“The Wonderland,” the new film from director Keiichi Hara (“Miss Hokusai”), certainly has the building blocks of something wondrous: a skilled director, top production values, and a story by beloved children’s author Sachiko Kashiwaba.
One of Kashiwaba’s admirers is Studio Ghibli’s Hayao Miyazaki, whose Academy Award-winning “Spirited Away” is said to have been at least loosely inspired by a Kashiwaba book. And yes, if you’ve been paying attention to the post-Ghibli anime industry, your “another anime film trying to recreate the charms of Miyazaki?!” alarm bell probably just went off.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.