LOST MEDIA: A Japanese Poo-Chi Film

「プーチと私の物語～自由にならないもの～」

Did you know a TV show for the Robo-chi family was planned? We don't know how much or what progress was made on it. Click here to read about it (webpage currently unavailable).

A photo of Obayashi and his crew and another photo of him showing a Poo-Chi to Vivian

There was a film which was directed by Nobuhiko Obayashi, featuring Poo-Chi.

Photos of Vivian Hsu smiling, with a Poo-Chi in both photos

On October 4, 2000 a special preview of the film was held. I don't know the name of the film in English. I only know that the first part of the film's name translates to "Poo-chi and My Story ~".

The film's main character features Manatsu, who is a 17 year old highschool girl. According to an IT Media article, Manatsu questions who she is and what makes her special, and discovers herself as she interacts with her Poo-Chi.

An article on ascii.jp that was published on the 5th of October that year, states the film is about Manatsu lacking confidence in herself and having self-hatred until she accepts her troubled self and starts anew. In the film, Poo-Chi appears at key points and makes her realize that (Google Translated quote) "the thing that can't be freed is the heart."

Vivian and Obayashi having a talk show

The director stated in the published ASCII article that he had a Poo-Chi since early spring. He stated that the movie focuses on trying to say that (Google Translated quote), "When there is no freedom, there are people who can be encouraged by the presence of a free Poo-Chi."

Manatsu was played by Kanae Katsuno. Meow-Chi, Super Poo-Chi, and Chirpy-Chi were also featured in the film. Vivian Hsu, the image character of the product in Japan, was cast as Manatsu's older sister.

According to the Tokyo Fantastic Film Festival's website, the film takes place in the town of Oita and is 47 minutes long. The website also claims that Vivian was a fan of Obayashi's works and was interested in working with him on more films in future.

Photos showing many Poo-Chis on some wide stairs outside

Preview Info

According to ASCII, this photo shows the film's cast members, including the director

The Toyko Fantastic Film festival's website states the preview occurred at FM Tokyo Hall. At the preview, the film director and others who were involved with the film, such as Vivian Hsu and Kanae Katsuno gave stage greetings and offered a talk show.

According to an article by IT media, a special preview of the film was held on October 4, 2000 (the date on which the article was published). At the preview, the film's director and Vivian Hsu, Kanae Katsuno, and others offered stage greetings and a talk show. In the talk show, Katsuno commented on the charm of Poo-Chi (the following was Google Translated and probably is not accurate): "When I was worried about what I could become, I wish Poo-Chi was there." Another roughly translated quote from the preview (by director Obayashi): "When I talk to Poo-Chi, I can see my selfish heart."

The ASCII article mentions that Vivian talked about the film's production, and correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems the IT media article mentions that footage of the film being shot was also shown at the preview.

Extra Pictures

A photo of Vivian with a Poo-Chi appears in a Tokyo Walker magazine

This is a photo of a page that was taken from the Tokyo Walker magazine issue that was published on September 26, 2000. The image came from a Yahoo Auctions listing that's now gone.

Screenings

There were only three methods by which you could watch the film.

Tokyo Fantastic Film Festival

The film was to be screened for free on October 29 at the event. You weren't required to purchase tickets to watch it. The Tokyo Fantastic Film Festival was an event that was organised by Nippon Broadcasting and held at the Shibuya Pantheon.

Tsutaya

According to Sega's website, they planned to select 100 stores from Tsutaya nationwide and offer free video rental for one month from the end of November. The ASCII article states that the 100 stores were to be announced on the Sega Toys website.

Yahoo Streaming

From late October, until an unknown date, Yahoo! Japan allowed users to view a broadcast of a "digest version" and the main film. The Sega Toys website has both Yahoo Streaming links for Windows Media Player and Real Player. However, the streaming files don't work.

Commercial

Below is a commercial for the toy that features Vivian.

Links

Information and some images came from the following links. Some links are just extra ones I've listed incase you're interested in taking a look at them. Info and images were retrieved from articles belonging to Sega Toys, IT Media, ASCII and the Tokyo Fantastic Film Festival's website. Credit to the "As Tears Go By" blog for archiving two photos of Vivian that are on this page, which were no longer available in better quality.