25th New York International Children’s Film Festival / USA
Short Competition Winner of Jury Award, Animated Short
64th Zlin Film Festival – International Film Festival for Children and Youth / Czech Republic
International Jury for Short Animation for Children – Golden Slipper for Best Short Animation for Children
19th Sapporo International Short Film Festival / Japan
Japan Premiere Award
38th Cinekid Festival/ the Netherlands
Best International Short Film
43rd Cambridge Film Festival / UK
Audience Award
31st KINEKO International Film Festival / Japan
Short Competition Winner of Japanese Film Award
TOEI ANIMATION’s top-notch 3D animation,
vividly expresses a heartwarming, empathetic coming-of-age story!
Magic Candies is a CGI animated short film produced by TOEI ANIMATION based on two original stories, “Magic Candies” and “I Am a Dog” created by Korean Picture book author Heena Baek, the 2020 laureate of the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award.
“Playing alone isn’t so bad.”
The other kids at the park never ask Dong-Dong to play. That’s ok. He’s fine just playing marbles on his own. One day, he buys a bag of colorful candies instead of new marbles.
The first time he pops one of them into his mouth, his old sofa starts talking to him! The two share an unexpected conversation before the sweet melts away. As it happens, the people, animals, and objects in Dong-Dong’s life have a lot to say.
Born in Seoul in 1971, Heena Baek studied Education Technology at Ewha Womans University in Korea and later Animation at the California Institute of the Arts. In 2005, she rose to acclaim when she received the Fiction Writer of the Year award at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair for her debut storybook Cloud Bread. Baek has expanded her world of unique creations with works such as Moon Sherbet, The Bath Fairy, Magic Candies, and I Am a Dog. In 2020 she received the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, the equivalent of the Nobel prize in children’s literature. Today, her stories are loved by children all over the world as she continues her artistic pursuits.
Born in Hiroshima, Japan in 1959, Daisuke Nishio joined Toei Animation in 1981 and debuted with the TV series DR. SLUMP -ARALE-. His representative works as a series director include DRAGON BALL Z, GE-GE-GE NO KITARO 4, and YOUNG KINDAICHI'S CASE BOOK. In 2004, he launched PRETTY CURE, a long-running series that has continued for over 20 years. He is highly regarded for his remarkable talent in capturing dynamic actions grounded in martial arts. He has also showcased his versatile talent by directing a variety of genres such as AIRMASTER, INTERSTELLA 5555, and Halo Legends – Odd One Out.
Born in Akita, Japan in 1965, Takashi Washio studied Law at Keio University. After working for an educational publishing company and as a news reporter for a TV station, he joined Toei Animation in 1998 and debuted as a producer with MR. MUSCLEMAN SECOND GENERATION. In 2004, he launched PRETTY CURE with Daisuke Nishio. His other representative works include Butt Detective, Thriller Restaurant, THE SUPERNATURAL SWEET SHOP, and Toriko.
Dong-Dong is a boy who struggles to express himself and understand the true emotions of others. He wants to play with the other children but struggles to pluck up the courage. One day, Dong-Dong buys candies from a stationery store and begins to hear the unheard voices around him.
A mysterious old man who owns the stationery store. When Dong-Dong comes to buy marbles, the owner instead offers him a bag of candies.
Through the magic of candy, Dong-Dong can hear his sofa’s voice.
Gusuri is Dong-Dong’s only playmate, but he is too old to run around like he used to and prefers to spend his days lazing around.
Dad constantly nags Dong-Dong. Dong-Dong finds out his father’s true feelings through the magic of candy.
When Dong-Dong licks the candy-like bubble gum, he hears his grandma’s voice from the sky.
21MIN | JAPANESE | 16:9 | DIGITAL, FULL 3D CGI
Cast
HARUTO SHIMA /
HIROSHI IWASAKI /
KAZUHIRO YAMAJI /
SAKIKO URAN /
IKKEI WATANABE /
OI KIKO /
And YOSHIFUMI HASEGAWA
Original Story by HEENA BAEK
(“Magic Candies” and “I Am a Dog” published by Storybowl in Korea and Bronze Publishing in Japan)
Directed by DAISUKE NISHIO
Producer TAKASHI WASHIO
Animation Producer KAZUHIRO NISHIKAWA
Music NAOKI SATO
CG Supervisor TSUYOSHI SHIMIZU
Art Director SACHIKO EBA
Animation Production DANDELION ANIMATION STUDIO
Presented by TOEI ANIMATION