It is impossible to dislike a film that features a cuddly animal and a cute child, especially when it's based on a real story filled with emotion.
Directed by Keita Kohno, Helen the Baby Fox is based on a book by naturalist Minoru Taketazu. Set in the picturesque landscapes of rural Hokkaido, the film portrays the touching friendship between a little boy and a baby fox that is blind and deaf.
The boy, Taichi (Arashi Fukasawa), finds the fox near the side of a highway. He brings the animal home and adopts it, despite objections from his divorced mother's vet boyfriend Koji (Takao Osawa), another single parent with a daughter called Misuzu (Kobayashi Ryoko).
Taichi names the fox Helen, in honour of the American writer Helen Keller who was also blind and deaf.
Although Helen never recovers from her disabilities, Taichi refuses to give up on her. His compassion not only helps Helen to survive, but also helps him to come to terms with his own troubles.
Great animal films are basically stories about people, and Helen the Baby Fox is no exception. The film is as much about Taichi, whose mother - a professional photographer - is always away from home, as it's about the abandoned baby fox. Both struggle to be accepted, and both experience the fear and uncertainty of growing up.