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Santa Company, Coluboccoro Films' Trailers Reveal More Cast, Theme Song Artists
posted on by Rafael Antonio Pineda
The staff for the Santa Company: Christmas no Himitsu (The Secret of Christmas), the new extended film version of Kenji Itoso's Santa Company short anime, revealed a trailer for the anime on Thursday, as well as a new trailer for the accompanying screening of KENJI STUDIO's Coluboccoro anime. Both trailers reveal and preview their respective films' theme songs, and reveal new cast members for both.
Minori Chihara performs "Christmas Night," the new theme song for Santa Company: Christmas no Himitsu. The new cast members include Chafūrin as the mysterious old man Kara, Amatsuki as the handsome angel who stylishly explains the secrets of the Santa Company, =LOVE idol group member Iori Noguchi as the "big-sisterly angel," and =LOVE member Maika Sasaki as the "cute angel."
Amatsuki performs the new theme song for Coluboccoro. The new cast members include Nichika Omori as the titular Coluboccoro, and Chafūrin as Manpuku, the person that raised Suzu. Other cast members include Natsuko Hara as Suika, and Chiaki Omigawa as a tutor. SUPA LOVE is composing the music, and BloomZ produced the sound. Starry Cube is credited with planning and producing.
Both films open alongside each other on November 29.
The new Santa Company version is commemorating 100 years of diplomatic relations between Japan and Finland. The film features new scenes and an expanded story, and Itoso wrote the new scenario that is featured in the film. KENJI STUDIO launched a crowdfunding campaign for the anime on Sony Bank Gate on June 20. The studio also launched another crowdfunding campaign on the Japanese service Makuake and on Kickstarter in August.
The new film stars:
- Yūki Kaji as Crystal Bell
- Kana Hanazawa as Noel White (Ayumi Fujimura in the original)
- Haruka Tomatsu as Mint Rondo
- Takahiro Sakurai as Pedro Rondo
- Rie Kugimiya as Thomas Dow
- Yūsuke Kondō as Nicholas White (Hiroki Touchi in the original)
- Kazutoyo Koyabu as Rudolph III
Nogizaka46 idol Nanase Nishino plays Coluboccoro's main character Suzu. (Emiri Katō voiced both Suzu and Coluboccoro previously).
Itoso is again credited with the original work and is directing and writing the script for the film. Hidari (Fractale, Natsu-iro Kiseki) is credited again for the character design. KENJI STUDIO is credited with writing, and Asahi Production is the production studio. Starry Cube is credited with planning and producing.
Itoso held a Kickstarter campaign in 2013 to fund Santa Company, which met its US$50,000 goal. The original anime debuted at the Tokyo International Film Festival in October 2014.
The story revolves around Noel, a 12-year-old girl who despises Christmas. She has lived with her father ever since her parents divorced three years ago, but her father ends up busy at work every Christmas and she cannot play with her friends from school.
On a lonely Christmas Eve, Noel takes her usual apartment complex elevator ride to her home, but when the doors open, she finds herself lost in a humongous factory — owned by Santa Claus. Santa Claus has gone corporate as Santa Company with the motto "Fast, Reliable and Secret Delivery." The outfit takes orders and delivers top-notch presents to children in the utmost secrecy. Noel meets some new friends, and together, they take off in a sled to deliver presents.
The Coluboccoro anime (pictured below) is a fantasy short that Itoso created, wrote, directed, and animated with Anime Innovation Tokyo, and it won the grand prize in the Creative Market Tokyo 2011 event. A Kickstarter campaign funded a release on home video with English subtitles.
Source: Comic Natalie
