Jeri Jacquin
Coming to Bluray from GKids and SHOUT! Factory comes the
look at a young girls life changing with OKKO’S INN .
After losing her parents in a car accident, Okko (Seiran
Kobayashi) must go live with her grandmother Mineko and other family. It is
immediate that she is a city girl as the local bugs and lizards are something
that cause her panic. What Okko can’t explain to the others is that she sees a
ghost in the house and is surprised to learn who the ghost truly is!
Mineko also run the inn and once the young boy ghost Uribo
gets Okko to admit to wanting to help at the inn, grandmother puts her in a
kimono and the training begins. She finds a bell and doesn’t realize she has
released the food stealing ghost named Suzuki. Grandmother also announces that
Okko will be starting at the local school. She meets Matsuki who is very
standoffish and classmates call her ‘Frilly Pink’ and their meeting doesn’t go
very well.
But the class embraces Okko very quickly and good thing too
because she doesn’t want them to know she’s seen another ghost. On her way home
from school she meets a father and sick son who need a place to stay. After the
boy Akane gets upset and yells at Okko, it is her grandmother that must
intervene to teach her to be kind to the guests.
Okko finds a way to make the ghosts she is meeting help
around the Inn . They aren’t happy about it but
it’s a way for them to stay with Okko. When grandmother tells her to check on
guests Ms. Glory Suiryo, Okko discovers that she is a fortune teller! She tries
to talk to Matsuki about it but she only wants to make Okko feel bad.
Glory and Okko become friends and decide to go on a shopping
spree together. On the drive Okko remembers the day about her parents and the
ghost friends help her through it. After a day of shopping together, Okko
discovers that Akane’s father was a writer and did a review of their inn! It
was such a success that now the inn is crowded with people who want to meet
her.
Matsuki is upset with Okko thinking she doesn’t take her
dancing seriously. That’s when she explains that both of their dances is how
the girls will be taking over their family’s respective inn’s. Uribo also
learns that there may come a time when Okko doesn’t see all of her friends
anymore.
Arriving at the Inn is the
Kise family and their little boy name Shota. The problem is Shota’s father is
having problems with the food their inn is serving. Okko realizes that she
needs help from the most unlikely of places – Matsuki herself. The surprising
thing is that Shota’s father loves the food.
That is when Okko realizes who Shota’s father is that she
must come to terms with the path her life has taken. It is the good friends she
has made along the way as well as those who have watched over her that has her
seeing a bright future.
SHOUT! Factory
has grown into a tremendous multi-platform media company. Releasing new
animated features such as the exquisite Long Way North, and the epic fantasy Beauty And The Beast.
Also their own original horror film, Fender Bender gives fans a good scare. For more of
what SHOUT Factor has to offer please visit www.shoutfactory.com.
GKIDS brings award-winning feature animation for both adult
and family audiences. The company has received ten Best Animated Feature Oscar
nominations including The Secret of
Kells, A Cat in Paris
The Blurays Special Features include Interview with the Director, Interview with Seiran Kobayashi (Okko),
Question & Answer with Director and Producers at Japanese Premier and Trailers.
OKKO’S INN
is absolutely delightful in every way! The story is that of a girl who loses
her parents but also understands the importance of friendship, family, love,
loyalty and surprises she never saw coming.
The animation is stunning and
beautiful which adds such richness to the story that is being told. This is a
story that is relatable in its telling on so many levels which means that
although sad at moments, it is those around Okko that help her reclaim her the
life she so richly deserves.
‘The waters of the Harunoya springs
are a gift from the gods; they welcome everyone and heal everyone’. What a
lesson it is for us all to learn!
In the end – all are welcome here!
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