Digimon Adventure: The Movie by Kuzu Ryu Sen

Also Known As: Digi Movie 1, Digimon Adventure
Genre: Action
Format: 1 Movie
Allegiance: Toei Animation
Director: Hosoda Mamoru
Vintage: 1999
Intelligence Agency Report by: Drake
It was just another normal day for 2 year-old Hikari and her older brother Taichi, until an egg popped out of their computer. The next morning the egg hatched into a small being known as Koromon. What does this strange creature want from Hikari and Taichi and what lies in store for them in the upcoming years?
Field Agent Report by: Kuzu Ryu Sen 
Plot
Characters
Impact
Visual
Audio
3.50
4.50
8.00
8.50
7.50
Overall 5.00

Digimon Adventure: The Movie is certainly an interesting piece, especially since it enjoyed a theatrical release despite having a running length of only 20 minutes. This brevity is a double edged sword, for it eliminates any possibility of a sub-surface plot or in-depth characterization. However, thanks to some very slick animation, a unique art style, and the fact that it’s too short to grind on the viewer, Digimon Adventure: The Movie is something that actually has some replay value.

To get the most out of Digimon Adventure: The Movie, one cannot view this piece as a standalone film, and really, this film never tries to be a standalone piece. The plot never delves past the specific event mentioned in the Digimon Adventure TV series. In fact, there’s really none of the commentary or hindsight that usually accompanies a flashback. Instead,Digimon Adventure: The Movie merely presents the events to supplement the series, and allows the viewer to come up with any deeper interpretation. As such, the plot is rather limited and shallow, essentially following dramatic structure without an extensively complicated rising action or dénouement. Likewise, characterization does not deviate far from what the series had already established, with Taichi and Hikari’s parents (who didn’t get much screen time in the series) a notable exception.

The art style employed deviates drastically from that of the series, but this is by no means a bad thing. The more subtle, less defined, and less technological (in style, not production) style of the movie is excellent, despite some serious proportional issues. The OST (if you can even call it that) employs only two tracks from completely opposite ends of the musical spectrum: Ravel’s Bolero and Kouji Wada’s Butter-fly. Both are utterly gorgeous as stand-alone tracks, and the usage of Bolero just enhances to some particularly whimsical and carefree scenes involving Hikari and the egg. Yet, it is incredibly difficult to deem anything that only uses one track as BGM higher than average, particularly since the piece is used repeatedly throughout the 20 minute runtime.

Despite having a skeletal plot and no real characterization, Digimon Adventure: The Movie is not unbearable. Certainly, it’s nothing to be lauded or recommended, but it’s not something to be vilified either. It’s only 20 minutes, and most of those 20 minutes consist of two children playing. What cruel, heartless evil person could be driven insane by that?