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Tokyo Godfathers

Play trailer 1:00 Poster for Tokyo Godfathers PG-13 2003 1h 30m Comedy Drama Anime Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
92% Tomatometer 77 Reviews 91% Popcornmeter 10,000+ Ratings
Middle-aged alcoholic Gin (Toru Emori), teenage runaway Miyuki (Aya Okamoto) and former drag queen Hana (Yoshiaki Umegaki) are a trio of homeless people surviving as a makeshift family on the streets of Tokyo. While rummaging in the trash for food on Christmas Eve, they stumble upon an abandoned newborn baby in a trash bin. With only a handful of clues to the baby's identity, the three misfits search the streets of Tokyo for help in returning the baby to its parents.
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Tokyo Godfathers

Tokyo Godfathers

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Critics Consensus

Beautiful and substantive, Tokyo Godfathers adds a moving -- and somewhat unconventional -- entry to the animated Christmas canon.

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Critics Reviews

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Nick Schager The Daily Beast Feb 2, 2021
A modern animé classic fit for rediscovery by both adults and kids-not to mention a stirring celebration of inclusivity that remains ahead of its time. Go to Full Review Chris Stuckmann ChrisStuckmann.com Dec 28, 2020
A
Tokyo Godfathers stands as an excellent anime film and a really fun Christmas movie. Go to Full Review Joe Morgenstern Wall Street Journal Dec 9, 2013
In one sense the plot involves returning stolen goods to a thief, but Tokyo Godfathers is really about longing -- for family, for children, for parents and for the lost past. Go to Full Review Rose Ho The Asian Cut Jul 31, 2025
3.5/5
There is a sense of dark tongue-in-cheek throughout the movie that helps ease this sense of increasing incredulity along. Go to Full Review Chance Solem-Pfeifer Willamette Week Jan 22, 2025
Poignancy gives way to self-conscious sitcom shtick, which morphs into violent tension. It’s a balance so deft the movie elides subgenre altogether and just picks “a holiday classic to those who know.” Go to Full Review Tim Brayton Alternate Ending Dec 28, 2022
4/5
Grotty, unpolished, but lovable humanity. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Bucky R @Bucky3085 Jan 24, 2026 Poorly animated and boring as hell. Awful. See more Stephen C @bob25009 Dec 29, 2025 Funny anime holiday classic in 1.5 hours!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! See more Nathan Y. @NathanYatesDouglass Dec 25, 2025 Surprisingly touching with lots of twists and turns. Pretty abrasive at times, but it makes the moments of quiet stand out that much more. Quirky fun with a wild story. Warning that some of the language, at least in the English translation, is heavy with Q slurs. It makes sense in the context and I wonder if it’s more nuanced in the native language, but can be jarring. See more Jonathan J. @jonjondotcom1312 Dec 24, 2025 A treasure of a Christmas movie. See more Kira T @KtanBrik Dec 19, 2025 Definetely not for children's brain. Awesome story, the miracle everyone needs. See more no o @RT76850400 Sep 26, 2025 fantastic and amazing art See more Read all reviews
Tokyo Godfathers

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Cast & Crew

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Satoshi Kon

Director

Yoshiaki Umegaki

Hana

Aya Okamoto

Miyuki

Toru Emori

Gin

Shinichi Kobayashi

Executive Producer

Taro Maki

Executive Producer
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Tokyo Godfathers

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Tokyo Godfathers

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Movie Info

Synopsis Middle-aged alcoholic Gin (Toru Emori), teenage runaway Miyuki (Aya Okamoto) and former drag queen Hana (Yoshiaki Umegaki) are a trio of homeless people surviving as a makeshift family on the streets of Tokyo. While rummaging in the trash for food on Christmas Eve, they stumble upon an abandoned newborn baby in a trash bin. With only a handful of clues to the baby's identity, the three misfits search the streets of Tokyo for help in returning the baby to its parents.
Director
Satoshi Kon
Producer
Masao Maruyama
Distributor
Columbia Tristar, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Samuel Goldwyn Company
Production Co
Mad House Company Ltd.
Rating
PG-13 (Thematic Elements|Some Sexual Material|Language|Violent Images)
Genre
Comedy, Drama, Anime
Original Language
Japanese
Release Date (Theaters)
Aug 30, 2003, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Dec 2, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA)
$129.0K
Runtime
1h 30m
Sound Mix
Surround
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