Night on the Galactic Railroad

Based on Kenji Miyazawa's 1927 sci-fi fantasy novel, this 1985 classic anime from Gisaburo Sugii not only holds up well but looks and sounds better than ever on DVD. Substituting cats for the book's human characters lends a childlike fable quality to this tale of a lonely young boy named Giovanni, who is teased about his absent father, worries about his ailing mother, and is grateful for the attention of Campanella, a classmate who doesn't make him the butt of every joke. Lying in a meadow on the outskirts of town starring up at the stars late one night, Giovanni is surprised by the arrival of a celestial steam engine carrying his friend Campanella. After the pair share an amazing journey across the Milky Way--filled with Buddhist and Christian symbolism (at one point the train picks up an ethereal-looking trio who were on the Titanic only to drop them off later at the end of a long line of people who wend their way towards a gigantic white cross)--Giovanni finds himself back home, where he learns in a poignant conclusion that a real tragedy has transpired. A dark, brooding, at times heartbreaking tale of lonesomeness and loss, Night on the Galactic Railroad will seem slow-moving and melancholic to audiences accustomed to contemporary upbeat animated efforts such as Shrek and Monsters, Inc., but patient viewers will be rewarded. Recommended. Aud: P. (R. Pitman)