Okkos Inn a disarmingly charming instantly likable Japanese animated feature is the sort of familyfriendly movie rarely seen from a lot of western productions of this type nowadays. While most kiddie flicks Ive seen these days tend to go for loud noisy inyourface schtick and disgusting scatalogical humor for the heck of it this one instead aims to be a more gentle downtoearth sort of tale. Whatever humor we get is thankfully brief and of the clean and clever kind. More importantly its a film with a lot of heart. Its only weakness may be that it may fall somewhat short of the standards often set by say Studio Ghibli but director Kitaro Kosaka himself incidentally a Ghibli veteran still manages to make this a delight for kids and adults while emerging as a beautiful work in its own right. The main character of this tale is Oriko Seki aka Okko a 12yearold girl who is tragically orphaned within the first five minutes when her parents car crashes into a derailed truck while traveling home from a performance. Miraculously surviving this incident Okko is subsequently sent to stay with her grandmother who happens to be the proprietor of an inn in the countryside. The inn in question which doubles as a hot springs house goes by the name of Harunoya with a philosophy that all are welcome. Naturally it does take Okko some time to get settled into this new establishment. She is befriended by three ghosts two of which are children who passed away years ago: the spunky but friendly Uribo and the sassy mischievous Miyo and a pesky demon known as Suzuki. With encouragement from these three invisible to all but the little girl Okko aspires to be a junior innkeeper. Predictably she starts off on the clumsy side and makes some poor calls of judgment but gradually gets better learning lessons about selflessness and valuing life. Over the course of Okkos coming of age journey we meet a variety of other characters among them a sullen teenage boy a friendly fortune teller called Glory Suriyo who takes her on a memorable shopping trip and a bratty rival junior innkeeper named Matsuki who treats Okko contemptuously at every opportunity. Of course at the major core of the story is Okko coming to terms with the fact that her mother and father are no longer with her. A lot of this movies subject feels strikingly similar to Hiroyuki Okras A Letter To Momo as well as numerous other animated tearjerkers such as My Neighbor Totoro Coco and Kubo and the Two Strings but Okkos Inn manages to carve out its own niche thanks primarily to its plucky cast of characters. Okko is an easily relatable protagonist and her similarly likable ghost buddies provide moments of gentle humor without treading into annoying territory. Only Matsuki comes across as downright unsympathetic at least for a good majority of the film until we find out that she too has troubles of her own. As you might expect the ending is a bit of a tearjerker but not so much that it makes the movie downright depressing. In lesser hands this tale could potentially tread into draggy territory. Thankfully Kosaka keeps an energetic pace throughout all 96 minutes making even the more quieter slower moments flow without draining interest. That said there are a couple of moments when the development of some moments feels a bit hasty notably in the handling of Matsukis character. Some additional scenes where we get to see her being nicer would have been welcomed but thats honestly my only complaint. Despite being directed by a Ghibli veteran Okkos Inn was animated at Madhouse Studios whose output has ranged from gritty productions like Ninja Scroll and Perfect Blue to somber friendlier stuff such as The Girl Who Leapt Through Time. If youre not familiar with this studio these works you may have been fortunate to see. Okkos Inn naturally being among the more softer offerings of this studio has a predictably sunny beautiful look to it. There is a digital sort of look to the animation but it still offers the sort of warmth that handdrawn craft is usually known for. On occasion there are uses of computer images but thankfully they dont stand out in all the wrong ways. I went to see the dubbed version provided by NYAV Post. Its yet another quality effort with terrific performances by all involved. Madigan Kacmar does an outstanding job as Okko providing the character with just the right amount of warmth spunk and heart. She has terrific chemistry with K.J. Aikens somewhat smartalecky but lovable Uribo as well as her other costars. Carly Williams Matsuki is as snarky and prissy as youd expect while Tessa Frascognas Miyo and Colleen OShaughnessys Suzuki complete the trio of ghost companions for Okko. Glynis Eliis is also great as Okkos grandmother. NYAV Post has turned out excellent work lately notably in the form of of big hitters such as A Silent Voice Mirai and even the flawed forgettable Fireworks. Its gratifying to see them continue to live up to their standards here. There have been a lot of great contenders for emotionally resonant animated features from Japan lately. Okkos Inn may be among the lesser known of them but it certainly deserves a following. If you ever decide to check out this charmer I highly would recommend doing so.