Mini Moni Ja Movie: Okashina Daibouken
Encyclopedia
Minimoni ja Movie: Okashi na Daibōken! is a 2002
film
directed
by Shinji Higuchi
starring the J-pop
group Minimoni. The film was done entirely in computer graphics
with live actors inserted at the beginning and end of the film. The film tells the story of the change in Minimoni's lineup from first generation to second generation and features a couple of musical numbers as well as a sound track by the group.
The film also features the Hello! Project
group 4KIDS, which was formed exclusively for the movie; the four members later became members of Berryz Kobo and C-ute.
The Minimoni Cafè is run by the first generation members of Minimoni, who are led by Mari Yaguchi
. Mika Todd is the primary baker for the cafè and Ai Kago
and Nozomi Tsuji
are bumbling waitresses.
One day Kago and Tsuji serve a particularly enthusiastic customer (played by Ai Takahashi
) who says she has never had such a delicious cake before. When the waitress explain they do not know the secret ingredient that makes the cakes so good, Takahashi decides to sneak into the cafè later find out what it is and steal it.
Meanwhile, Mika has prepared a large cake in the shape of a castle
for the Minimoni Cafè's second Anniversary party being held at the cafè tomorrow. They store the cake in a refrigerated case unit so that the cake stays fresh until tomorrow. Mika and Yaguchi also set alarms to ensure the safety of the cake and the bakery. Later that night four servant fairies (played by 4KIDS) and their fairy queen (voiced by Yuko Nakazawa
) sneak into the bakery and turn the cake castle into stone. The queen remains in the castle while the fairies proceed to change the rest of the pastries in the bakery to stone. In the meantime Takahashi has sneaked into the bakery in a cat burglar disguise. Unfortunately for her, Tsuji and Kago also sneak into the bakery to steal some food and trip the alarm. The alarm brings Yaguchi and Mika to the kitchen and confuses the fairies. In the end all of Minimoni and Takahashi get hit with fairy dust, which turns them into small computer animated people.
The team learns that the queen has taken over the cake castle and Yaguchi decides to go after her. They enlist the help of the fairies to bring them to the castle however upon arriving Minimoni gets captured and locked in the dungeon. Takahashi, who had tagged along, eluded capture however and manages to enlist the help of a talking refrigerator
to help her free Minimoni. After Minimoni is freed, they go with Takahashi and the refrigerator to see the fairy queen. Along the way they encounter a large pastry monster and learn why the fairy queen wants to turn cakes to stone, is because if she eats them she will return to her short fairy body and she thinks her tall thin one is more beautiful. Eventually the team reaches the fairy queen and they all work together to make a cake that tastes so good that it would change the queens mind about cakes, which it does but it also reverses all of the magic the queen used up till now. However since the spell is finally broken the castle begins to melt since it is no longer stone and it was not kept cold. With the help of the fairies and the refrigerator, Minimoni and Takahashi successfully escape the castle. When they reach the bakery floor everyone turn back to normal. Except the refrigerator which just becomes normal size and the fairies which turn into little children (played by 4KIDS).
After comforting the children, Yaguchi leaves the bakery and returns with new uniforms to give to her bandmates. Yaguchi however gives the fourth costume to Takahashi instead of wearing it herself explaining that Takahashi must take her place in the cafè because Yaguchi has to take care of the children that used to be fairies and show them how to survive in the world. Takahashi accepts this offer thus beginning the second generation of Minimoni.
2002 in film
The year 2002 in film involved some significant events. The first significant releases of sequels took place between The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, Men in Black II, Analyze That, Spy Kids 2: The Island of...
film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
directed
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
by Shinji Higuchi
Shinji Higuchi
is a storyboard artist and is one of the top special effects wizards in Japan, best known for his work on the Heisei Gamera Trilogy. He works on both anime and tokusatsu projects.-Biography:...
starring the J-pop
J-pop
, an abbreviation for Japanese pop, is a musical genre that entered the musical mainstream of Japan in the 1990s. Modern J-pop has its roots in 1960s music, such as The Beatles, and replaced kayōkyoku in the Japanese music scene...
group Minimoni. The film was done entirely in computer graphics
Computer graphics
Computer graphics are graphics created using computers and, more generally, the representation and manipulation of image data by a computer with help from specialized software and hardware....
with live actors inserted at the beginning and end of the film. The film tells the story of the change in Minimoni's lineup from first generation to second generation and features a couple of musical numbers as well as a sound track by the group.
The film also features the Hello! Project
Hello! Project
is the umbrella name for all female idol Japanese pop recording artists collective that are under contract with the Up-Front Group. The "mothership" group of Hello! Project is the super-group Morning Musume. Hello! Project's current leader is Risa Niigaki, the leader of Morning Musume...
group 4KIDS, which was formed exclusively for the movie; the four members later became members of Berryz Kobo and C-ute.
Plot
The movie takes place entirely in and around the Minimoni Cafè.The Minimoni Cafè is run by the first generation members of Minimoni, who are led by Mari Yaguchi
Mari Yaguchi
, known professionally by her birth name of is a Japanese pop artist and former member of Hello! Project. She is a former member of Morning Musume and Tanpopo, one of its first sub groups, and also founded Minimoni...
. Mika Todd is the primary baker for the cafè and Ai Kago
Ai Kago
is a Japanese singer, actress, author and former Guinness World Record holder.At age 12, Kago won the 4th National Audition of Morning Musume held by Up-Front Works Agency in 2000, which led to her admission into the extremely popular idol group as a 4th generation member. In the same year, she...
and Nozomi Tsuji
Nozomi Tsuji
, known professionally by her birth name of is a Japanese tarento and a former member of the pop idol group Morning Musume, its subgroup Mini Moni, and the duo W. She has participated in the shuffle groups 10-nin Matsuri, Odoru 11, and 11Water, H.P...
are bumbling waitresses.
One day Kago and Tsuji serve a particularly enthusiastic customer (played by Ai Takahashi
Ai Takahashi
is a Japanese pop singer formerly associated with Hello! Project, and best known as leader of Morning Musume and Hello!Project until 2011, and former member of its popular subgroup, Mini Moni...
) who says she has never had such a delicious cake before. When the waitress explain they do not know the secret ingredient that makes the cakes so good, Takahashi decides to sneak into the cafè later find out what it is and steal it.
Meanwhile, Mika has prepared a large cake in the shape of a castle
Castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...
for the Minimoni Cafè's second Anniversary party being held at the cafè tomorrow. They store the cake in a refrigerated case unit so that the cake stays fresh until tomorrow. Mika and Yaguchi also set alarms to ensure the safety of the cake and the bakery. Later that night four servant fairies (played by 4KIDS) and their fairy queen (voiced by Yuko Nakazawa
Yuko Nakazawa
is a Japanese pop and enka singer, and actress, best known as one of the original members of the all-female J-pop group Morning Musume. She is currently a member of Dream Morning Musume.- Biography :...
) sneak into the bakery and turn the cake castle into stone. The queen remains in the castle while the fairies proceed to change the rest of the pastries in the bakery to stone. In the meantime Takahashi has sneaked into the bakery in a cat burglar disguise. Unfortunately for her, Tsuji and Kago also sneak into the bakery to steal some food and trip the alarm. The alarm brings Yaguchi and Mika to the kitchen and confuses the fairies. In the end all of Minimoni and Takahashi get hit with fairy dust, which turns them into small computer animated people.
The team learns that the queen has taken over the cake castle and Yaguchi decides to go after her. They enlist the help of the fairies to bring them to the castle however upon arriving Minimoni gets captured and locked in the dungeon. Takahashi, who had tagged along, eluded capture however and manages to enlist the help of a talking refrigerator
Refrigerator
A refrigerator is a common household appliance that consists of a thermally insulated compartment and a heat pump that transfers heat from the inside of the fridge to its external environment so that the inside of the fridge is cooled to a temperature below the ambient temperature of the room...
to help her free Minimoni. After Minimoni is freed, they go with Takahashi and the refrigerator to see the fairy queen. Along the way they encounter a large pastry monster and learn why the fairy queen wants to turn cakes to stone, is because if she eats them she will return to her short fairy body and she thinks her tall thin one is more beautiful. Eventually the team reaches the fairy queen and they all work together to make a cake that tastes so good that it would change the queens mind about cakes, which it does but it also reverses all of the magic the queen used up till now. However since the spell is finally broken the castle begins to melt since it is no longer stone and it was not kept cold. With the help of the fairies and the refrigerator, Minimoni and Takahashi successfully escape the castle. When they reach the bakery floor everyone turn back to normal. Except the refrigerator which just becomes normal size and the fairies which turn into little children (played by 4KIDS).
After comforting the children, Yaguchi leaves the bakery and returns with new uniforms to give to her bandmates. Yaguchi however gives the fourth costume to Takahashi instead of wearing it herself explaining that Takahashi must take her place in the cafè because Yaguchi has to take care of the children that used to be fairies and show them how to survive in the world. Takahashi accepts this offer thus beginning the second generation of Minimoni.
External links
Minimoni Ja Movie: Okashi na Daibōken! at the Japanese Movie DatabaseJapanese Movie Database
The , commonly referred to as JMDB, is an online database of information about Japanese movies, actors, and production crew personnel. It is similar to the Internet Movie Database, but lists only those films originally released in Japan. The site was started in 1997, and contains movies from Meiji...