Summer when you’re a kid is a time of adventure. Everyday can be something exciting or at least a variation of the day before. You can go swimming, to camp, the library, the mall or camp. You can hang with your friends who are also out of school. When you’re an adult, summer means merely being stuck at work all day and contemplating what to put on the grill if it doesn’t rain on Saturday. But as a kid, you have that sweet spot between school sessions to learn more about life than what’s written on a blackboard. Goodbye, Don Glees! is an animated tale of this marvelous time.
“Toto” Mitarai and Roma Kamogawa have a clubhouse in the woods of their country homes. The duo call themselves the Don Glees which was fun except Toto had moved to Tokyo for high school. But he’s back for the summer and Roma introduces him to a new member of the Don Glees. “Drop” Sakuma is a younger kid who has just moved in the area. He’s excited to hang with them for the summer. Their first big adventure involves a local fireworks show. The kids end up buying a drone so they can film the massive fireworks display from the middle of the bursts. Turns out using a drone this way is illegal, but they want to do it. They also buy their own fireworks to launch that same night. Their big plan goes wrong when they lose control of the drone and their fireworks fizzle. The boys think the night is a disappointment. Except when they get home, there’s a wildfire in the forest and kids on a social media site are blaming them. The trio think the only thing that can clear them is to track down the drone and find the footage that might prove them innocent. The trio head into the woods to discover quite a few things about themselves and how to deal with a bear.
Director Atsuko Ishizuka and his team of animators have created an artistically beautiful forest when the Don Glees roam among the trees. The forest comes alive and isn’t merely a landscape painting. Even more captivating is their version of Iceland when Drop talk about a remote waterfall that has a phonebooth nearby. The story is as moving as the imagery as we learn how Drop found himself in this part of Japan after living in other places around the world. Goodbye, Don Glees! is a captivating and touching story about a big summer adventure for a trio of teenagers.
The video is 1.78:1 anamorphic. The 1080p transfer really makes the forests and waterfalls dazzle. The audio is DTS-HD MA 5.1 in both Japanese and English. You’ll hear the sounds of nature around the room. The movie is subtitled in English, French and Spanish.
DVD has the movie and the bonus features.
Interview With Director Atsuko Ishizuka
Trailers
GKIDS and Shout! Factory present Goodbye, Don Glees! Directed by Atsuko Ishizuka. Screenplay by Atsuko Ishizuka. Starring Natsuki Hanae, Yûki Kaji, Ayumu Murase, Barbara Goodson, Victoria Grace, Alan Lee & Jonathan Leon. Rating: Unrated. Running Time: 95 minutes. Release Date: December 27, 2022.
