Suzume follows a teenager who leaves home to help a stranger stop earthquakes. Then a talking cat turns that stranger into a small wooden chair. Watching Souta run on three chair legs is often very funny, but the film also follows a girl who lost her mother and still struggles to talk about her. Makoto Shinkai makes both parts worth watching, even when the rules of the magic get confusing.
This is a standalone Japanese animated film, released in Japan in 2022 and in U.S. theaters in 2023. You do not need to have seen Your Name or Shinkai's other movies. Hulu added it to its U.S. catalog in September 2026, with Japanese audio and English subtitles, plus an English-dubbed version. Its characters, setting and story remain Japanese in either version.
A cat turns a rescue mission into a chase
Seventeen-year-old Suzume lives with her aunt Tamaki in Kyushu, southwestern Japan. She meets Souta, a young man searching for abandoned places. Inside a ruined resort, Suzume finds a door standing in shallow water. It opens into another world, and a huge red, worm-like creature can come through and cause earthquakes. Souta's job is to close and lock these doors before people get hurt.
The white cat Daijin makes that job much harder by turning Souta into Suzume's childhood chair. They chase the cat across Japan, hoping to change Souta back while dealing with more doors along the way. The chase gives Suzume something clear to do, even before she understands everything happening around her.
Souta can still speak, jump and run, but he has to do it with a seat, a backrest and three short legs. His determination to keep working looks ridiculous in that body, and the animation makes his frustration easy to recognize. The chair jokes work because Souta takes his situation seriously. The film doesn't need him to make a joke after every fall or awkward movement.
Suzume still needs food, a place to sleep and help
Traveling across Japan brings practical problems, too. Suzume meets Chika, a girl her age whose family runs an inn, and Rumi, a mother of twins who gives her a ride in Kobe. These stops let us spend time with her away from the danger. She has to accept help from people she has only just met.
We liked these everyday interruptions. The people who help Suzume make the journey feel less lonely. She can follow sightings of Daijin online, but she cannot simply disappear without worrying Tamaki. Her aunt has raised her since childhood. When they disagree, we understand why Tamaki wants her home and why Suzume keeps going.
The animation is detailed, but the romance moves too fast
The ruined resort has cracked walls, weeds and water reflecting the buildings around it. In the cities, the streets and tall buildings make the enormous red creature look even more dangerous. The animation gives us plenty to look at between the action scenes, too. Sunlight on water and small changes in Suzume's expression are just as carefully drawn as the disasters.
Following the fantasy is sometimes harder. We learn about doors, the world beyond them and the stones that keep the destructive creature contained. Explanations arrive while Suzume is already rushing toward the next problem. It is usually clear what she needs to stop, but not always why the magic works that way. A little more time with those explanations would help.
Suzume's feelings for Souta develop quickly, too. They cooperate under pressure, but have relatively little time to learn about each other outside the emergency. Her wish to help him is easier to believe than how quickly she falls in love. Their funny arguments are more convincing than the film's bigger romantic moments.
The scenes about her mother work better. Suzume's loss is connected to Japan's real 2011 earthquake and tsunami. The film gradually gives us more of her childhood memories, so we understand why she reacts so strongly to the possibility of losing someone else. This is also a story about a girl who has lost her mother. Expect some upsetting scenes, even though much of the chase is funny.
Pixel Twelve verdict
Pixel Twelve score: 8/10 — Great. We recommend Suzume for its detailed animation, Souta's awkward three-legged movements and the relationship between Suzume and the aunt who raised her. The rushed romance and hurried explanations are real weaknesses, but neither stopped us caring about whether Suzume would get home safely. It is a good choice if you enjoy fantasy adventures that also spend time on family, fear and grief.
The film runs 122 minutes. In the United States, the MPA rated both the subtitled and dubbed theatrical versions PG for action/peril, language, thematic elements and smoking. Hulu uses a separate TV-14 label. Expect earthquake scenes, warning sounds and a child's distress over losing a parent.
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