Love and Peace (5 Stars)

With the Tokyo Olympics ahead
The whole nation will get richer and prosper.
I'll try to throw away the bitter past
With my eyes closed, ears covered and my mouth shut,
But no matter how hard I pretend to be happy,
Pikadon, I won't ever forget you,
Pikadon, I won't ever forget you.

You're burned into my brain,
Your face when you were washed away,
How can I go on pretending that I'm over you?
Pikadon, I won't ever forget you,
Pikadon, I won't ever forget you.

I'd do anything to get you back now
Because it's impossible to put you behind me
Because it's impossible to put you behind me
I want to get you back, Pikadon.

I don't even know where to start describing this film. It's a family film, it's a Christmas film, it's a romantic comedy, it's everything rolled into one.

It's also a film with a deeper meaning. Why should you want to be rich and conquer the world when everything you need is right in front of your eyes?

The film also features the Game of Life. I owned this game as a child. At least, I owned the English language version. It must have made a big impression on me, because I can still remember it, even though I lost it when I was 11. I lent it to a school friend of mine called Kevin. I'm not sure about his last name any more, it might have been Thorn. My mother thought he was a bad influence on me, so she forbade me to see him again. As a result I never got the game back. She was wrong. It was me who was the bad influence on him.

It's doubtful that I can judge a game that I haven't played since I was a child, but I have fond memories of sitting playing it with my parents. It's one of the world's oldest board games, on sale since 1860, so there must be a certain level of quality to it. Maybe I should buy it again. All I can remember is driving along the road in my little car, getting married and having children. That was great fun.

In the song quoted above Pikadon is the name of a giant turtle. If I ever had another child I'd call him Pikadon. It's a Japanese slang word that means Atom Bomb.That's such a cool name. If I weren't already called Dancer I might pick the name for myself.

The film settles any controversy as to Father Christmas' racial backgroud. He's Japanese. Deal with it!

Why do Japanese people panic so fast? Have they never seen a turtle before? Okay, I admit that it's bigger than most turtles, but they must be used to over-sized creatures by now. Godzilla has been trampling Tokyo flat for the last 60 years.

I know that this review doesn't say much about the film itself, so just pay attention to the rating. I've given it five stars, which means "Buy it!"