URSA minor BLUE (銀河の魚, 1993)

Shigeru Tamura’s animated short URSA minor BLUE (銀河の魚/Ginga no Sakana, 1993) begins with a simple scene that could be right out of an Ernest Hemingway novel: a grandfather fishing with his grandson. The grandson, Yuri, is quite able with the hand-thrown harpoon and he soon catches an impressive fish for their supper.  As they return home with their catch, Teshikai Utollo’s otherworldly music hints that all in this world may not be the same as in ours. The grandfather sends Yuri to find tomatoes for dinner and we discover that they have an indoor rain forest complete with a lemur-like creature whose eyes shine like headlights. The tomatoes that Yuri picks seem to pulsate with a strange light.

While the grandfather comically burns their dinner, Yuri ascends to the observatory above their home. Looking through an unusual telescope he discovers that the constellation of Ursa Minor appears to be missing a star. The pair set off in their rowboat again to try to find out what is going on. They pass through a talking forest and a rocky area with mythical flying beasts. Along the way, a walking and talking building approaches them and voices his concern that stars seem to be missing from the Milky Way. They reassure him that they are going to investigate and return the Milky Way to its original state.

As they head out over what appears to be open sea, Tamura (たむら しげる, b. 1949) shifts to an overhead perspective and we then realize that Yuri and his grandfather do not live in our world but rather above it. The sea that they are rowing across is the atmosphere and they are able to look down at a world that resembles ours. As they journey out into the universe, they witness a giant fish unlike any they have ever seen.  They come to a place where giants who seem hewn from rock appear to be forging stars on giant anvils and are greeted by the wizard who lives there. They soon learn that a giant fish has been eating the stars and the wizard presents Yuri with a magic harpoon and sends him on a mission to try to catch the fish in order to return the Milky Way to its normal state. Hence the Japanese title Ginga no Sakana, or Fish of the Milky Way.

The grandfather also refers to the Milky Way by its colloquial name Ama no gawa (天の川), or River of the Heavens, which suggested to me that Tamura was influenced by mythology in his creation of his fabulous world. In East Asian mythology it is said that the Milky Way resembles a kind of silvery river and mythological stories developed around this impression. The most famous is that of the stars Vega and Altair, who were said to be lovers (named Orihime and Hikoboshi in Japanese) separated by the Milky Way who could only meet once a year on the seventh day of the seventh month – a day celebrated in many parts of Japan as Tanabata (七夕/the evening of the seventh). The mythology surrounding the Milky Way has inspired much great literature – most famously Kenji Miyazawa’s Night of the Milky Way Railroad, which Tamura references by having a train pass under Yuri and his grandfather as they row across the sky. 

(Learn more about Anime Adaptations of Kenji Miyazawa)

As the English title suggests, colour is an important element of Tamura’s work. The predominant colour in this film is blue, but there are also wonderful scenes of green and orange when they visit the wizard. This style of filling the screen with bold colours is characteristic of Tamura’s aesthetic. His manner of completely filling the screen with colour reminded me of two younger animators: Tomoyoshi Joko – who also made a wonderful little film involving anthropomorphic buildings called simply Buildings (2008) – and Oscar winner Kunio Katō.  .  .  although Katō uses a more muted palette to fill the screen than the cheerful colours of Shigeru Tamura.

URSA minor BLUE won the Noburo Ofuji Award in 1993 and is available on DVD. The DVD extras include a music section where Teshiaki Utollo explains the motivations behind his expressive soundtrack, an illustration gallery, storyboards, layouts, interviews about the production with Tamura, Utollo, and producer Mitsuo Shionaga, and trailers for Tamura’s other animated works a piece of PHANTASMAGORIA (1995) and Glassy Ocean (1998). The soundtrack for URSA minor BLUE can also be purchased separately.  Check out more of Tamura's illustrations on his official homepage.  

Ginga no Sakana - URSA minor BLUE (JP only)

URSA minor BLUE (soundtrack on CD)

This review is part of Nishikata Film Review’s  Noburo Ofuji Award Challenge.

text © Catherine Munroe Hotes 2011

Films for Hope at the Japan Society

Animation fans in New York City have an amazing opportunity this weekend to see some great animation and at the same time raise money for victims of the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami. Films for Hope, curated by Justin Leach, is a special showcase of animated short films from all around the world. On September 11th, exactly six months after the disaster that devastated Japan on March 11th, this one-day event brings together thrilling animation that display the creativity of artists inspired by Japanese animation techniques and storytelling.

The festival features the East Coast premiere of Pixar’s latest animated short film, La Luna. Director Enrico Casarosa will be on hand to give a presentation on La Luna, as well as discuss his efforts to help Japan through grassroots fundraising. Dai Sato will present Five Numbers!, his brand new animated feature. Mr. Sato will also talk about his efforts to help those impacted by the earthquake as well as share his thoughts on how the disaster will impact the animation industry of Japan.

This festival is a joint initiative of the Film Program and the U.S.-Japan Innovators Network. 50% of all proceeds will go to Japan Society’s Earthquake Relief Fund. All of the films shown have been graciously donated in support of the project.

Once Upon a Dream: Kids’ Block

Sunday, September 11, 1 PM – 2 PM

TICKET INFO

Le Royaume by Oussama Bouacheria, Julien Chheng, Sébastien Hary, Aymeric Kevin, Ulysse Malassagne, Franck Monier, Nuno Alves Rodrigues

Mobile by Verena Fels

Happy Bogeys 1 by Takashi Kurihara

Paraphernalia by Sabrina Cotugno

DreamGiver by Tyler Carter

Happy Bogeys 2 by Takashi Kurihara

Burning Safari by Vincent Aupetit, Jeanne Irzenski, Florent De La Taille, Maxime Maleo, Aurelien Predal, Claude-William Trebutien

Salesman Pete by Marc Bouyer, Max Loubaresse, Anthony Vivien

Happy Bogeys 3 by Takashi Kurihara

The Arctic Circle by Kevin Parry

Lizard Planet by Tomoyoshi Joko

Happy Bogeys 4 by Takashi Kurihara

Shell Out by Sunmee Dong

Gulp by Sumo Science (Ed Patterson and Will Studd)

Out of Sight by Yu Ya-Ting

Komaneko: The Curious Cat

Sunday, September 11, 2:30 PM — 3:30 PM

TICKET INFO

2006, 60 min., 35mm, colour. No dialogue.

From Tsuneo Goda, the director of the Domo-kun series. The stop motion animation is done by Hirokazu Minegishi, who got his start as an assistant to Japan’s top puppet animators Tadanari Okamoto and Kihachiro Kawamoto.

Komaneko spends her days in her attic making films with her handmade dolls, in this puppet animation featuring five short episodes. Komaneko’s pastel hues, kawaii characters and storylines delight both children and adults alike.

Great for kids 2+! All ages welcome.

Sector Animauteurs

Sunday, September 11, 4 PM — 5:15 PM

TICKET INFO

Fifteen animated short films including Oscar winner La maison en Petits Cubes and Fantoche winner In a Pig’s Eye.

Rain Town by Hiroyasu Ishida

Caffeine by Danae Diaz and Patricia Luna

Happy Bogeys 5 by Takashi Kurihara

In a Pig's Eye by Atsushi Wada

Happy Bogeys 6 by Takashi Kurihara

Paths of Hate by Damian Nenow

Happy Bogeys 7 by Takashi Kurihara

Key Lime Pie by Trevor Jimenez

Kung Fu Cooking Girls by Jin-Roh

Grand Central by Charlotte Cambon, Théo Guignard, Noé Lecombre, Hugo Moreno, Soizic Mouton

Hello Brooklyn by Alice Bissonet, Benjamin Moreau, Corentin Penloup, Marion Roussel, Louis Thomas

Happy Bogeys 8 by Takashi Kurihara

Alma by Rodrigo Blaas

The Lighthouse Keeper by David Francois, Rony Hotin, Jeremie Moreau, Baptiste Rogron, Gaelle Thierry, Mailys Vallade

La Maison en Petits Cubes by Kunio Kato

La Luna and Five Numbers!

Centerpiece Presentation

Sunday, September 11, 5:30 PM — 7 PM

TICKET INFO

La Luna, 2011 - New York Premiere

6 min. 51 sec., 35 mm, color, Directed by Enrico Casarosa (Pixar)

Five Numbers!, 2011 - U.S. Premiere

24 min., DVD, color, Directed by Hiroaki Ando (Bandai Visual)

La Luna is the timeless fable of a young boy who is coming of age in the most peculiar of circumstances. Tonight is the very first time his Papa and Grandpa are taking him to work. In an old wooden boat they row far out to sea, and with no land in sight, they stop and wait. A big surprise awaits the little boy as he discovers his family's most unusual line of work.

In Five Numbers, four ex-convicts woke up in the ultimate prison. They do not know why they are there. The race to escape the prison ensues. The only person who seems to know the way out is the fifth prisoner, a mysterious old man with a black cat.

Screenings followed by a conversation with Enrico Casarosa (Director / Head of Story, Pixar Animation Studios) on the making of La Luna and Dai Sato (Scriptwriter of Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo, Tekken: Blood Vengeance) to discuss post-3/11 Japan and the anime community.

Followed by a reception.

------------------------------------

TICKETS FOR EACH PROGRAM

$10/$7 Japan Society members, students and seniors

ONE-DAY PASS

$34/$24 Japan Society members, students and seniors

(Offer available only at Japan Society Box Office or by telephone at (212) 715-1258. Offer not available online.)

A Child’s Metaphysics (こどもの形而上学, 2007)

Koji Yamamura’s playful animated short A Child’s Metaphysics (こどもの形而上学/ Kodomo no Keijijogaku, 2007) is a delightful rumination on what it means to be a child. The film has unjustly received very little critical attention since its release as it was overshadowed by the success of Franz Kafka’s A Country Doctor (2007) – which won Yamamura top awards at almost every international festival in which it competed.

Children are a constant theme in Yamamura’s work. He has made animated shorts for children – such as the Karo and Piyobupt films (1993) – and has illustrated many picture books for kids. He has also done animation workshops with children. His award-winning film Your Choice! (1999) was completed using ideas from “junior directors” at his children’s workshops.

A Child’s Metaphysics concerns itself with the limitless imagination of children – a topic Yamamura has previously taken on with Kid’s Castle (1995) and Bavel’s Book (1996). Against a textured yellow background, an episodic series of surreal vignettes involving children with oversized heads drawn with black ink unfolds. Each short episode concerns itself with the fundamental question of the nature of being. One child’s head is transformed into a giant magnifying glass, another’s head is expanding full of numbers, another holds a watering can over his ear so that a sprout grows out of it, another child catches her own tears in a glass for safekeeping, while yet another child tries to fit a large key into a keyhole on his own head as if trying to unlock the secrets to his own existence. The film is by turns touching and amusing.

The vignettes are all drawn in the same style, often with a theatrical piece of cloth or other theatrical element decorating the scene. They are all tied together by the music of Prokofiev which has been arranged and performed by the microtonal pop duo SYZYGYS (Hitomi Shimizu and Hiromi Nishida).

A Child’s Metaphysics can be seen on film at the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography as part of the Muybridge’s Strings Road Show between 17 September and 7 October.

For people not lucky enough to be in Tokyo, it can also be found on KimStim/Zeitgeist’s Franz Kafka’s A Country Doctor and Other Fantastic Films by Koji Yamamura. Please support this independent animator by ordering his work now: