Two things about ¡°Ni no Kuni.¡± 1) It features a protagonist who uses a wheelchair, an admirable display of diversity and inclusion in a medium that rarely features characters with disabilities. 2) There isn¡¯t much else to like about the film.
¡°Ni no Kuni¡± hit theaters on Aug. 23, but if the title sounds familiar, you may be thinking of the video game series on which it¡¯s based. Those fantasy role-playing games featured the involvement of legendary animation house Studio Ghibli, with some of the studio¡¯s top talent contributing character designs, artwork and animated sequences. And, like many of Ghibli¡¯s best features, the games featured a soundtrack by composer Joe Hisaishi. ¡°Ni no Kuni¡± was a revolution: a game that practically felt like a playable ¡°Ponyo.¡±
The film version of ¡°Ni no Kuni¡± does not feature the participation of Studio Ghibli ¡ª a fact its producers are hoping, no doubt, that audiences fail to notice before entering the theater, because once the film starts rolling, it¡¯s impossible not to.
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