Tistou the Green Thumb

1990 1h 14m JA

👍

6.5

SOLID

★6.5TMDB · 2

AdventureAnimationFantasyFamily

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

When eight-year-old Tistou is sent home from school after being unable to stop falling asleep at lessons, his father decides that he will continue his education by learning from observation of real life, and where better to start than in the garden! With the gardener Mr. Moustache, Tistou discovers he has a remarkable gift—the green thumbs: everything he touches grows into beautiful plants. His next lesson is with the stern Mr. Turnbull, manager of his father's armament factory who takes Tistou to visit the town to learn about "order." Over the course of the next few days Tistou learns many new things as he visits the town prison, the slums, and the hospital, and everywhere he tries to change the world into a better place with his new extraordinary power. Finally, he learns about war, and upon visiting his father's factory, he finds out that they supply the two countries at war with their weapons...

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Cast

Mami Yamase
Tistou (voice)
Hideji Ōtaki
Moustache (voice)
Kei Yamamoto
Mr. Father (voice)
Mayumi Wakamura
Mrs. Mother (voice)
Masafumi Satô
Trounadisse (voice)
Kiyoshi Yamamoto
Dr. Mauxdivers (voice)
Junichi Hayakawa
Carolus (voice)
Maki Takayama
Amélie (voice)

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Yuji Tanno
Writers: Maurice Druon, Ryuu Tachihara
Languages: Japanese
Countries: France, Japan

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Tight 74-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

36 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: France, Japan.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Yuji Tanno, shot by Toshiaki Morita. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Jean Michel Elbe. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Michio Okada shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Mami Yamase and Hideji Ōtaki and Kei Yamamoto carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt5390044 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Yuji Tanno directs. Toshiaki Morita behind the camera. Jean Michel Elbe scores. Michio Okada cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in France, Japan. Dialogue in Japanese.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Tight 74-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.
236 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3International production across 2 countries: France, Japan.
4Directed by Yuji Tanno, shot by Toshiaki Morita. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Jean Michel Elbe. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Michio Okada shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Mami Yamase and Hideji Ōtaki and Kei Yamamoto carry the top of the cast.
8IMDB entry: tt5390044 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Only 2 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.