Stylish but barely mediocre overall

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

For a Manga Fan or an admirer of pioneer Japanese Animator Tezuka, this is a less than thrilling night at the movies. Tezuka's striking drawing style is rarely evoked - Compare his own SPACE FIRE BIRD or CLEOPATRA QUEEN of SEX and the handling is familiar Nip Toon.It is curious to see the life of Buddha turning up as one of these and they do get into quite cerebral issues, like the failure of Asceticism.Every so often the makers also manage a memorable image - walking across the rice paddies, the burning hut or the giant's masked face thrust through the prison window.Middle of a multi-part production.