Best movie ever!

I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

I don't mean that in a bad way. This movie's actually good. It's not the kind of movie you'd expect it to be, kind of like Disney. Instead, it's...pretty dark. Be warned: here there be spoilers.So Chirin is a little lamb who loves to play, but his mother ends up being killed by an old wolf. He runs away to kill the wolf only to decide to be his apprentice so he won't be a useless sheep any longer. Instead of the usual route of Bambi, Littlefoot, and Simba (who lost a parent and went through tragedy but became characters) Chirin doesn't let go of the negative emotion and becomes a hate-filled demonic ram with misshapen horns. One night, Chirin heads to his old home to kill some sheep only to see a mother protecting her lamb and realize that he can't do it. He fights the wolf and kills him, but the other sheep refuse to take him in because they see him as a monster. Alone and full of despair, Chirin returns to the mountains, where the final scene in the movie has him crying out to the wolf in the harsh winter night.Like I said, it's good. There's not a whole lot of characters, but that suits this movie's mood well. And it's also a cautionary tale of what happens if you take revenge. There's only one problem I have with the movie. How does Chirin easily accept the wolf as his father figure when he had wanted to kill him to avenge his mother? I get that his time with the wolf made him slightly affectionate with him, but why the sudden change? Other than that, I like this movie. So on a scale from one to ten, I'd give it a 6, and I'd recommend it.

Purchased this film many years ago maybe on Beta.It's been misplaced so I haven't seen it for quite awhile.My children had watched it before I ever did.Since they use to sing a song from it I was really expecting some kind of cute movie,no way.It was really surprising how dark and serious this film was.The filming didn't meet up to the animation standards of other films but it gripped the viewers attention.There are no laughs in this film.My children didn't watch it with me as it had already made them cry.As adults they still talk about how sad it was.Anyone that let's their child view this movie takes a chance on upsetting them.

A 2-D Japanese animation movie that tells the story of Chirin, a baby ram who wears a ringing bell and wants to become a wolf.The first part of the movie is very bucolic, with Chirin is in the farm with his mother and all the sheep eating, playing and frolicking around. Chirin is the cutest thing ever. The second part of the film, in which Chirin trains to be like a wolf, is much darker in colors, sharper in lines, and darker in mood, but it is also more interesting.The story has all the elements of traditional storytelling, in which Nature, family, social relationships, life and death are explored naturally and organically, and in which the children are expected to learn about them from an early age.In fact, the movie is a terrific way to teach children that Nature and the natural order is what it is, despite its harshness, we like it or not, that Nature has its own logic, that you cannot change your nature without becoming lost and isolated -an outcast. It also shows that all natural creatures have a right to live, and that you cannot consider one good and the other bad, as even the bad ones have their reasons to behave the way they do. Finally, the movie shows that resentment can harm and ruin your life.To modern standards and moronic treatment of children, this could be considered an adult movie. The thing is, no child is going to like the end and is going to cry through, but with the parents by his/her side, he/she will learn an important lesson in life.The animation is simple but very cute, with an adorable drawing of Chirin and of all animals, except for the wolf and other fierce animals, which are, of course, ugly and frightening. What is more, the animation reminded me of Disney, old-Disney, especially of Bambi, to which Ringing Bell relates both in the drawing style and in the message conveyed.The movie just lasts 47 minutes.

"The Ringing Bell of Chirin" was a short animated film produced by Sanrio, and while at first it may look like something like "Bambi", the story of this film quickly evolves into something more tragic and dark. "The Ringing Bell of Chirin" starts off as a children's film but quickly merges into a dark, tragic story about revenge and the laws of nature.This must be one of the saddest animated films ever made, along with "The Grave of the Fireflies" and "When the Wind Blows". The story is depressive, dark and bleak, but I still recommend it to anyone, because the animation is beautiful (Specially the sceneries) and the story is pretty interesting and filled with heartbreaking but memorable scenes.10/10