Based on the short story by Nankichi Niimi, this short stop-motion film by Takeshi Yashiro was two years in the making. A touching story about a mischievous little fox, it teaches us about how there are hidden kindnesses that we may ignore as we are burdened with instinctive prejudice that colours our outlook.

The hunting scene at the beginning was splendid. It illustrated the tension between Hyoju’s father’s beliefs and Hyoju’s own aspirations really well. Both Hyoju and Gon are orphans but their guilt leads them to stand on opposite sides of a divide. To me the lesson from this film was the need for dialogue and empathy.

The amount of work involved in crafting Houju, Gon and the villagers is visible in the movie and the natural materials used to create them lent an earthy & aesthetic appeal to the entire film. While the red liquorice flowers were symbolic of the feelings of our protagonists, the way their bright red colour pierced an otherwise brown landscape was truly beautiful.

The unique texture of stop-motion animation evoked nostalgia and left a lasting impression. Truly a worthwhile short!