If you loved The Story of Heidi, try Chie the Brat
A bridge between a film you've already seen and one most people haven't. Chie the Brat has roughly 3.1× fewer votes than The Story of Heidi — it's a deeper cut, not a mainstream recommendation. Here's what they share, and what the second one does that the first one doesn't.
What they share
Both films are directed by Isao Takahata, and they both carry the bittersweet mood tag, and they sit in Animation / Family territory. If that's the register that drew you to The Story of Heidi, the second film will land in a comparable space — through a different lens.
What Chie the Brat is
Here's a film about a kid who's way more competent than her parents. Chie runs her ne'er-do-well father's tavern in Osaka while also visiting her long-departed mother. Her secret plan is to get her parents back together, ideally once her dad finds actual work. It's a kid's cartoon about the gig economy.
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