Tasmania Story
| Tasmania Story | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Yasuo Furuhata |
| Screenplay by | Kaneko Shigeto |
| Produced by | Hideshi Miyajima Shinya Kawai Satoshi Kiyoshi Ichiko |
| Starring | Kunie Tanaka Hiroko Yakushimaru Jinpachi Nezu |
| Cinematography | Junichiro Hayashi |
| Edited by | Masaru Iizuka |
| Music by | Joe Hisaishi |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Toho |
Release date |
|
Running time | 110 minutes |
| Country | Japan |
| Language | Japanese |
| Box office | ¥4.28 billion |
Tasmania Story (タスマニア物語, Tasumania Monogatari) is a 1990 Japanese film directed by Yasuo Furuhata, which was released on July 21, 1990 by Toho. The film was produced by Pacific Link Communications Japan, the Fuji Television Network and David Hannay Productions, and shot in Australia in the winter of 1989.[1] It stars Kunie Tanaka and Hiroko Yakushimaru in the lead roles.
The soundtrack to the film, composed by Joe Hisaishi, was also released on July 21, 1990.
Premise
[edit]Set in Tasmania, Australia, Tasmania Story depicts the tale of a boy who loses his mother and regains contact with his father, who he has been separated from since his parents' divorce. It is a heartfelt family drama, a portrayal of the emotional connection between a child-like father and an adult-esque son that combines the majestic nature of Tasmania with the adorable animals, such as wombats and wallabies.
Shoichi, a sixth-grade boy, lives in Japan. His mother passed away when he was young, and he is estranged from his father Kawano Eiji (Kunie Tanaka), an elite businessman. During his last spring break as a sixth grader, Shoichi decides to visits his father. The last he had heard, Kawano was transferred to Sydney. He travels there looking for him, but instead discovers that his father has moved to the southern island of Tasmania. Shoichi goes to Tasmania with Tsuzuki Minoru, a runaway boy he met in Sydney. He eventually finds Kawano, but he is initially unable to gauge his father's true intentions. Eventually, Shoichi opens up in the wilderness of Tasmania.
Kawano Eiji has recently broken from the leading Japanese trading company he used to work for. As an immigrant to Tasmania, he has been won over by the island's immense natural beauty, and he is conscience-bound to oppose his former employer's ecologically unsound practices, becoming involved in environmental conservation movements. He is also estranged from his son Shoichi, who still resides in Japan. When Shoichi comes to Tasmania for a visit, Kawano must balance the challenge of renewing their relationship, the demands of his conservation work and his obsession with rediscovering the extinct Tasmanian tiger.
Release
[edit]The film made ¥4.28 billion at the Japanese box office, attracting an audience of 3.5 million viewers[2], and was the recipient of eight Golden Gross Awards (including the "Silver Excellence" award), which are given out by the Association of Environmental Health.
A DVD of the film was released exclusively in Japan on November 21, 2001.[citation needed]
Staff
[edit]- Director: Yasuo Furuhata
- Music: Joe Hisaishi
- Theme: Hiroyuki Izuta ("In Your Eyes")
- Executive Producer: Hiroaki Shikanai
- Producer: Hisashi Hieda
- Planning: Yasushi Mitsui
- Executive Producer: Koichi Murakami, Toshikazu Horiguchi
- Producer: Shinya Kawai, Satoshi Kiyoshi Ichiko, Charles Hannah
- Producer: Hideshi Miyajima
- Produced by Fuji Television Network, Inc.
- Distribution: Toho
Video game
[edit]| Tasmania Story | |
|---|---|
 North American cover art | |
| Developer(s) | Pony Canyon |
| Publisher(s) | |
| Platform(s) | Game Boy |
| Release | |
| Genre(s) | Action[3] |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
In the Game Boy action video game loosely based on the film, the divorced father is looking for a Tasmanian tiger while trying to survive in the harsh wilderness of Tasmania. This game is a port of Pony Canyon's Fruit Panic for the MSX which plays similar to the classic arcade game Mappy.[4]
Before the gameplay commences, the player is given a choice between the slow mode and the fast mode (using the "Select" button), which modifies the movement speed of the enemies. The player then proceeds to traverse ten levels of varying layouts, having to collect all the plants within each level to proceed to the next level. Four enemies portraying wild animals chase the player character in each level, which the player can knock out for a little while by either planting bombs (one at a time; using the "A" button) for enemies to step on, or by falling onto their heads from above. Being caught by an enemy or falling into a pit left below a jumping platform that has been used too many times in a short period loses the player one life, and losing all lives reset the progress. The player starts the game with three lives, which are increased by hitting certain high score milestones, and ten bombs, increased with additional ten for each lost life. Each level has a theme animal that pops up as an item to be quickly collected before it disappears; both theme animals and additional bomb items pop up by knocking out enemies enough times. The game ends with a congratulations screen after each level's theme animal has been collected, or the game otherwise loops.[5]
References
[edit]- ^ Tasmania Story (1990) film information at Internet Movie Database
- ^ "邦画興行収入ランキング". SF MOVIE DataBank. General Works. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
- ^ a b c Tasmania Story (video game) release information at GameFAQs
- ^ Advanced information about Tasmania Story (video game) at Character Games
- ^ Summary of Tasmania Story (video game) at GB no Game Seiha Shimasho
External links
[edit]- Tasmania Story at IMDb
- Tasmania Story at MobyGames
- Tasmania Story at The Game Boy Database
- Box art comparison at djvenomnyc.com