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The Promised Neverland (film)
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Wikipedia article
{{Infobox film
| name = The Promised Neverland
| image = The Promised Neverland (film).png
| alt =
| caption = Theatrical release poster
| native_name =
| director =
| producer =
| writer = Noriko Goto
| based_on =
| starring =
| music = Masahiro Tokuda
| cinematography = Keisuke Imamura
| editing = Nobuyuki Ito
| studio =
| distributor = Toho
| released =
| runtime = 120 minutes
| country = Japan
| language = Japanese
| budget =
| gross =
}}
is a 2020 Japanese film directed by Yichir Hirakawa and produced by Fuji Television, Shueisha and Toho. It is an adaptation of the manga series of the same name, created by Kaiu Shirai and Posuka Demizu and published by Shueisha.
Plot
Emma and her siblings, all orphans, were placed in a special orphanage, known as Grace Field House when they were very young. Although their freedom is limited and the rules are sometimes a bit strict, the children lead happy lives at Grace Field House orphanage, and the woman they call "Mom" takes care of them. and gives them all the love a mother could give her children. But one evening, after the departure of one of their siblings, Emma and Norman discover that the children of this orphanage are actually being raised as livestock for demons, with the consent of their "Mom". To survive, they will have to be resourceful and try to escape.
Cast
Production
Development
The film was announced in September 2019, with a planned release date in December 2020. it was announced that Yichir Hirakawa would direct the film with Noriko Gotou handling the film's script. The film stars Minami Hamabe as Emma, Jyo Kairi as Ray, Rihito Itagaki as Norman, Keiko Kitagawa as Isabella and Naomi Watanabe as Krone. The casting for Krone was met with controversy as the character is depicted being black in the manga and anime, while Watanabe herself is Japanese. Some things have been changed from the original story, such as the maximum age at which orphans are "shipped" being raised from 12 to 16 and the appearance of Peter Ratri, played by Tori Matsuzaka.Filming
, location of Grace Field House in the film.Production took place in Japan, and the filming occurred in the Important Cultural Property of Japan. The Grace Field House was photographed by adding a set to Tenkyokaku in Inawashiro Town, Fukushima Prefecture, the scenes such as the forest around the house was taken in Nagano Prefecture, Chino, Fujimi and Ina.
Music
Japanese rock band Zutomayo performed the film's theme song "Tadashiku Narenai" (, "It Can't Be Right"). Masahiro Tokuda composed and scored the original motion-picture soundtrack, which is compiled into one whole soundtrack.Release
Theatrical
'The Promised Neverland' was released nationwide in Japanese theaters on December 18, 2020. The film was also released in Vietnam on January 15, 2021 and in South Korea on April 7, 2022.Television broadcast
The film was first broadcast on Fuji TV on April 2, 2022.Home media
The Blu-ray and DVD for the film, including a special edition, was release in Japan on May 19, 2021. As of January 2022, 'The Promised Neverland' is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video Japan.Reception
Box office
The film earned 288 million Yen (2.49 million USD) in its opening two day weekend, selling over 219,000 tickets. The cumulative total of three days from the first day was 373 million Yen (3.22 million USD) with 284,000 tickets sold. As of March, 2021, the film earned 2,03 billion ($17.7 million).Critical response
Bryan Tan from 'Yahoo! Life' gave the film a positive review and a 4 out of 5 stars, citing: "'The Promised Neverland' movie adaptation imitates its manga counterpart with great surgical precision; every twist and turn in the plot was followed religiously by director Yuichiro Hirakawa with very little creative deviation. It is perhaps the most respectful homage one can pay to a series that has succeeded superbly in the manga/anime world, standing in stark contrast to other live-action movies like 'Bleach' or 'Death Note' that have flopped miserably."Cezary Strusiewicz of Crunchyroll wrote, "In Yuichiro Hirakawas 'The Promised Neverland', hopelessness and resignation are alluring and tempting, and it is heartbreaking watching such young characters seemingly give in to them. At the same time, it also makes it that much sweeter when it turns out that they stood strong and still retained hope. These emotionally packed scenes are also when the actors deliver their hands-down best performances in the movie. Despite some of its flaws, 'The Promised Neverland' is a story about the triumph of hope, which feels exactly like what we need right now. If that sounds like something you would enjoy, definitely check out the live-action 'The Promised Neverland'."
Si Jia of 'Geek Culture' gave it a 7.6 out of 10 rating and called it "Despite suffering from some creative missteps, 'The Promised Neverland' is a polished take on an anime live-action adaptation that delivers in the areas that matter." Jeanmarie Tan of 'The New Paper' praised the film and gave it 4 out of 5, stating: "Aside from exaggerated performances and iffy CGI rendering of the monsters that inhabit their world, this dark fantasy wields a shocking premise that poses provocative questions and provides edge-of-seat twists and thrills." Manfred Selzer of 'Asian Movie Web' gave it a 6 out of 8, and describes the film as "Director Yuichiro Hirakawa composes wonderful pictures for this fairytale-like drama-thriller, and the soundtrack is also outstanding. The demons have a grotesque look that could come right out of a picture book, and the special effects are impressive all the way through as well. The sets, especially the orphanage, are also well-chosen. 'The Promised Neverland' is definitely something for the eye. In the end, this manga adaptation is one of the successful ones, and especially if you can't compare it with the original, 'The Promised Neverland' is a clear recommendation."
Accolades
{|class="wikitable sortable"!Year
!Award ceremony
!Category
!Result
!
|-
|rowspan=2|2022
|rowspan=2|VFX-JAPAN Awards
|Excellence Theatrical Film Award
|
|style="text-align:center;"|
|-
|Best Theatrical Film Award
|
|style="text-align:center;"|
|}
See also
* List of films based on manga
Notes
References
Buy The Promised Neverland (film) now from Amazon
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