The Wonderland (2019)

The Wonderland: Directed by Keiichi Hara. With Mayu Matsuoka, Anne Watanabe, Kumiko Asô, Nao Tôyama. A girl without self-confidence meets a mysterious alchemist Hippocrates and his student Pipo who are on a mission to save the world. Together, they laid the groundwork for “Wonderland” and Akane is labeled as Wonderland’s savior.

“Teenage Akane is unmotivated and moody, just like any teenage girl. She always feels put out by her motheru0026#39;s requests, never more so when sheu0026#39;s sent to see her shopkeeper aunt Chii to pick up her own birthday present! Once there, however, Chii and Akane are visited by strangers from the basement, Mr. Hippocrates and his apprentice Pipo. But Mr. Hippocrates is an alchemist, Pipo is an elf, and the basement is a portal into another world, one that desperately needs Akaneu0026#39;s help to avoid utter destruction…. A few years ago I saw another animated film by director Keiichi Hara, u0026quot;Miss Hokusai,u0026quot; and was very taken with the incredible beauty of the work; the director works the same magic here, with some stunningly gorgeous backgrounds (and foregrounds for that matter), along with a story filled with imagination from an evil mouse-shaped monster machine to oversized sheep who provide wool *and* protection, to the very real crisis that the Wonderland is facing, that of running out of water. Oh, and thereu0026#39;s an enchanted Prince, too! Even if the viewer isnu0026#39;t taken by the story itself (based on u0026quot;Strange Journey From the Basement,u0026quot; a childrenu0026#39;s book by Sachiko Kashiwaba), s/he will certainly enjoy simply watching this very colorful feast for the eyes.”