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XxxHolic: A Midsummer Night's Dream
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Wikipedia article
is a 2005 Japanese animated supernatural dark fantasy film based on 'xxxHolic' manga series written and illustrated by manga artist group CLAMP. The film is directed by Tsutomu Mizushima, co-written by Junichi Fujisaku and Yoshiki Sakurai, and produced by Production I.G. The film was released in Japan on August 20, 2005 as a double bill with the 'Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle' short film, 'Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle the Movie: The Princess in the Birdcage Kingdom', also by Production I.G (unlike the 'Tsubasa Chronicle' television series) and originally based on a CLAMP manga.
The film is the first film adaptation and the first voiced work based on 'xxxHolic'.
Plot
A woman comes to Yko to ask for assistance because her key (an elaborate golden artifact) won't unlock her mansion. Coincidentally, Yko receives an invitation to the same mansion. She takes Watanuki and Dmeki along with her to solve the mystery. When they reach the place, a grand mansion with a tower, they are able to enter without trouble, but they discover they aren't the only people there. Many collectors were invited to what they believe to be some kind of auction that would enable to complete their collections. Watanuki feels that something dangerous is happening, as strange events take place at night and the organizer of the auction doesn't present himself.
When collectors start disappearing one by one, Watanuki and Dmeki penetrate the depths of the mansion. Browsing through a variety of collections in the rooms of the mansion, among them a room full of barbed wire, a room full of chains, and a room full of masks, they find out that the captured collectors are kept in what looks like a collection of paintings. They are joined by Yko to meet the Collector, a ghost-like entity who seeks to have the greatest collection of anything ever. The Collector summons apparitions against them, and Watanuki and Dmeki have to fight them, while Ichihara confronts the Collector himself. When it seems that she has been captured by the Collector, she reveals the true reason of his desire to collect, an old promise made to a little girl a long time ago. The revelation makes the mansion disappear, and they appear outside of a much smaller house, where the Collector admiringly re-encounters the girl, now an old lady in a wheelchair, who was actually the woman who hired Yko.
With the curse dissipated and the collectors liberated, the trio move to a nearby resort, where Yko also brings Himawari and Mokona. In the final scene, Syaoran and Sakura make an appeal to Yko to free the Birdcage Kingdom from the darkness. Yko helps by giving them the key that helped unlock the mansion.
Casts
Release
Japanese release
The film was released in Japanese theaters on August 20, 2005, with the short film 'Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle the Movie: The Princess in the Birdcage Kingdom' as a double feature.English release
The film was licensed by Funimation Entertainment in North America and released alongside the forty-minute anime film 'Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle the Movie: The Princess in the Birdcage Kingdom'. It was released with both Japanese and English. The Blu-ray has full 1080p high definition and AVC encoding. The audio is Dolby TrueHD with a 5.1 track for the English dub and a 2.0 track for the original Japanese version. The special features are some trailers, a recording montage, character artwork, background designs, and some video footage of the film's opening release in Japan. The back of the 'Tsubasa' movie/'xxxHolic' movie combo DVD and Blu-ray Disc claims that it has over two hours of bonus features. There is a commentary from the original Japanese actors, actresses, and other staff.Reception
N.S. Davidson of IGN said that the film is very original, clever, and long enough to get things accomplished. Todd Douglass Jr. of 'DVD Talk' said that the film feels like an extended episode, but that it has better animation and a better story. The film was selected for the 2006 Annecy International Animated Film Festival alongside the films 'Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit', 'Renaissance', 'Asterix and the Vikings', and 'Origin: Spirits of the Past'. The film is included in the book 'Magic as Metaphor in Anime: A critical study' by Dani Cavallaro.
References
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