Penguin Highway

I recently found out about this movie and after watching it, I was very surprised to see almost nobody knowing about its existence. This movie has a great theme, the animation is fluid and vibrant, the score is great... So why is no one talking about it?

Penguin Highway is a story about a young boy named Aoyama and him trying to solve the mystery behind the sudden appearance of penguins in his hometown. The more Aoyama and his friends learn about the penguins, the more strange occurrences they discover. 

The movie sounds simple, but rather than just being a funny magical adventure, the movie tells coming of age story. 

The protagonist, Aoyama, is grade-schooler smart for his age. He is interested in science and is obsessed in growing up, going so far as to count the number of days he needs to wait till he can be regarded as a grownup. His cocky and conceited attitude and confidence in his own skills don't make him popular in class, and instead, make him a target for bullies. This doesn't seem to bother him though, as he prefers to spend time with adults.

At school and around his friends, Aoyama acts calm and serious, usually taking charge while trying to act like an adult. His desperate attempt to hide his own childishness doesn't fool the nice lady from the dentist's office Aoyama is determined to charm. But unfortunately, the more the boy tries to act like he thinks adults do, the more childish his actions are. 

The movie makes it very clear that children knowing things doesn't mean they are mature. Aoyama knows losing his milk teeth means that he is just growing up. He knows it is something everyone goes through. But yet he still can't help being scared when he has to actually remove his loose tooth and tries to slither his way out of doing it. Aoyama has also recently acquired a growing interest in the nice lady he has befriended and especially in her breasts. His mathematic equations nor scientific hypotheses don't seem to be able to explain his sudden change of interests, so Aoyama marks boobs as a mystery rivaling the sudden appearance of penguins in Japan.

Penguin Highway is just a really fun movie to experience. It brings back memories of my own little adventures as a kid. The only difference is that the mystery Aoyama and his friends try to solve is not made by a child's imagination. The movie carefully makes shows everything happening from the child main character's point of view. 

Even with how bouncy and colorful the movie is, it isn't afraid to explore darker themes. Aside from childhood and growing up, the movie explores what it is like to fear losing someone and how to ultimately let people dear to you go.

I hope me rambling about this movie has made at least someone interested in seeing this movie.

I'm going to try and find and read the book this movie an adaption of.