The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

This is ultimately a movie about the very bad things that can happen when we don't address our unease, when we just try to brush it off, whether that's to fit in or to preserve our self-image.

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Definitely the cutest film of the year, so if you don't like cute, stay away. It's like a Hayao Miyazaki film with more fluff added, less depth and a weaker storyline. But considering that Miyazaki is THE master and that his movies are unreachable for most anime filmmakers, this is a pretty good film. The animation is sometimes top-notch and sometimes not quite as good. The soundtrack is really sweet and well suited for this type of movie. It was a nice film to watch in 3D, although I think it would be better in the the old fashion anime way. Overall it's a charming story (but not much new) with cute, funny and lovable characters. In other words, it's a film I would like to see again and would recommend to my friends, that is, those who like it cute and fluffy.