Yona Yona Penguin
Yona Yona Penguin (よなよなペンギン) is a 2009 computer-animated fantasy adventure film produced by the Japanese anime studio Madhouse and sister company Dynamo Pictures. An international co-production of Japan and France, it was Madhouse's first fully 3D CGI film. Famed Madhouse staff director Rintaro, known for Galaxy Express 999 and Metropolis, helmed the project, while French production company Denis Friedman Productions collaborated and helped fund the film.
| Yona Yona Penguin | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Rintaro |
| Produced by | Jungo Maruta Denis Friedman Tony S. Izumi |
| Written by | Tomoko Konparu |
| Starring | Féodor Atkine Rica Matsumoto Jeanne Savary Yves Barsacq Ludmila Ruoso Ei Morisako Michel Elias Céline Ronté Pierre Baton Serge Biavan Mehani Taric Cédric Dumond Clara Quilichini Yûji Tanaka Yoshio Kojima Jeremy Prevost Hiroshi Paolo Domingo Gilles Morvan Adrian Solis Dandî Sakano Satoshi Kanada Leah Friedman Caroline Combes Akiyoshi Kawashima Audrey Sablé Bernard Bouillon Hikari Ôta Abraham Taïeb |
| Music by | Toshiyuki Honda |
| Cinematography | Tomoko Konparu |
| Edited by | Alexandra Pocquet |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Shochiku |
Release date |
|
Running time | 85 minutes |
| Country | Japan France |
| Language | Japanese French |
| Budget | $12,000,000 |
| Box office | $12,000,000 |
Plot
An animated adventure about three children who travel to a fantasy land.
Cast
- Féodor Atkine
- Rica Matsumoto
- Jeanne Savary
- Yves Barsacq
- Ludmila Ruoso
- Ei Morisako
- Michel Elias
- Céline Ronté
- Pierre Baton
- Serge Biavan
- Mehani Taric
- Cédric Dumond
- Clara Quilichini
- Yûji Tanaka
- Yoshio Kojima
- Jeremy Prevost
- Hiroshi
- Paolo Domingo
- Gilles Morvan
- Adrian Solis
- Dandî Sakano
- Satoshi Kanada
- Leah Friedman
- Caroline Combes
- Akiyoshi Kawashima
- Audrey Sablé
- Bernard Bouillon
- Hikari Ôta
- Abraham Taïeb
Production
Madhouse has announced this film as being a "3D anime", or a film which brings an anime sensibility and design structure into the 3D CGI world. Unlike in other Japanese CG productions, such as Final Fantasy VII Advent Children, photo-realism is not emphasised. Rather, attention has been focused on giving the feel of a traditionally-made anime to a completely computerized production. As Madhouse's expertise has long been in the creation of traditional 2D animation, much of the actual 3D animation was done by the French animation studio Def2shoot, the Thai studio Imagimax, and the Japanese studio Dynamo Pictures, with Madhouse providing direction and storyboards.
Release
In a move away from the typical anime release schedule, distribution deals for showing the film outside Japan have been signed with the Hong Kong-based Golden Network (for Asia) and the French-based management company Wild Bunch (for Europe). Rights to release the film in the United States are currently set to be given by Japanese studio Shochiku and Madhouse's U.S. division. Three versions of the film are to be produced: one for the Japanese market, one for the French market, and one for the English language market.[1] The Japanese version of the film, which will use the original script (it is unclear if changes will be made to the other versions) was originally scheduled for a December, 2008 release, but was pushed back to 2009.[2] The other versions remain tentatively set for release in 2009. At the 2008 European Film Market (a film trade fair held in tandem with the Berlin International Film Festival), the film was licensed by Wild Bunch for 11 European markets. The film was distributed in the United Kingdom by Metropolitan, in France by JBK, in Russia and other former Soviet countries by Central Partnership and in South Korea by Next Entertainment World (NEW).[3] Maiden Japan will release the film on Blu-Ray in the U.S. with both English and Japanese tracks.[4]
References
- Frater, Patrick (2007-05-24). "Cartoon partners team for Rintaro's "Penguin"". Variety Asia Online. Archived from the original on August 24, 2007. Retrieved 2007-07-30.
- "Rintaro's Yona Yona Penguin Film Pushed Back to 2009". Anime News Network. 2008-02-21. Retrieved 2008-02-24.
- "Rintaro's Yona, Ghibli's Ocean Licensed at Berlin Fest". Anime News Network. 2008-02-20. Retrieved 2008-02-24.
- "Maiden Japan to Release Yona Yona Penguin CG-Animated Film on Blu-ray". Anime News Network. January 25, 2018. Retrieved January 25, 2018.
External links
- Official website
- Yona Yona Penguin at IMDb
- Yona Yona Penguin (film) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
