first-printed editions included Animal Crossing-themed carrying pouches. Considering its success in Japan, fans outside of the country hope that it will be officially brought to their own respective countries one day despite Nintendo of America’s lack of plans for doing so.
3 A Movie Version Of K.K. Slider Exists
The fan-favorite musician K.K. Slider exists in the film, most notably when he plays one of his tunes, “K.K. Bossa.” During this time, the main protagonist cried because she missed one of the other residents, Sally, moving out of Animal Village to pursue a career in fashion design without telling Ai beforehand.
Many fans were saddened to see Ai crying over missing her friend, despite the lovely music K.K. played at the time since the music itself reminded her of Sally. Thankfully, Sally later sent a letter to Ai explaining that she hadn’t told her about moving out beforehand because a goodbye would be too painful, and encouraged Ai to take on her journey.
2 The Pine Trees Are Automatically Decorated With Lights In Winter
Much like how the cedar trees are automatically decorated with colorful, festive lights during the Festive Season in the games, the pine trees were automatically decorated with lights during the Winter season in the film. These trees were previously planted by Ai, who received mysterious messages in bottles saying that something miraculous would happen during the Winter Festival if she planted the pine trees in specific areas. This ended up later helping her win the Winter Festival contest for the best decoration, but it also attracted aliens to the village.
1 The Film Progresses Through Three Of The Four Seasons
The events of the film progress through three of the four seasons. The protagonist, Ai, moved into Animal Village during the Summer. During Fall, Ai ends up missing Sally’s goodbye party when she moves out of town to pursue her fashion design career. The film then concludes during Winter, when the Winter Festival takes place and Ai wins the contest for the best decoration. Many viewers enjoyed watching the movie progress through most of the four seasons, even though any scenes taking place during Spring were excluded.
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