Tokyo Godfathers

Play trailer

1:00

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.

Watch on Fandango at Home

Stream Now

Critics Consensus

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

Read Critics Reviews

Nick Schager

The Daily Beast

02/02/2021

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

12/28/2020

A

Tokyo Godfathers stands as an excellent anime film and a really fun Christmas movie.

Go to Full Review

Joe Morgenstern

Wall Street Journal

12/09/2013

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

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

01/22/2025

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

12/28/2022

4/5

Grotty, unpolished, but lovable humanity.

Go to Full Review

Read all reviews

Bucky R

@Bucky3085 Jan 24

Poorly animated and boring as hell. Awful.

See more

Stephen C

@bob25009 Dec 29

Funny anime holiday classic in 1.5 hours!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

See more

Nathan Y.

@NathanYatesDouglass Dec 25

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

A treasure of a Christmas movie.

See more

Kira T

@KtanBrik Dec 19

Definetely not for children's brain. Awesome story, the miracle everyone needs.

See more

no o

@RT76850400 Sep 26

fantastic and amazing art

See more

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

POST RATING

Satoshi Kon

Director

Yoshiaki Umegaki

Hana

Aya Okamoto

Miyuki

Toru Emori

Gin

Shinichi Kobayashi

Executive Producer

Taro Maki

Executive Producer

12 Unique Depictions of Tokyo in the Movies

The Hunt Isn’t as Wild as It Thinks

The Indie Fresh List: Unwanted Pregnancy, Arrested Development, and a Remastered Anime Classic

Tokyo Godfathers: Re-Release Trailer

1:00

View more videos

View more photos

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