Swinging for the Totoro fences here, and reasonably successful at it.

I kinda have fun with it pretty good tho

This tale of a young girl coming to terms with the loss of her father is heart-warming, sweet and sad all at the same time. I feel a lot of effort went into creating a well-balanced movie here that not only does its best to accurately portray the emotions of the characters, but also to inject just enough fantastical, sometimes comical elements so as not to be too depressing or downbeat. The animation and style of the characters is nice enough, but it's the wonderfully drawn backgrounds with their bright colour palette that really stand out here. Some may find this a bit too sappy, and there were a few scenes that certainly could lend themselves to that description, but for the most part, it is an entertaining and touching film that ends on a lovely high note.

With a lot of fascination with Japanese obsession with death, goblins, guardian spirits and the grotesque and the macabre, Hiroyuki Okiura's 6th feature film examines how a young girl come to terms with the death of her father. The unusual fascination with death and ghostly realms is a bit odd for non-Japanese audience but the reference to old-style mangas is inspired and comical goblins and their antics breaks the emotional heaviness of the story. Okiura revels in the beauty of the Japanese landscape and gives a story that has a lot of tenderness and a dose of slapstick comedy.

Le gros problème de Lettre à Momo vient du fait qu'on a déjà vu cela auparavant en beaucoup mieux. En effet, en l'état, il n'y a aucun problème avec cette histoire de fillette qui découvre qu'elle peut voir des Yokai alors que personne d'autre ne le peut. Mais il n'y a rien de réellement original dans le film d'Okiura Hiroyuki, que ce soit dans l'animation, dans les personnages ou dans le script. Bien que le film parvienne parfois à être touchant, il l'est autant qu'il est ennuyeux dans son développement. Les rebondissements dramatiques sont attendus, les yokai particulièrement agaçants, mais il en reste que Lettre à Momo possède un certain charme lorsqu'il se concentre sur les humains. Difficile alors de l'envoyer paître totalement.

This is a great surprise. So emotional and made me laugh and cry a lot. It can be cerebral at times and subtle at other times but I loved the message behind it which struck me at my weakest points. I can describe it as the half sibling to Spirited Away. Should not be missed out on! Must-watch material â?¤

While A Letter to Momo can feel occasionally slow at times (especially in the first 40 minutes), the film soon picks up considerably once the goblins are introduced as they are arguably the best part about this film. Seeing their shenanigans throughout the course of the film was downright hilarious at certain points (my favourite being the dance sequence). The humour is totally off the wall, but it really works and the goblins were very likeable characters. I also admired the amount of detail that was put in drawing the mannerisms and facial expressions of the characters, as we do see a bit more movement than most of the expressions from Ghibli protagonists. What was also great about the film was the amount of emotion the narrative had, particularly in the final act as you really felt the connection between Momo and her mother & father. Overall, A Letter to Momo is a solid coming-of-age Anime film with plenty of emotion, laughs and great animation to boot. I'm looking forward to buying the Blu-Ray and re-watching the film.

beautifully drawn. the storyline doesn't make the most sense, but is fun & enjoyable enough. (:

A unique piece of art! Visually beautiful and with a powerful story to tell.

So much potential in this concept. Unfortunately, it's largely one big anime cliche. It's passable, but a letdown.

A few funny bits, but pretty meh otherwise

Sweet and a little sad Japanese anime. Feels like Miyazaki-san.

This is a wonderful heart warming tale that is done to chilli standards. If you want to get your girlfriend into anime, here's your movie.

What a shame, the incredible visuals are brought down by a very poorly written second half and three supernatural characters devoid of any charm. Even with a few emotional moments and, for the most part, an interesting main character, I would not recommend this for anyone other than my animator friends.

Whoever would have thought that the director behind the gloomy and dark JIN-ROH: THE WOLF BRIGADE could turn out such a lovely, heartwarming, and sometimes funny animated delight? As it turned out, though, this was a movie that director Hiroyuki Okiura had always wanted to make. More than seven years in development, A LETTER TO MOMO is gorgeous to look at -- richly painted backdrops providing a peaceful Japanese island inhabited by friendly folks, youths who dive off bridges, and festivals involving straw boats. Better still is the storyline, which, although familiar at times, is told with an honesty and sincerity which makes one wonder if Okiura had been taking lessons from Hayao Miyazaki's MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO. As with that movie, this story deals with a girl who encounters unusual creatures and takes a surprisingly melancholy turn in its second half. The stakes are darker here, though; introverted teenager Momo has recently lost her father after a falling out, with only an incomplete letter left from him. When Momo moves with her sickly mom to Shio Island, she is mortified to discover three gluttonous (and goofy) goblins haunting her attic. One looks very amphibian-like, another like Gollum, while the largest (and strongest) one looks like an ogre. These ghosts cannot be seen by grown-ups and harbor magic powers. Some may be put off by the slow pace of the story, but anyone else should enjoy this one. I highly recommend it, both for animation buffs and watchers of sincere family drama. The dubbing by NYAV Post is outstanding, as well, with young Amanda Pace turning in a fantastic performance as Momo in her acting debut and great support from veterans such as Stephanie Sheh and Bob Bergen.

It was slow at first but then it really picked up. The monkey God was the best!

Very plane enemy movie night story nothing very exciting plain and simple nice animation good if you like to watch animation.

Miyazaki is clearly an influence to the world here, but the truly beautiful animation is bogged down by an unbelievably slow pace. While the three goblin/monster/creatures are highly entertaining and full of inspired life, the human characters, who we spend most of the film with, really aren't very interesting at all. The 80 minutes of greatness are enough of a reason to stream/fast forward through.

Pretty much what you would expect. Slow paced and attempts at deep emotion and humor, but a lot of it falls flat. It was enjoyable once, but only for the hardcore anime fans. Everyone else can pass.

When I read a critique comparing it to "Spirited Away", I wanted to see it right away. And to be honest I wasn't disappointed. One of the best movies I have ever saw. Too good to pass on it. Worth multiple watch.