The Princess in the Birdcage Kingdom
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is a 2005 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 anim ...
action Action may refer to: * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video game Film * Action film, a genre of film * ''Action'' (1921 film), a film by John Ford * ''Action'' (1980 fil ...
fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...
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 ...
based on the '' Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle''
manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...
written and illustrated by manga artist group CLAMP. The short film was directed by
Itsuro Kawasaki is a Japanese animator, storyboard artist, screenwriter, and director from Tokyo. Works Anime television *'' Popolocrois Monogatari'' (1998–99) – Assistant Director, Episode Director *''Arc the Lad'' (1999) – Director *'' Wild Arms: Twil ...
, co-written by Junichi Fujisaku and Midori Goto, and was produced by
Production I.G is a Japanese animation studio and production enterprise, founded on December 15, 1987, by Mitsuhisa Ishikawa and headquartered in Musashino, Tokyo, Japan. The letters I and G derive from the names of the company founders: producer Mitsuhisa Ish ...
. The film premiered in Japanese theaters on August 20, 2005 in conjunction with '' xxxHolic: A Midsummer Night's Dream'', another Production I.G animated film and based on CLAMP manga. Set between the two seasons of the anime series ''Tsubasa'' by
Bee Train , commonly referred to simply as Bee Train, is a Japanese animation studio founded by Kōichi Mashimo in 1997. Since their involvement with '' Noir'', '' .hack//Sign'', and ''Madlax'' (among other series) they have a strong following in the yuri f ...
, the film continues Syaoran's group's journey to find
Sakura A cherry blossom, also known as Japanese cherry or sakura, is a flower of many trees of Prunus, genus ''Prunus'' or Prunus subg. Cerasus, ''Prunus'' subg. ''Cerasus''. They are common species in East Asia, including China, Korea and especia ...
's "feathers" (memories) in different worlds. On the journey they arrive at the Country of Birdcages, which contains one of Sakura's feathers. The ''Tsubasa'' and ''xxxHolic'' films were conceived by
Kodansha is a Japanese privately-held publishing company headquartered in Bunkyō, Tokyo. Kodansha is the largest Japanese publishing company, and it produces the manga magazines ''Nakayoshi'', ''Afternoon'', ''Evening'', ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' an ...
, the Japanese publisher of both manga. After convincing Production I.G to develop them, Kodansha director hired Junichi Fujisaku to write the ''Tsubasa'' film. Like the TV series,
Yuki Kajiura Yuki, Yūki or Yuuki may refer to: Places * Yuki, Hiroshima (Jinseki), a town in Jinseki District, Hiroshima, Japan * Yuki, Hiroshima (Saeki), a town in Saeki District, Hiroshima, Japan * Yūki, Ibaraki, a city on Honshu island in Japan * Yuki, ...
was the score's composer and the producer was Tetsuya Nakatake. In North America ''The Princess in the Birdcage Kingdom'' was licensed by
Funimation Entertainment Crunchyroll, LLC, previously known as Funimation from 1994 to 2022, is an American entertainment company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony as a joint venture between Sony Pictures and Sony Music Entertainment Japan's Aniplex that specializes ...
, who released it with ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' and episodes of the ''Tsubasa'' anime. The film received a mixed response from manga and anime publications and other media; although its animation and pacing were praised, its length was criticized as only ten minutes longer than the TV episodes.


Plot

In their continuing journey to find the feathers which are the fragments of Princess Sakura's lost memory, Syaoran, Kurogane,
Fai D. Flowright , born , is a fictional character introduced Clamp's manga series '' Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle''. Fai is a sorcerer from the country of Celes who escapes in order to request the witch Yuko Ichihara to travel to other worlds and never return t ...
,
Mokona Modoki The '' Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle'' manga series and its respective animated adaptations feature a large cast of fictional characters designed by Clamp. The series takes place in a fictional multiverse with parallel dimensions where several c ...
and Sakura move through time and space. They visit the Country of Birdcages, an apparently-peaceful country where people and birds live together; each person has a companion bird. When they arrive Syaoran, Princess Sakura and Mokona are separated from Kurogane and Fai, who are confronted by the King's warriors and captured. Syaoran, Sakura and Mokona meet Koruri, who introduces them to her princess (an alternate version of
Princess Tomoyo The '' Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle'' manga series and its respective animated adaptations feature a large cast of fictional characters designed by Clamp. The series takes place in a fictional multiverse with parallel dimensions where several c ...
). Tomoyo tells Syaoran's group that the king (her uncle) oppresses the country's citizens, seizing their birds and planning to seal the country with a key. They are attacked by the king's bird-like soldier, who easily defeats Syaoran and Tomoyo's commander and kidnaps Princess Tomoyo and Mokona. Syaoran, Princess Sakura, Koruri and the commander infiltrate the king's castle to rescue Tomoyo. The king unleashes Dodo, an enormous bird. Fai, Kurogane and Mokona escape from their cages, and are confronted by Dodo's offspring. They rejoin Syaoran's group, and climb to the castle's upper floors to stop the king. Princess Sakura gives Syaoran a ring which she had received from Princess Tomoyo; Syaoran confronts Dodo, realizing that the ring is composed of all the citizens' birds. Princess Tomoyo's bird Lei-Fan helps Syaoran fight Dodo, who is carrying the king. Tomoyo tells Syaoran to use the ring to fight the king and Syaoran, surrounded by fire, launches himself to destroy Dodo. He knocks out the king, whose body transforms into a bird and leaves one of Princess Sakura's feathers behind. Because of the ring the country remains trapped in darkness, and Syaoran's group asks Dimensional Witch
Yuko Ichihara is a fictional character in the manga '' xxxHolic'', which was created by the artist group Clamp. Yuko is a witch who owns a shop where people come to have their wishes granted, and most of her jobs involve dealing with supernatural beings. A ...
for help. Princess Tomoyo gives Yūko her bell, sacrificing the relationship between the citizens and the birds in exchange for a key which frees the country from its darkness.


Casts


Production

Kodansha (publisher of the ''Tsubasa'' and ''xxxHolic'' manga) conceived the idea of developing both films and contacted Production I.G, who chose Toru Kawaguchi and Tetsuya Nakatake as producers. Since ''Tsubasa'' was popular in Japan and Production I.G was well-known, Natakate wanted viewers to enjoy the film. Directed by
Itsuro Kawasaki is a Japanese animator, storyboard artist, screenwriter, and director from Tokyo. Works Anime television *'' Popolocrois Monogatari'' (1998–99) – Assistant Director, Episode Director *''Arc the Lad'' (1999) – Director *'' Wild Arms: Twil ...
and written by Midori Goto and Junichi Fujisaku, its characters were designed by Yoko Kikuchi and its music composed by
Yuki Kajiura Yuki, Yūki or Yuuki may refer to: Places * Yuki, Hiroshima (Jinseki), a town in Jinseki District, Hiroshima, Japan * Yuki, Hiroshima (Saeki), a town in Saeki District, Hiroshima, Japan * Yūki, Ibaraki, a city on Honshu island in Japan * Yuki, ...
.Katoh, Hidekazu; Kikuchi, Yoko; Hirose, Izumi; Shioya, Naoyoshi. "Tsubasa Chronicle—The Princess in the Birdcage Kingdom". ''Newtype USA''. ''7'' (1) pp. 38–39. . . Director Itsuro Kawasaki met producer Nakatake, who told him that they were working in ''The Princess of the Birdcage Kingdom'' but had not chosen a director. According to Kawasaki, he had declined an offer from Production I.G because he was working on an anime television series. It was the director's first feature animated film; Kawasaki was initially sceptical about making a film based on ''Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle'', because he thought the market was saturated and wanted to focus on less-popular series. Since he had heard that ''Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle'' was an entertaining manga, Kawasaki read it when the film finished development. He was satisfied because it was what he had in mind when he made the film, and praised CLAMP's illustrations and designs. When Yoko Kikuchi was chosen as character designer, Kawasaki said, "we were very lucky"; he was familiar with Kikuchi's work, and she was fond of the character Sakura. Since ''The Princess in the Birdcage Kingdom'' is aimed at a younger audience than ''xxxHolic'', producer Tetsuya Natakate wanted to emphasize action scenes to make it enjoyable and hired young animators to give "a brand-new look to heanime f ''Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle''. Yasunori Miyazawa was in charge of the
storyboard A storyboard is a graphic organizer that consists of illustrations or images displayed in sequence for the purpose of pre-visualizing a motion picture, animation, motion graphic or interactive media sequence. The storyboarding process, i ...
s. After a discussion with director Kawasaki, it was decided that the film's setting would resemble
Okinawa is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city ...
. Yuki Kajiura was asked to compose a score different from that of the TV series to convey the characters' state of mind, and Natakate was pleased with the result. CLAMP member and leader
Ageha Ohkawa is a member of the all-female manga-creating team CLAMP. She is the director of the team and is primarily responsible for writing the stories and scripts for CLAMP's various works. As part of CLAMP's 15th Anniversary, each of the four members ...
liked the way the films were connected, despite their different themes. The film has two pieces of
theme music Theme music is a musical composition that is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at so ...
. "Aerial", its opening theme, is performed by
Kinya Kotani , also known as KINYA, is a male singer and actor from Saitama Prefecture, Japan. He sang the theme songs for the anime '' Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle'' and various songs for ''Gravitation''. Discography Albums Singles DVDs * ''LI ...
and "
Amrita ''Amrita'' ( sa, अमृत, IAST: ''amṛta''), ''Amrit'' or ''Amata'' in Pali, (also called ''Sudha'', ''Amiy'', ''Ami'') is a Sanskrit word that means "immortality". It is a central concept within Indian religions and is often referred to i ...
" (its closing theme) is performed by
Yui Makino is a Japanese actress, Voice acting in Japan, voice actress, singer, and pianist. She is best known for her work in the anime ''Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle'' where she voices Sakura (Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle), Sakura and some of the theme ...
. Before the film's premiere, an event was held at Shibuya Tower Records in which Kotani performed "Amrita" and the Japanese cast discussed the film. Both songs were released as singles in Japan on August 17, 2005. When he composed "Aerial", Kotani focused on the word "aerial" and lyrically compared the ''Tsubasa Chronicle'' universe with everything he had written so far. The film began development as a 30-minute-long title, making Kawasaki focus on animation quality to make it stand out from the TV episodes. Background content expanding the film's world was cut for length.


Release

The film was released in Japan on August 20, 2005.
Shochiku () is a Japanese film and kabuki production and distribution company. It also produces and distributes anime films, in particular those produced by Bandai Namco Filmworks (which has a long-time partnership—the company released most, if not all ...
released the film's DVD version on February 25, 2006 in Japan, in regular and premium editions.
Funimation Entertainment Crunchyroll, LLC, previously known as Funimation from 1994 to 2022, is an American entertainment company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony as a joint venture between Sony Pictures and Sony Music Entertainment Japan's Aniplex that specializes ...
announced their licensing of the film, with ''Tsubasa''s first anime season and ''xxxHolic'', in the February 2006 issue of ''
Anime Insider ''Anime Insider'' was a monthly magazine published by Wizard Entertainment, consisting of news and entertainment pieces relating to the Japanese anime and manga subculture. In its earliest incarnation it was published from Fall 2001 till Fall 200 ...
''. The film was released as an English-language DVD on February 19, 2009 in North America as a
double feature The double feature is a motion picture industry phenomenon in which theatres would exhibit two films for the price of one, supplanting an earlier format in which one feature film and various short subject reels would be shown. Opera use Opera ho ...
with ''xxxHolic''. On May 4, 2010 Funimation re-released the double feature in
Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...
format, including the extras in the original DVD release. In Australia, the double-feature DVD was released on July 23, 2008 by
Madman Entertainment Madman Entertainment Pty. Ltd., also known as Madman Films, is an Australian distribution and rights management company headquartered in East Melbourne, Victoria, specialising in feature films, documentaries and television series across theatri ...
. The film was released with a DVD box set, ''Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle: Collected Memories Box Set'' (the anime's first season), on January 19, 2010, and was re-released in Blu-ray format on May 4 with the anime's second season.


Reception

''The Princess in the Birdcage Kingdom'' received mixed reviews from critics. Reviewing the film with ''xxxHolic'',
IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
's N. S. Davidson found it appealing to ''Tsubasa'' series viewers despite its short length. Davidson enjoyed the interaction between the films' storylines, allowing elements of ''Tsubasa'' to be explained in ''xxxHolic'', and noted artistic similarities between them. Active Anime writer Holly Ellingwood praised the film's "suspenseful" story, comparing its setting and animation to the films of
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 ...
. odd Douglass, Jr. of
DVD Talk DVD Talk is a home video news and review website launched in 1999 by Geoffrey Kleinman. History Kleinman founded the site in January 1999 in Beaverton, Oregon. Besides news and reviews, it features information on hidden DVD features known as ...
agreed, saying that series fans would enjoy its story and pacing and overlook its length. According to Douglass, although ''Tsubasa'' and ''xxxHolic'' were similar in style and length the latter had "a more cohesive story". He strongly recommended Funimation's double release as improving the appeal of both series. Blu-ray's Dustin Somner compared the film to the anime series, calling it "a bit stronger than the majority of the television episodes" due to its quick pace. Although he enjoyed the pacing, Somner wrote that important parts of the story would be missed in a first viewing and found its plot unexpectedly complex during his third viewing. ''The Princess in the Birdcage Kingdom'' was criticized for its length, that of an extended TV episode. Anime News Network's Santos wondered why material was cut from the film, writing that a longer film would have been more exciting. Also criticizing the film's length, Chris Beveridge of Mania Entertainment wrote that its extras compensated and found ''The Princess in the Birdcage Kingdom'' animation appealing as a contrast with that of ''xxxHolic''. Carlo Santos of
Anime News Network Anime News Network (ANN) is a news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, video games, Japanese popular music and other related cultures within North America, Australia, Southeast Asia and Japan. The website offers reviews and oth ...
criticized the film's length but called it "good art", praising its animation. Casey Brienza, also from Anime News Network, called the films a service to Clamp fans (due to their improved animation) and their plots primarily filler.


References


External links


The Princess in the Birdcage Kingdom
at
Production I.G is a Japanese animation studio and production enterprise, founded on December 15, 1987, by Mitsuhisa Ishikawa and headquartered in Musashino, Tokyo, Japan. The letters I and G derive from the names of the company founders: producer Mitsuhisa Ish ...
* * {{Production I.G films 2000s animated short films 2005 anime films 2005 films Anime films composed by Yuki Kajiura Anime short films Anime films based on manga Funimation Production I.G Supernatural anime and manga