The Wonderland

The Wonderland, known in Japan as Birthday Wonderland (バースデー・ワンダーランド), is a 2019 Japanese animated coming-of-age fantasy adventure film directed by Keiichi Hara. It is based on the 1988 children's story "Strange Journey from the Basement" by Sachiko Kashiwaba. The film follows Akane, a timid girl who, on the day before her birthday, discovers a mysterious hand-shaped slab in her aunt's antique shop. She is then transported to a magical world called "Wonderland" by an alchemist named Hippocrates and his apprentice Pipo, where she is hailed as the "Goddess of the Green Wind" and tasked with saving their world. The film is noted for its beautiful animation and imaginative world, with character designs by Russian illustrator Ilya Kuvshinov. It premiered in Japan on April 26, 2019, and was screened in competition at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in June 2019. While praised for its visuals, some critics suggested that the story was overly busy and lacked a deeper emotional core, preventing it from fully capturing the magic of Miyazaki's works.