Common Sense Note
Parents need to know that A Letter to Momo is an anime film about an 11-year-old girl who moves from Tokyo to a small Japanese island with her mother after her father is killed (it's talked about but not shown). It's in Japanese with English subtitles, which means it's a better fit for kids who are already strong readers (unless you're up for reading it all aloud!). Plus, younger kids might find the imps that live in Momo's attic a little scary: They first appear as shadows and then fully drawn figures that only Momo can see. There's a harrowing scene at the end of the movie involving an army of imps that forms a shield over Momo when she races to get a doctor for her asthmatic mother during a typhoon.
Sexual
Content
Not applicable
Violence
Younger kids might find the imps (or goblins) a little scary. They first appear as shadows following Momo and then as fully drawn characters. They often come up and scare her. One of them pushes her off of a platform into the water (to help her get over her fear of jumping in). Momo and the imps are chased by a wild boar. Momo's mother has an asthma attack and needs a doctor, but there's a typhoon raging outside, and the doctor is on another island. An army of imps comes to her rescue, making a shield as she races over an unfinished bridge.
Language
No strong language, but the imps are little rude.
Social
Behavior
The movie deals with parent-child relationships in a way that could be distressing for younger kids -- Momo feels terrible that her last interaction with her father was telling him to never come back -- but ultimately there's comforting closure.
Consumerism
Not applicable
Drugs / Tobacco /
Alcohol
Not applicable
