Tokyo Godfathers

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Tokyo Godfathers

PG-13

2003

1h 30m

Comedy

Drama

Anime

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

92%

Tomatometer

77 Reviews

91%

Popcornmeter

10,000+ Ratings

Middle-aged alcoholic Gin (Toru Emori), teenage runaway Miyuki (Aya Okamoto) and former drag queen Hana (Yoshiaki Umegaki) are a trio of homeless people surviving as a makeshift family on the streets of Tokyo. While rummaging in the trash for food on Christmas Eve, they stumble upon an abandoned newborn baby in a trash bin. With only a handful of clues to the baby's identity, the three misfits search the streets of Tokyo for help in returning the baby to its parents.

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Critics Consensus

Beautiful and substantive, Tokyo Godfathers adds a moving -- and somewhat unconventional -- entry to the animated Christmas canon.

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Nick Schager

The Daily Beast

02/02/2021

A modern animé classic fit for rediscovery by both adults and kids-not to mention a stirring celebration of inclusivity that remains ahead of its time.

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Chris Stuckmann

ChrisStuckmann.com

12/28/2020

A

Tokyo Godfathers stands as an excellent anime film and a really fun Christmas movie.

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Joe Morgenstern

Wall Street Journal

12/09/2013

In one sense the plot involves returning stolen goods to a thief, but Tokyo Godfathers is really about longing -- for family, for children, for parents and for the lost past.

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Rose Ho

The Asian Cut

07/31/2025

3.5/5

There is a sense of dark tongue-in-cheek throughout the movie that helps ease this sense of increasing incredulity along.

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Chance Solem-Pfeifer

Willamette Week

01/22/2025

Poignancy gives way to self-conscious sitcom shtick, which morphs into violent tension. It’s a balance so deft the movie elides subgenre altogether and just picks “a holiday classic to those who know.”

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Tim Brayton

Alternate Ending

12/28/2022

4/5

Grotty, unpolished, but lovable humanity.

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Bucky R

@Bucky3085 Jan 24

Poorly animated and boring as hell. Awful.

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Stephen C

@bob25009 Dec 29

Funny anime holiday classic in 1.5 hours!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Nathan Y.

@NathanYatesDouglass Dec 25

Surprisingly touching with lots of twists and turns. Pretty abrasive at times, but it makes the moments of quiet stand out that much more. Quirky fun with a wild story. Warning that some of the language, at least in the English translation, is heavy with Q slurs. It makes sense in the context and I wonder if it’s more nuanced in the native language, but can be jarring.

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Jonathan J.

@jonjondotcom1312 Dec 24

A treasure of a Christmas movie.

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Kira T

@KtanBrik Dec 19

Definetely not for children's brain. Awesome story, the miracle everyone needs.

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no o

@RT76850400 Sep 26

fantastic and amazing art

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Satoshi Kon

Director

Yoshiaki Umegaki

Hana

Aya Okamoto

Miyuki

Toru Emori

Gin

Shinichi Kobayashi

Executive Producer

Taro Maki

Executive Producer

Tokyo Godfathers: Re-Release Trailer

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Synopsis

Middle-aged alcoholic Gin (Toru Emori), teenage runaway Miyuki (Aya Okamoto) and former drag queen Hana (Yoshiaki Umegaki) are a trio of homeless people surviving as a makeshift family on the streets of Tokyo. While rummaging in the trash for food on Christmas Eve, they stumble upon an abandoned newborn baby in a trash bin. With only a handful of clues to the baby's identity, the three misfits search the streets of Tokyo for help in returning the baby to its parents.

Director: Satoshi Kon
Producer: Masao Maruyama
Distributor: Sony Pictures Entertainment, Columbia Tristar, Samuel Goldwyn Company
Production Co: Mad House Company Ltd.
Rating: PG-13 (Thematic Elements|Some Sexual Material|Language|Violent Images)
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Anime
Original Language: Japanese
Release Date (Theaters): Aug 30, 2003, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 2, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA): $129.0K
Runtime: 1h 30m
Sound Mix: Surround