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Naomi Iwata directs film, with returning scriptwriter, art director




On Thursday, the official site for San-X's Sumikko Gurashi franchise released a teaser trailer and visual for the fourth film in the series. In this preview, the title of the movie was revealed as Eiga Sumikko Gurashi: Sora no Ōkoku to Futari no Ko (The Sky Kingdom and the Two Children). Additionally, it was announced that the film would open on October 31st, and that the main staff involved in its creation would be unveiled at a later date. Both the teaser and visual showcased two new characters - "Ōji" and "???" - before the movie's release.

Naomi Iwata is directing the fourth film at Fanworks. Takashi Sumita is returning as scriptwriter for this project, having previously worked on the first and third Sumikko Gurashi films. Kaori Hino is also returning as art director for this film, having previously worked on the first and third films.

At Fanworks, Yoshihiko Inohara and Manami Honjō will serve as narrators for the film. Asmik Ace, Inc. is responsible for its distribution.

In 2012, the anime series "Sumikko Gurashi" introduced its audience to five main characters who were initially portrayed as somewhat gloomy individuals who preferred staying in seclusion. These characters include "Shirokuma," a polar bear who is sensitive to cold temperatures; "Penguin?" (with a question mark in its name), a penguin who is uncertain about its own identity; "Tonkatsu," a piece of pork cutlet that was left uneaten; "Neko," a shy cat; and "Tokage," who concealed his true nature as one of the last dinosaurs.

In Japan, the first anime movie called "Sumikkogurashi - Good to be in the corner" was released in November 2019. This movie eventually sold 1.22 million tickets and made 1.4 billion yen (approximately US$12.8 million) at the box office as of February 2020. Additionally, it won the award for Best Animation of the Year at the 29th Annual Japan Movie Critics Awards in June 2020.

In November 2021, the second film of Eiga Sumikko Gurashi: Aoi Tsukiyo no Mahō no Ko (The Magical Child of the Blue Moonlit Night) was released in Japan. It sold approximately 200,000 tickets within its first three days, generating around 250 million yen (approximately US$2.22 million).

In November of 2023, the third film in the Eiga Sumikko Gurashi franchise was released in Japan. It generated revenue of approximately US$1.63 million in its first three days by selling 192,300 tickets for a total of 242,553,320 yen (about US$1.63 million in current conversion).

In October 2023, the franchise launched its inaugural TV anime series which began airing on NTV during their morning variety show segment "ZIP!". Additionally, a puppet musical adaptation of the franchise was held in Tokyo from August to September of 2024. Lastly, a new series of anime shorts for the franchise titled "Sumikko Gurashi: Koko ga Ochitsukun Desu" debuted on NTV's "ZIP! 1-Minute Anime" segment on April 4.


Sources: Sumikko Gurashi films' website ( link ) , Comic Natalie ( link )