Oblivion Island: Haruka and the Magic Mirror Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

Oblivion Island: Haruka and the Magic Mirror Blu-ray Movie Review

Haruka in Wonderland.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman July 26, 2012

One of the more interesting elements in the recently reviewed NIS America release AnoHana: The Flower We Saw That Day was how several characters had little shrines to their departed loves ones in their homes, shrines where they would leave food or other goodies and where they would also “communicate” with the spirits of those dearly departed. Haruka, the heroine of Oblivion Island: Haruka and the Magic Mirror doesn’t have a shrine like that in her home, but her visit to a large outdoor shrine embarks her on an exciting journey that is equal parts Lewis Carroll and Tim Burton. Haruka is a sullen 16 year old who lives with her widowed father, a seemingly well meaning man who is nonetheless very busy and from whom Haruka feels estranged, even if that estrangement is coming mostly from her own attitude and not necessarily from her father. As she chats with a friend one day after school, she starts remembering her deceased mother and then suddenly recalls a mirror her mother gave her when Haruka was a child, a mirror which has gone missing. Haruka decides to go to that aforementioned shrine to ask the powers that be that if she can’t have her mother back, can she at least have the mirror. As she half-dozes in the Japanese twilight she starts at the sight of a little toy airplane seemingly moving by itself across the large plaza that sits in front of the shrine. Scared, Haruka hides behind some steps, but she leaves her keys out in sight. Rather incredibly, a little animal being with a mask trundles up to the steps and takes the keys. Haruka follows it, seeing it disappear into a forest pool that has a weird floating egg in it. When Haruka touches the egg, she is magically whisked into a Wonderland called Oblivion Island, a place where little totemistic foxes (who truth be told look a lot more like Piglet from Winnie the Pooh) take “neglected” items from the human world back to their own lair.

The little fox spirit who took off with Haruka’s keys is named Teo, and he is aghast to find a human has penetrated the portal to Oblivion Island. He sticks a bizarre mask on Haruka so that her real identity won’t be so obvious, but the girl’s ungainly appearance soon attracts all sorts of unwanted attention. Haruka of course gets the bright idea that her long lost mirror could very well be in this enchanted if chaotic world, and she enlists Teo’s aid in finding it. She soon discovers that the mirror is actually a prized possession of the ruler of Oblivion Island, a nefarious character called The Baron. But in a cruel twist of fate, it turns out the mirror has actually been stolen from The Baron, and no one seems to know exactly where it might be.

Oblivion Island: Haruka and the Magic Mirror was made in conjunction with Fuji TV to celebrate that concern’s 50th anniversary. The film is a fascinating combination of styles and influences. While the bulk of the character designs and some of the backgrounds are CGI, there’s also some very appealing and more traditional 2D cel animation, and the film starts out with a really distinctive looking sequence that turns out to be a storybook from which Haruka’s mother is reading the little girl a folktale about foxes (see screencaps 6 and 7). The visual style here is kind of like Tim Burton squeezed through a Pixar processor—the results aren’t always homogenous, but they’re fascinating to watch.

Dramatically, the film has a few problems. It aims for a sort of Pixar warm heartedness, especially in the growing friendship between the “Odd Couple” of Haruka and Teo, but perhaps because of the patently odd setting, there’s no real emotional heft to the duo’s arc. The Baron, as funny and even bizarre as he is, is also a somewhat undeveloped villain. His “master plan” to utilize mirrors to take over the universe is dealt with in a too off-handed way and even though there is a fantastically energetic chase scene late in the film, Haruka never really feels like she’s in much danger from this patently silly bad guy.

Even with its flaws, though, Oblivion Island: Haruka and the Magic Mirror is an inordinately charming piece, one that envelops the viewer is a completely unique, if heterogenous, visual style and one which moves briskly through its story. The visuals here are truly astounding some of the time. It’s odd to see a 3D CGI rendering moving through a 2D “universe”, but it adds a certain surreal quality to the proceedings that certainly would have been appreciated by Alice in Wonderland’s Mr. Carroll. Haruka learns a valuable lesson about the importance of memory and not “neglecting” both items or people in her life, and that message helps to make Oblivion Island: Haruka and the Magic Mirror itself a very memorable animated feature.

Oblivion Island: Haruka and the Magic Mirror Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Oblivion Island: Haruka and the Magic Mirror is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of FUNimation Entertainment with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. This is one of the most astoundingly creative pieces of Japanese animation of this year, and since the bulk of it was created in the digital domain, the transfer here is sparklingly crisp and clean with amazingly robust and brilliantly saturated color. The combination of 3D and 2D animation styles is somewhat disconcerting at times, and there's a huge disparity of styles generally within the film (as discussed above in the main body of the review), but as a high definition presentation, to put it succinctly Oblivion Island: Haruka and the Magic Mirror rocks.

Oblivion Island: Haruka and the Magic Mirror Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Oblivion Island: Haruka and the Magic Mirror has Dolby TrueHD 5.1 mixes in both its original Japanese language as well as an English dub. There's quite a difference in the voice work between the two languages here, but otherwise the mixes are substantially the same. Both of these 5.1 tracks are incredibly immersive and offer such boisterous LFE that a stack of Blu-rays I had on my subwoofer literally went flying across the room during the film's astounding climax. Fidelity is top notch and the surround channels are consistently utilized, with a great assemblage of panning effects and discrete placement. Finally, dynamic range is extremely wide in this offering, presenting everything from Haruka's hushed whispers at the shrine to some really aggressive sound effects in the final third or so of the film.

Oblivion Island: Haruka and the Magic Mirror Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Behind the Scenes of Oblivion Island (1080i; 5:02). This starts out as a kind of extended trailer, with a nod to the film's genesis as a commemoration of thd 50th anniversary of Fuji TV. Then it gets into some brief background, including how ancient Japanese folktales revolving around foxes played an important part in the crafting of the story.


• A Visit to Fushimi Inari Shrine (1080i; 5:03). This is a brief documentary that takes place on July 23, 2009 in Kyoto, one month before the movie's premiere, following voice actor Haruka Ayase (Haruka) as she visits a religious shrine.


• Battleship Island: An Actual Oblivion Island (1080i; 5:25) follows some cast and crew members on August 17, 2009, a week before the film's premiere, as they visit an abandoned island known as Gunkanjima. It used to be the home for a large population, but it's now empty and almost resembles Alcatraz, with rotting old buildings.


• Greetings at the Premiere (1080i; 4:47) has Haruka Ayase and others greeting the audience at the film's premiere.


• A Word from the Cast (1080i; 4:39) is from the preview screening on August 5, 2009.


• The U.S. Premiere (1080i; 8:00) takes place about two months after the Japanese premiere.


• Haruka and Teo's Panel Puzzle (1080i; 4:08) shows an elementary school classroom near the shrine used as the model for the one in the film receiving little Oblivion Island puzzles to play with.


• A Journey Through Fox Folklore (1080i; 25:50) is a really interesting look at how foxes have played such an important part in Japanese (and world) folklore.


• Sierra Leone Relief Spots (1080i; 00:34)


• Original Teasers (1080i; 1:40)


• Original Trailers (1080i; 3:08)


• T.V. Commercials (1080i; 3:20)


• U.S. Trailer (HD; 1:57)

Oblivion Island: Haruka and the Magic Mirror Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Oblivion Island: Haruka and the Magic Mirror is a charming film, one that blends elements of Alice in Wonderland with native Japanese folktales. It's dramatically uneven, never attaining the heights of genius that some Pixar offerings do, but even with its flaws, it's a really exciting and entertaining piece that will certainly delight kids and keep adults entranced with its intriguing combination of visual styles. This Blu-ray comes with exceptional video and audio and a good assortment of supplements. Highly recommended.