Gekijōban Dōbutsu no Mori

2006 film

Gekijōban Dōbutsu no Mori (劇場版 どうぶつの森, Gekijōban Dōbutsu no Mori) is a 2006 Japanese animated film directed by Jōji Shimura and based on the Animal Crossing video game series. It was produced by Nintendo, OLM, Inc. and VAP and distributed by Toho. The film opened in theaters in Japan on December 16, 2006, where it went on to earn (approximately $16,216,000) at the box office. The film retains the theme of the video games, and centers on an 11 year old girl named Ai who moves into a village populated with animals where she works to make new friends and find her own dreams. Dōbutsu no Mori was not released outside Japan, with Nintendo of America stating in 2007 that they had no plans for an English release.

The film opens with Ai, an 11 year old girl, moving into the Animal Village during the summer. After being put to work by Tom Nook to deliver goods, Ai befriends four of the village's residents: Bouquet, Sally, Albert, and a human boy named Yū, participating in several activities. Ai begins to find a series of anonymous messages in bottles that state that a miracle will occur during the upcoming Winter Festival if pine trees are planted in specific points of the village. Ai complies with the messages and begins planting the trees, half believing that the messages may have been placed by aliens. During autumn, Bouquet scolds Ai for not attending Sally's farewell party, which comes as a surprise. Ai becomes heartbroken, learning that Sally has moved away to pursue a career in fashion design. Ai goes to the museum café, and ends up crying when K. K. Bossa plays, as the song reminds her of Sally. Bianca scolds Ai, and tells her that she should be happy as a friend for Sally; Ai responds that she is happy for Sally, but is sad that Sally never told her she was moving, and leaves the café. Sally sends a letter of apology to Ai, explaining that a goodbye would have been too upsetting, and encourages her to embark on her own personal journey. Bouquet apologizes to Ai for her harsh reaction. Winter comes, and all the pine trees that Ai has planted have fully grown and are decorated with Christmas lights. A spaceship crash lands in the middle of the forest, and Johnny, a seagull, emerges. Johnny, who had planted the bottles in order to make an entrance dressed as an alien, asks the villagers to help locate some of the pieces that broke off his ship during the descent. Ai, Bouquet, Yū, and Albert head towards a cave, where Yū claims to have seen one of the pieces fall. The entrance is blocked up by a large boulder from a recent event. The team tries to move the boulder, but it proves too heavy for them to move. Sally then appears and helps unseal the cave. The five retrieve the missing piece and return to Johnny, who they discover had already obtained them all. The missing piece turns out to be an injured UFO, one of a larger group that was attracted to the village due to the pattern formed by Ai's lit up pine trees. The injured UFO reunites with its group, and as they depart, create a constellation in the night sky resembling Ai. Ai then wins the Winter Festival contest for the best decoration, leaving her feeling for the first time as a true member of the village.

Dōbutsu no Mori was first announced in a May 2006 issue of the online Japanese magazine Hochi Shimbun, with a theatrical release date set for the following December. Those who ordered advance tickets before the film's debut were eligible to receive vouchers which could be redeemed for hard to obtain gold tools in Animal Crossing: Wild World. In October 2007, Nintendo of America made a statement that they had "no plans" to bring the film to North America. An official soundtrack album was released in Japan on December 13, 2006, by VAP containing 46 tracks from the movie along with five bonus songs from Animal Crossing: Wild World.

Dōbutsu no Mori was released theatrically in Japan on 16 December 2006 where it was distributed by Toho. It debuted in Japanese theaters as the third highest grossing Japan only film of its opening weekend behind Letters from Iwo Jima and Eragon, earning approximately ($2,085,729). By the end of 2006, the movie had a total revenue of ¥1.526 billion ($12,915,432), becoming the 30th highest grossing film that year in the region. The film had lifetime earnings of ($16,216,731) by the end of its theatrical run in 2007, making it the 17th highest grossing film of that year when combining it with its December 2006 box office total. First print copies also included an Animal Crossing themed carrying pouch.