Stormy Night

The basic story is wonderfully simple: Mei and Gabu, a goat and a wolf - natural enemies - become friends by chance. When their friendship is discovered - and forbidden - by their respective groups the two decide to run away to a place where a goat and a wolf can live together in peace. Yet overlaid with this simple tale are some rather deep themes - identity, society, and even war. There are moments of comedy, sorrow, action, and drama. The plot never lingers too long, but does slow down at just the right times. Children will enjoy the movie for its surface themes but a watchful adult will be able to pick out and appreciate some of the more subtle story elements. Gabu and Mei's growing friendship is the source of most of the emotion delivered by this film - and it is at times very powerful, such as when Mei, seeing no other alternative, tells Gabu that he should eat him so that at least one of them will survive. Their friendship grows seemingly stronger even as it faces tremendous adversity. The moral - stick by your friends and your convictions - has the same beautiful simplicity as the story and both are delivered flawlessly. One IMDb reviewer mentioned that Gabu and Mei's relationship had an "unintended layer of sexuality". I didn't see this, but it should be pointed out that the word "friends" doesn't quite do justice to what Gabu and Mei are. There is something... MORE.. to their relationship, for which the English language doesn't have exactly the right word. Gabu and Mei are happiest when they are together, both trust each other completely and each is willing to die for the other. They *love* each other, in the classical sense of the word. It is perhaps a sad reflection on our society that such a relationship might be seen by some as necessarily sexual or even "creepy" as I once heard elsewhere. The animals in this film are somewhat anthropomorphised, but to a level not often seen: they use human gestures and are able to use their "hands" as humans do (by grasping things), walk bipedally on occasion and of course talk. Yet despite this, they usually walk on all fours and their behaviour is very animal-like much of the time (but especially when fighting or running). It's something audiences may not be used to, but I think it was executed very well. There is only one flaw that this movie has, and it concerns the animation. While the backgrounds are breathtaking, the character designs are a bit too childish. The characters seem too much like caricatures, and there is in many places a definite clash between the realistic backgrounds and the characters' rather unrealistic appearance. Still, there is a certain charm to it and as the movie progresses it is easy to simply accept and enjoy how the characters look. It is also an interesting change from both American animation and the more common anime style most westerners are familiar with. All in all, this is a great movie, and I highly recommend it for anyone who wants to see something with a simple yet well-told story of friendship over adversity. And a happy ending. :-)

This movie melt down my heart, I think it was a pure movie about true friendship. I actually didn't feel it as a romance, but I've read some people did, and I can see why. I think this is just my interpretation of the movie, but still, the relationship between Gabu and Mei was sweet and beautiful. The animation was surprisingly good, being a 2005 movie. I was very satisfied and the backgrounds were just incredible! The designs of the goats and wolves were also fantastic. The story is simple, but very entertaining, with a final act that is very different from what I expected. Overall, a very cute movie, I'd definetly watch it again and recommend.

This film is very good and makes our hearts calm. This film is a very rare film and people rarely make this series of films. This film is very good to watch with your family.

When I was a high school studeent, I went to a theater with my older brother, an adult perfectly. I was touched, but he cried more than me. So I was put off by his crying lol. But I thought it was definitely a good story about life and friendship.

This is a great movie with unique animation and interesting characters. I would highly recommend it. Just stay away for the English dub as it censors the film, getting rid of all the gay allegories, making it more heterosexual.

When I saw the cover of this movie, it just look like usual kid friendly film about friendship. But after I watched this movie, it's suprisingly entertaining even for adults. The character is very well-written. They have their own unique personality. And It's full of drama, comedy, and adventure. I recommend this film to kids and adults who like that kind of film. If you don't like that genres, I suggest you should avoid this film because it has a lot of emotional moments and plot twists.

The only reason I couldn't give the film a full 10 stars is because the dialogue, whilst understandably aimed at a much younger audience, was almost patronizingly simplistic in places, and relied far to much on repetition to get the message across. Fewer words and more subtle actions could have achieved a truly brilliant film, though I'm hoping this is just a side-effect of the subtitling; an English dub with more carefully chosen words would easily overcome this very minor flaw. That said, this film is a real gem. When Gabu the Wolf "accidentally" befriends Mei the goat, a bond between them forms that is far stronger than either one anticipates. Each finds in the other something neither has had before (though this is made less obvious with Mei than it is with Gabu), and they defy both of their respective kinds to seek a friendship that would be permanent. As an adult, I have to admit that some of the dialogue and the choice of editing during the film made it seem that there was something in their relationship that was quite carnal in nature: Their both wearing of scarves; Gabu's recollection of how he didn't fit in with the other wolves and his later lamentation of why he was born a wolf. One could quite easily assume that this was an allegory for a homosexual relationship. The friendship could have been demonstrated to be just as strong without such suggestions being made, but an innocent young child watching this film will not likely draw such conclusions. Instead, they will simply see two unlikely friends forge a wonderful friendship, and this is how it should be. The music is wonderful, and the visuals are stunning; the high-definition version of this film is jaw-droppingly beautiful to watch. The voice work is typically childish in delivery (given the nature of the film) but it doesn't detract from the emotion that is delivered throughout the film. You know a film has succeeded when you reach the end of it, you wipe a tear from your eye, and you wish both protagonists all the best with the rest of their relationship. I would recommend this film to all.

This movie is unbelievably charming and cute. It's about the friendship between a wolf and a little goat. The wolf defends the little goat from his wolf friends.... and you can really believe they love one another! But the movie does deal with more adult themes too. It keeps you caring about what happens to the characters throughout. The production values are quite good and the characters themselves have quite a wide range of expressions. The designs for the wolves don't look like typical anime designs. And the plot is less convoluted than most anime. I wouldn't show it to the youngest children as there is some mild violence and threat. I think it'd be rated PG. But anyway You have to see it!