A work in constant progress (and occasional regress).
Release Date:
February 7, 2009
Original Title:
旭山動物園物語 ペンギンが空をとぶ
Alternate Titles:
Asahiyama dôbutsuen: Pengin ga sora o tobu
Genres:
Drama
Production Companies:
Japan Film Fund
KADOKAWA
Production Countries:
Japan
Ratings / Certifications:
N/A
Runtime: 112
Asahiyama Zoo in Hokkaido, is the northernmost zoo in Japan. The unpopular zoo welcomes a new zoo keeper, young Yoshida (Yasuhi Nakamura), who has more affection for insects than people after years of being bullied at school when he was young. Yoshida soon realizes that Asahiyama Zoo is facing a financial crisis and the zoo director Takizawa (Toshiyuki Nishida) has been doing everything in his power to save the zoo from closing down. Moved by Takizawa's passion, Yoshida and other zoo keepers came to share the zoo director's belief that one's dreams can come true, and together they tackle this seemingly impossible task of revitalizing Asahiyama. A breakthrough arrives in the form of “Behavioral Exhibition,†a method that is pioneered by Ashiyama's zoo keepers and which eventually makes the zoo renowned throughout the world.
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