is a 2011 Japanese

animated Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most ani ...

fantasy film based on the American children's book series of the same name by

Mary Pope Osborne Mary Pope Osborne (born May 20, 1949) is an American author of children's books. She is best known as the author of the ''Magic Tree House'' series, which sold more than 134 million copies worldwide. Both the series and Osborne have won awards, ...

. The film is directed by

Hiroshi Nishikiori is a Japanese anime director. He debuted in 1999 with ''I'm Gonna Be An Angel!'' Two years later, he directed ''Angelic Layer'', which won the Animation Kobe in the television category. Some of his other major works include ''Azumanga Daioh'', '' ...

, and the film's screenplay was adapted from the Japanese version of the novel series ''Magic Tree House'' by Ichiro Okouchi. The film stars actress

Keiko Kitagawa is a Japanese actress and former model. She was an exclusive model for the Japanese '' Seventeen'' magazine from late 2003 to mid-2006, and quit modeling when she left the magazine. Her first acting role was Sailor Mars in the Sailor Moon live ...

as Jack, and also stars child actress Mana Ashida as Annie. ''Magic Tree House'' debuted at the 24th

Tokyo International Film Festival The is a film festival established in 1985. The event was held biennially from 1985 to 1991 and annually thereafter. Along with the Shanghai International Film Festival, it is one of Asia's competitive film festivals, and is considered to be th ...

on 23 October 2011. It was subsequently released in Japanese cinemas on 7 January 2012 and grossed 5.7 million dollars (US).

Plot

Jack is a shy but confident bookworm and his sister Annie can quickly make friends with whoever she wants, both humans and animals. One day, while they were playing together in a forest, they unexpectedly stumble upon a wooden treehouse located in this forest. This magical treehouse allows people to travel across time and space whenever they liked.

Morgan le Fay Morgan le Fay (, meaning 'Morgan the Fairy'), alternatively known as Morgan ''n''a, Morgain ''a/e Morg ''a''ne, Morgant ''e Morge ''i''n, and Morgue ''inamong other names and spellings ( cy, Morgên y Dylwythen Deg, kw, Morgen an Spyrys), is a ...

is accidentally transformed into a mouse named Peanut by

Merlin Merlin ( cy, Myrddin, kw, Marzhin, br, Merzhin) is a mythical figure prominently featured in the legend of King Arthur and best known as a mage, with several other main roles. His usual depiction, based on an amalgamation of historic and le ...

(echoing the plot from books 5–8), and Jack and Annie have to find four magic medallions to rescue her. They visit the

late Cretaceous The Late Cretaceous (100.5–66 Ma) is the younger of two epochs into which the Cretaceous Period is divided in the geologic time scale. Rock strata from this epoch form the Upper Cretaceous Series. The Cretaceous is named after ''creta'', ...

period with dinosaurs (from book 1), a medieval castle (from book 2), the town of Pompeii (from book 13) and a pirate ship (from book 4). At the end, Peanut is once again turned into Morgan.

Production

Development

On 17 November 2010, Publisher

Media Factory , formerly is a Japanese publisher and brand company of Kadokawa Future Publishing. History It was founded on December 1, 1986, and its headquarters are situated in Shibuya, Tokyo. It is a subsidiary of Recruit Co., Ltd. Media Factory was poss ...

revealed that the English-language children's fantasy series, ''

Magic Tree House ''Magic Tree House'' is an American series of children's books written by the American author Mary Pope Osborne. The original American series was illustrated by Salvatore Murdocca Salvatore "Sal" Murdocca (born April 26, 1943) is an American ...

'' would be adapted into an

anime is hand-drawn and computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japanese, (a term derived from a shortening of ...

film. Subsequently, in the 6 March 2011 issue of the ''

Asahi Shimbun is one of the four largest newspapers in Japan. Founded in 1879, it is also one of the oldest newspapers in Japan and Asia, and is considered a newspaper of record for Japan. Its circulation, which was 4.57 million for its morning edition an ...

'' newspaper, an advertisement announced that the film would be released in Japanese cinemas in 2011. This children fantasy series sold more than 3.3 million copies in Japan, and 92 million copies in 33 different countries worldwide. It is the only film adaptation of the fantasy series, animated or otherwise, although a live-action Hollywood production has also been announced. At a press conference that was held on 9 July 2011, Japanese film distributor Gaga Communication announced that the film would be released in Japan on 7 January 2012. The film is based on the Japanese version of the series illustrated by Ayana Amako, and the screenplay was adapted by screenwriter Ichiro Ookochi.

Cast and crew

The voice cast for the film ''Magic Tree House'' was announced on 8 August 2011. In her voice-acting debut, actress

described this role as "challenging", and he added that she "wanted to express the freshness of the voice of ackas much as possible." Mana Ashida, an avid reader who is a big fan of the original book series, said that she was "highly motivated" to play the role of Annie in this film. She said that she "enjoyed the adventure as much as Annie", to the extent that she felt that "she was flying into the book to be with Annie." Mana Ashida had previously voiced Agnes in the Japanese version of the 2010 film ''

Despicable Me ''Despicable Me'' is a computer-animated media franchise centering on Gru (Despicable Me), Gru, a reformed super-villain (who later becomes a father, husband, and secret agent), and his yellow-colored Minions (Despicable Me), Minions. It is p ...

''. Ashida and Kitagawa had previously worked together in the 2011

television drama In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

special '' Kono Sekai no Katasumi ni'' that was aired on 5 August 2011 on the Nippon Television network. Kitagawa described Ashida as "a professional child actress", while Ashida said that "Kitagawa is very kind and friendly". Art director Toshiharu Mizutani's previous works includes the anime films ''

Piano no Mori ''Forest of Piano'', known in Japan as , is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Makoto Isshiki. It was serialized by Kodansha from 1998 to 2015, initially in ''Young Magazine Uppers'' before transferring to ''Weekly Morning'' ...

'' (2007) and '' Akira'' (1988). Composer

Akira Senju is a Japanese composer, arranger and conductor. Biography Senju studied composition at the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music and received his master's degree with honors. Between 1994 and 2003, he produced series of cover albums ...

previously composed theme songs for the '' Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood'' anime series.

Theme song

Singer-songwriter Kana Uemura sings the theme song of the film, "Message", which is released on 4 January 2012, her 29th birthday. She is also voice-cast in the film.

Release

''Magic Tree House'' made its debut at the 24th

on 23 October 2011. It was featured as one of the festival's special screenings. The film was released in Japanese cinemas on 7 January 2012, and was also featured at a release ceremony at Shinjuku Piccadilly that day. The DVD, Blu-ray & limited edition of the film were released on 3 August 2012.

References

External links

* * * {{Ajia-do Animation Works 2011 anime films Ajia-do Animation Works 2010s children's fantasy films Fantasy anime and manga Films based on American novels Films based on fantasy novels 2010s Japanese-language films Films with screenplays by Ichirō Ōkouchi Films about witchcraft Films directed by Hiroshi Nishikiori