Direct from Cannes, this charming all-ages anime from Hosoda Mamoru (Wolf Children, The Boy and the Beast) takes a richly imaginative toddler-eye view of a new arrival in the family.

“The complex, sometimes fraught relationship between older and younger siblings is mapped with kindness, imagination and wit in Mirai, from Japanese writer-director Hosoda Mamoru… Inspired by Hosoda’s experience watching his own kids interact, this latest work, rooted more in realism and domesticity despite some flights of fancy, continues the director’s ongoing preoccupation with family dynamics, explored previously with more fantastical settings in The Boy and the Beast and Wolf Children…

In an affluent suburb, Kun, a little boy of maybe three or four, lives with his mom and dad in a flowing, modernist house – designed by Kun’s dad himself – that descends room by room down a hill, enclosing a little yard with a single tree… The peace of this harmonious little world is disrupted by the arrival of Mirai, Kun’s new little sister, who, although cute, also makes demands on his parents’ time and attention, much to Kun’s chagrin... 

When mum goes back to work and leaves dad to look after the kids at home, Kun takes to spending a lot of time alone in his playroom or the yard. There, he makes friends with a dashing prince in eighteenth century clothing, who the audience and Kun eventually realise is actually Kun’s fantasy personification of Yukko the [family’s] dog…

"Hosoda has a lovely, light touch and leavens the proceedings with dry, well-observed humor. Likewise, the character design walks the line with grace between big-eyed anime cutesiness and closely observed realism, capturing with insightful wit the way dogs and kids move and wiggle.” — Leslie Felperin, Hollywood Reporter

“Beguilingly sweet-natured… Mirai is a work of heart-swelling beauty and considerable charm.” — Wendy Ide, Screendaily