Oblivion Island: Haruka and the Magic Mirror 720p - (2009 Lang: English, Japan)

The film starts in a 2d animation telling the story of the island and then shifts to its 3d style with what seems to be still hand drawn backgrounds in several scenes, the drawings are beautiful indeed , and the 3d characters are well designed , on the visual side, this is a fine movie to watch.

The story is as engaging as the visuals, as it talks about oblivion island, an island where fox-like creatures take things long forgotten by humans and make use of them, the film follows Haruka's journey to this island and the several events she experiences and the effect of these events on her memories, there are several heartwarming scenes especially at the beginning and near the ending.

I watched "Oblivion Island" with my brother and we both enjoyed it, its a beautiful entertaining movie and -for me- it won't go into oblivion.

Oblivion Island: Haruka and the Magic Mirror (ホッタラケの島 〜遥と魔法の鏡〜 Hottarake no Shima: Haruka to Mahō no Kagami?) is a 2009 Japanese computer-animated film directed by Shinsuke Sato. It was produced in commemoration of Fuji Television's 50th anniversary. The film was nominated for the award for Excellent Animation of the Year at the 33rd Japan Academy Prize.

After losing her mother at a young age, Haruka has treasured the hand mirror she had received from her. As she grew older, she forgot about the mirror and eventually lost it. One day, she decides to go to a local shrine and pray to Inari for the hand mirror to be returned to her. After a brief nap, she drops her house key under the steps, but when she retrieves them, a small fox/pig-like creature, takes her key. She follows the creature into the woods, and comes across a small pool with one of the eggs offered at the shrine. She dips her hand into it but is sucked through the pool and lands in a cart with the creature.

The creature, named Teo, explains to Haruka she is in the world of the neglected, made of forgotten things because his race cannot make things themselves. Haruka agrees to give him her keychain if he can help her find the mirror. With Haruka in disguise, the two board a tram cart to the main town on Oblivion Island. After asking several vendors, Haruka discovers that the mirror has magical powers, and it was kept by the Baron, the leader of the land who hovers in an airship, but that it was stolen. A group of bullies try to remove Haruka's mask, but Teo and Haruka escape.

At a theater area where they project the memories of neglected things. Haruka recognizes her stuffed animal named Cotton, who is upset that Haruka neglected him. When the bullies bust in with a large ostrich-like contraption, Haruka grabs Cotton and they escape. At Teo's place, Haruka learns Teo wants to build a real airplane. Cotton shares that the mirror was taken by a group of underground bandits called the Petitloss. While Teo goes to get water, he is captured and delivered to the Baron, who orders him to help Haruka find the mirror but bring it to the Baron, who will neglect his crime and will also give him a huge reward of stamp cards.

Haruka, Teo and Cotton head into the lair of the Petitloss. They soon find themselves attacked by Petitloss and a large Petitloss creature. Cotton removes the threads from the large creature and Haruka finds her mirror. Although they escape the underground area, the Baron arrives to seize the mirror and to abduct Haruka. Teo is left with a pile of stamp cards but he is upset about his choice to betray his friend.

The Baron tries to make Haruka swallow an Oblivion Drop in order to remove her memories. Teo tells the townsfolk that humans are actually good. He gives away his stamp cards, and the townsfolk build him a plane, which he flies. Cotton rallies the petit-loss to raid the airship, and Haruka breaks free. The Baron activates a bunch of robots using the power of the mirror to grab Haruka, but she falls off the airship, and hangs by a banner. Cotton attacks the Baron but he rips Cotton in two and tosses it. Haruka dives after Cotton and falls, but Teo rescues her in the plane. The Baron's airship attacks the plane. It falls onto a tunnel track but they reverse it in time to get out. They crash into the airship. Teo and Haruka climb the inside and the array of the other mirrors to try to get the hand mirror. The Baron tries to stop them, but Haruka grabs the mirror and it activates. Haruka finds herself inside the mirror which shows memories of her family life; she cries. The Baron chases them out of the mirror but accidentally damages the airship, causing all his mirrors to fly around. Teo snatches the mirror as the Baron falls and the airship crashes and is destroyed. The Baron is reduced to a mask-less creature and flees. Later, Teo sends off Haruka and Cotton through the portal, where she returns to the temple and calls her dad to meet him for dinner.

The Japanese sure have an unmatched talent for creating such unusual and unexpected projects, creativity at its finest. What we have here is one of those films. The unique art style and story immediately caught my attention and thus I was naturally curious to check it out. IT WAS WORTH IT! This is the award-winning Oblivion Island: Haruka and the Magic Mirror.

Plot: 16-year old Haruka had just lost her precious hand mirror given to her by her mother, who died of a terminal illness long ago. Recalling an old story her mother used to read to her, Haruka visits an old shine, where she encounters and follows a strange fox-like creature named Teo to a mystical world called Oblivion Island. Here, these fox creatures collect forgotten or lost objects from the human world and use them for their own purposes. As she befriend Teo and her long lost stuffed sheep Cotton, Haruka must find her hand mirror before the island's ruler, the Baron, uses it for his own devious ends.

From beginning to end, this movie had an incredible effect on me. The characters are developed very well and they become lovable almost instantly. The art style combines CGI with traditional hand-drawn animation to create a visually-stunning world full of interesting creatures and colorful environments. The music is quite memorable and it complements or enhances the mood of various scenes throughout the film. There's also some surprising bits of action, which are thrilling to say the least.

By far one of the biggest elements that makes Oblivion Island so great are some of the emotionality of the film. Each of the main characters has a charm matched only by their vulnerable qualities, particularly the protagonist Haruka. Seeing her go through such an emotional journey as she searches for her lost mirror is heart-warming and it moved me a little. This characteristic in turn affects her friends such as Teo as they also have journeys of their own. It's like the old saying, it's not the destination as is the journey, which I totally agree.

I can see why this movie won some awards and be nominated for others. Oblivion Island is a very unique family film that, in my opinion, deserves greater recognition in the world. The English dub (done by Funimation) is solid as is the original Japanese. With that said, this charming film is worth every penny and I highly recommend that you check it out. Peace!