Suzume

is a 2022 Japanese animated coming-of-age fantasy adventure film written and directed by Makoto Shinkai, produced by CoMix Wave Films, and distributed by Toho. The film follows 17-year-old high school girl Suzume Iwato and young stranger Souta Munakata, who team up to prevent a series of disasters across Japan by sealing doors from the colossal, supernatural worm that causes earthquakes after being released. The film features the voices of Nanoka Hara and Hokuto Matsumura, with the character designs by Masayoshi Tanaka, animation direction by Kenichi Tsuchiya, art direction by Takumi Tanji, and music by Radwimps and Kazuma Jinnouchi, making it Shinkai's third collaboration with Radwimps and Tanaka, after Your Name (2016) and Weathering with You (2019). It began production in early 2020, eventually being announced as completed by October 2022. A novel adaptation, also written by Shinkai, and a manga series illustrated by Denki Amashima both debuted prior to the film's release. It was inspired by the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. Suzume first premiered in IMAX in Japan on November 7, 2022, and was theatrically released nationwide on November 11; it was released internationally across 2023 by Crunchyroll, Sony Pictures Releasing (under the Sony Pictures Releasing International banner), and Wild Bunch International. It received positive reviews from critics, with praise for its animation, characters, emotional weight and music, although the film's plot was criticized by some for being structurally similar to Shinkai's previous works. It has grossed over worldwide, becoming the fourth highest-grossing film of 2022 in Japan and the fourth highest-grossing Japanese film of all time. Plot Suzume Iwato is a 17-year-old high school girl, who lives with her aunt in a quiet town in the Kyushu region of Japan. While heading to school, she encounters a young man searching for an abandoned area with a door, so she informs him of an abandoned onsen (spa) resort nearby, and curiously follows him. There, she discovers a door standing alone on its frame. She opens it to witness a starlit field inside, which she can't enter. She trips over a cat statue on the floor, which turns into a real cat and flees. Frightened, Suzume rushes back to school.