During a Christmas Eve in Tokyo, three homeless people, middle-aged alcoholic Gin, former drag queen Hana, and dependent runaway girl Miyuki, discover an abandoned newborn while looking through the garbage. With only a handful of clues to the baby's identity, the three misfits search the city to find its parents.
One of the most moving, enjoyable and wholly unconventional Christmas stories to come along in a long time.
– Gary Dowell,
Dallas Morning News,
25 Mar 2004
fresh:
Takes anime to a whole new level.
– Ken Eisner,
Variety,
7 Sep 2008
fresh:
Japanese animator Satoshi Kon has a striking sense of composition, but I'm more impressed by his storytelling skills.
– J. R. Jones,
Chicago Reader,
17 Feb 2012
rotten:
No amount of shoehorned-in razzle-dazzle can keep this forced fable from feeling like a shadow of Kon's early work.
– Tasha Robinson,
AV Club,
9 Dec 2013
fresh:
In one sense the plot involves returning stolen goods to a thief, but Tokyo Godfathers is really about longing -- for family, for children, for parents and for the lost past.