Image via Pui Pui Molcar anime website
©見里朝希/PUI PUI モルカー製作委員会
The official website of Pui Pui Molcar the Movie: MOLMAX, a brand new animated film with 3D CG (as opposed to stop-motion animation in Shinei Animation's previous Pui Pui Molcar anime series), announced on Thursday that the movie's guinea pig voice actors Tsumugi and Ito will perform the movie's theme song Pui! MAX!”Harami is composing the song with arrangements by Shinichi Osawa.
The film will open in Japan on November 29.
Masaki Aiba voices the CEO of “Many Many Eyes Company”, while Akio Ōtsuka voices Dodge's driver. Although the series has featured human characters before, this will be the first series to feature dubbed dialogue. This will also be Aiba's first time voicing in an anime film.
The film's story begins with the arrival of the first high-tech molcar in Molcity, with drivers starting to drive modern AI-controlled Molcars. Potato and his friends get caught in a chase between a mysterious organization and an AI Molcar named Kanon and are saved by a talented driver. Potato discovered that the driver was looking for his missing Molcar Dodge and came up with the idea of using Kanon's AI functionality to assist in the search.
Mankyū (Sumikkogurashi – It's Good to Be in the Corner, Migi & Dali, The IDOLM@STER Shiny Colors) is directing the film, with original Pui Pui Molcar stop-motion series director Tomoki Misato named as chief supervisor . Yuuko Kakihara (Chihayafuru seasons 2 and 3, Cells at Work!, Buddy Daddies) is writing the script.
The stop-motion series debuted in January 2021 on TV Tokyo's children's variety show Kinder TV. The series focuses on guinea pigs that have become cars (from the title “Molcar” combines “car” with “morumotto”, the Japanese word for “guinea pig” and a variation of the English word ”marmot”). Netflix began streaming the series worldwide outside of select Asian territories in March 2021. Tobidase! Narase! Pui Pui Molcar, the series' compilation film, opens in Japan in July 2021.
The film uses stop-motion animated puppets made of wool felt.
This series marks the directorial debut of Tomoki Misato on an animated television series. Misato also wrote the script and he worked on the storyboards along with Hana Ono and Kei Sato. The series' animators include Misato, Ikuko Iwatsuki, Kei Sato, and Makoto Takano. Artists include Misato, Ikuko Iwatsuki, Kei Sato, Harune Satō and Michiko Kaihatsu. Shōta Kowashi composed the music.
The franchise also inspired the smartphone game Pui Pui Molcar Mogu Mogu Parking, which launched in July 2021.
Shinei Animation produces Crayon Shin-chan and Doremon, among other titles. Wit Studio established a stop-motion studio with Misato in December 2020.
Source: website, Comic Natalie