Protraph Lack of good storyline.

AutCuddly Great movie! If you want to be entertained and have a few good laughs, see this movie. The music is also very good,

ThedevilChoose When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

TrueHello Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

CielStiel . I have noticed that everywhere I look for reviews on this movie I see people confused and, sometimes, offended by the use of Christian symbols and themes used throughout this movie. I watched this movie as a child and remember being the only kid in my family who loved it and found it fascinating, but i was a Christian back then (that being the only thing I knew). As an Atheist, I rewatched this movie a few days ago and was completely overwhelmed by its use of Christian symbolism throughout the film, but I kept watching and noticed that almost as abruptly as that had started, the subject had dropped. Upon sitting alone in my room I thought it over in my head and I noticed something: The Christians on the train went to Christian heaven, while another character on the train went to his own heaven to join with one of his family, and Giovanni had a ticket to the "One True Heaven". I rather like this idea, and it makes me love the film more than I already did. Truly one of the best animated movies of all time, what a masterpiece!Also, the Heaven Giovanni can't see might be his one true heaven, just something to think about. ;)

SnakesOnAnAfricanPlain Night on the Galactic Railroad isn't your traditional family film. It deals with some incredibly deep themes, as well as having a slow meditative pace. We follow a young cat (changed from human in the original book) called Giovanni. Giovanni has no time for himself. His father is away, his mother is sick, and when he isn't at school he has to work. One evening the family's delivery of milk never comes, so Giovanni goes to get it. He rests on top of a hill before being confronted by a train. He gets on and finds his friend Campenella. From there the duo encounter a number of passengers each with a strange story to tell. This film is certainly all about the metaphysical. Each story strengthens the themes of religion and sacrifice. It gets highly emotional at times. The imagery is often surreal but always memorable. The animation is calm in both colours and movement. This film is presented in chapters, which I think may be a better way to digest it. It's something no country but Japan would try, and the ending is so powerful it really does make the journey worth it. Mature and thoughtful, if sometimes a little slow.

aryxus-2 I was very surprised to find, as I watched this with my young daughter, that it is full of dark themes (VERY dark for a small child) and a kind of messed-up (at least from a North American perspective) take on Christianity. Someone had recommended it to me based on our love for Studio Ghibli films like Kiki's Delivery Service and Whisper of the Heart. It's not at ALL like those. It is religious (of a sort) and contains themes of loss and death.That being said, I would have enjoyed the film had I been watching on my own. I like films about loss and death.It's beautiful and strange.Just dark.

hellequin In my opinion, "Night on the Galactic Railroad" is an outstanding piece of animation. Many reviewers will note, and accurately so, that this movie is both heavy and slow as melted gold. It's true: in our current world of sound bites and media clips, fast action and short attention, this movie stands alone. This is especially so when the movie is compared to other anime, a category under which fall some of the fastest and slickest movies in the world. If nothing else, "Night on the Galactic Railroad" gets points for sheer originality and ingenuity. Gisaburo Sugii (the director) has taken Kenji Miyazawa's children's story and created for it a living atmosphere. While highly detailed backgrounds are nothing new for anime, "Night on the Galactic Railroad" combines its finely crafted images with a brilliant use of frame shots, pacing, and audio montage to create a surreal and ethereal viewing experience. While often advertised as a children's movie, "Night on the Galactic Railroad" most certainly does not tell a very light story. With both religious and nihilistic imagery, Sugii presents us with a powerful treatise on death and life. However, even if you do not appreciate the story itself, the beauty in the dream-like artwork and animation cannot be denied. If this is the kind of movie that you'd just as soon sleep through, then you're missing out on some amazing cinema. Admittedly, most people these days would probably rather numb their brains in front of the "Tomb Raider" movie, than sit through the likes of "Don't Look Now" or "Blow Up." But, who knows.... If you want to be pulled into a beautifully crafted and mesmerizing world, then watch "Night on the Galactic Railroad."