critics consensus

Sweet, sad, and visually striking, A Letter to Momo is a hand-drawn experience for animation fans to savor. Read critic reviews

Rate And Review

Super Reviewer

Rate this movie

Oof, that was Rotten.

Meh, it passed the time.

It’s good – I’d recommend it.

Awesome!

So Fresh: Absolute Must See!

What did you think of the movie? (optional)
You're almost there! Just confirm how you got your ticket.
Super Reviewer
Step 2 of 2

How did you buy your ticket?

Let's get your review verified.
Fandango

AMCTheatres.com or AMC AppNew

Enter your Ticket Confirmation# located in your email.More Info

Cinemark Coming Soon

We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.

Regal Coming Soon

We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.

Theater box office or somewhere else
By opting to have your ticket verified for this movie, you are allowing us to check the email address associated with your Rotten Tomatoes account against an email address associated with a Fandango ticket purchase for the same movie.
You're almost there! Just confirm how you got your ticket.
Super Reviewer

Rate this movie

Oof, that was Rotten.

Meh, it passed the time.

It’s good – I’d recommend it.

Awesome!

So Fresh: Absolute Must See!

What did you think of the movie? (optional)
How did you buy your ticket?
- Fandango
- AMCTheatres.com or AMC AppNew
  
  Enter your Ticket Confirmation# located in your email.More Info
- Cinemark Coming Soon
  
  We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.
- Regal Coming Soon
  
  We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.
- Theater box office or somewhere else
By opting to have your ticket verified for this movie, you are allowing us to check the email address associated with your Rotten Tomatoes account against an email address associated with a Fandango ticket purchase for the same movie.
You haven’t finished your review yet, want to submit as-is?

You can always edit your review after.
Are you sure?

Verified reviews are considered more trustworthy by fellow moviegoers.
Want to submit changes to your review before closing?

A Letter to Momo Photos

View All Photos (17)

Movie Info

Momo is recovering from her father's death and her mother's decision to move their family from Tokyo to a remote island when she discovers a message from her father that causes strange events to occur.

Genre:

anime, drama
Original Language:

Japanese
Director:

Hiroyuki Okiura
Writer:

Hiroyuki Okiura
Release Date (Streaming):

Sep 6, 2016
Runtime:

2h
Production Co:

Bandai Visual Co. Ltd.

Cast & Crew

Toshiyuki Nishida
Iwa
Voice

Yoshisada Sakaguchi
Great Grandfather
Voice

Koichi Yamadera
Kawa
Voice

Yuka
Ikuko Miyaura
Voice

Karen Miyama
Momo Miyaura
Voice

Takeo Ogawa
Koichi
Voice

Show all Cast & Crew

News & Interviews for A Letter to Momo

New on DVD & Blu-Ray: Snowpiercer, Mad Men, and More

Critics Consensus: Hercules is Mighty Fun

View All

Critic Reviews for A Letter to Momo

All Critics (31) | Top Critics (18) | Fresh (25) | Rotten (6)

The hit-and-miss English dub flattens some of the dramatic beats, but this is still a rather lovely piece of work.

April 30, 2015 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review…

Tom Hughes
Guardian
A sweet, heartfelt, yet never maudlin story about an 11-year-old girl's coming to terms with the loss of her father.

September 5, 2014 | Rating: 3/4 | Full Review…

Tirdad Derakhshani
Philadelphia Inquirer
It's difficult to imagine any children's movie retaining the attention of its intended audience for two hours, but this movie feels especially monotonous.

September 4, 2014 | Rating: 1/4 | Full Review…

Thomas Lee
San Francisco Chronicle
Despite the hand-drawn film's supernatural edge, one of Okiura's lyrical strengths is acquainting a viewer with the poetry of the real - animated reflections of ordinary, beautiful things we see in everyday life without actually noticing them at all.

September 4, 2014 | Rating: 3.5/4

Tom Keogh
Seattle Times
A sweet tale of a sad girl who moves to a new place and meets supernatural pals.

August 28, 2014 | Rating: 2.5/4 | Full Review…

Bill Stamets
Chicago Sun-Times
A striking example of Japanese hand-drawn animation, it casually combines things you wouldn't expect in one place.

August 28, 2014 | Full Review…

Kenneth Turan
Los Angeles Times
Yet the stunning artwork and detailed description of daily life on the Japanese islands sure makes this one worthy of a few visits. Highly recommended!

January 14, 2020 | Full Review…

Ard Vijn
ScreenAnarchy
Here, magic-realism and emotional realism run together. The story can lapse into jokiness or drag its heels a little. But when Momo's anguish bursts, and she soon realizes how sad her mother's truly been, the film bursts to life.

January 9, 2016 | Full Review…

Brian Gibson
Vue Weekly (Edmonton, Alberta)
This accessible and heartfelt anime charms because of its honesty and impressive attention [to] detail.

May 7, 2015 | Rating: 3/5 | Full Review…

Katherine McLaughlin
SciFiNow
Though made by the studio Production I.G, this is a markedly Ghibli-esque affair, overtly referencing Miyazaki's My Neighbour Totoro and Princess Mononoke among others.

January 29, 2015 | Full Review…

Anton Bitel
Grolsch Film Works
The new anime A Letter to Momo feels like the movie that Hayao Miyazaki's final film should have been.

September 5, 2014 | Rating: 3.5/4 | Full Review…

Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid
Filmmakers of live-action fare, even that which ostensibly is aimed at adults, could learn a lot from its tact.

September 5, 2014 | Full Review…

Jonathan Kiefer
SF Weekly