You Might Enjoy It, Unless You’ve Played the Games
Movie adaptations of video games have a pretty bad track record. Their failures usually stem from cramming a ten hour story into a two hour film or deviating too much from the source material. While the Ni no Kuni movie does not exactly follow the story of the games, the basic concept is there. It did not do particularly well in Japan, but you can judge it for yourself this month because it will be hitting Netflix very soon.
The first Ni no Kuni game (and its re-release) follows the story of a young boy named Oliver, who travels to an alternate dimension. People in both worlds have counterparts that are connected and Oliver is seeking to help the counterpart of his recently deceased mother in hopes to bring her back. The movie has similar elements. Two young boys named Yuu and Haru can travel back and forth between their world and an alternate world, where they meet the counterpart of one of their friends from their world.
While Studio Ghibli animated the cinematics for two of the Ni no Kuni games, the movie is produced by OLM Inc. It is directed by Yoshiyuki Momose who has done animation work on Studio Ghibli films Spirited Away and Grave of the Fireflies. Ni no Kuni will be on Netflix on January 16th.
Are you going to watch the Ni no Kuni movie? Let us know in the comments below.
Source: What’s on Netflix