is a 2001 Japanese

animated Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most ani ...

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

written and directed by

Hayao Miyazaki is a Japanese animator, director, producer, screenwriter, author, and manga artist. A co-founder of Studio Ghibli, he has attained international acclaim as a masterful storyteller and creator of Japanese animated feature films, and is widel ...

, shown only in the

Ghibli Museum The is a museum showcasing the work of the Japanese animation studio Studio Ghibli. It is located in Inokashira Park in Mitaka, a western city of Tokyo, Japan. The museum combines features of a children's museum, technology museum, and a fine a ...

in Mitaka, Japan. The film has a running time of 16 minutes. It is drawn in a different, simpler style compared to other

Studio Ghibli is a Japanese animation studio headquartered in Koganei, Tokyo."Studio Ghibli Collection - Madman Entertainment". ''Studio Ghibli Collection - Madman Entertainment''. Retrieved 2020-12-14. It is best known for its animated feature films, and h ...

films and uses bright pastel colors. ''Kujiratori'' tells the story of school children pretending they are building a boat. As imagination replaces reality, they find themselves on the ocean, hunting for a

whale Whales are a widely distributed and diverse group of fully aquatic placental marine mammals. As an informal and colloquial grouping, they correspond to large members of the infraorder Cetacea, i.e. all cetaceans apart from dolphins and ...

. A big, gentle whale appears, accompanies them back to land and plays with them. Then the fantasy ends and the children are back in their class room. The film was shown at the 2002 New York International Children's Film Festival. It won the Ōfuji Noburō Award at the 2001

Mainichi Film Awards The are a series of annual film awards, sponsored by Mainichi Shinbun (毎日新聞), one of the largest newspaper companies in Japan, since 1946. It is the first film festival in Japan. History The origins of the contest date back to 193 ...

References

External links

''Kujiratori''
on the

's website. * * 2001 anime films 2001 films Anime short films Animated films about whales Films directed by Hayao Miyazaki 2000s Japanese-language films Studio Ghibli animated films 2001 animated short films Films scored by Yuji Nomi Fictional whales {{anime-film-stub