Draft:Golden Time (film)

Golden Time is a 2013 Japanese anime short film written and directed by and produced by Robot Communications. Set in the 1980s, the film follows an old television set who becomes miserable as it attempts to escape a junkyard. Production placeholder. Golden Time premiered on Ustream on December 26, 2013. It was screened from 2014–2015 at select Japanese theaters and festivals, sometimes alongside the short films Mr. Tap and La Maison en Petits Cubes. The film received a picture book adaptation published by Hakusensha and won an Excellence Award at the 2013 Japan Media Arts Festival.

Plot
In nighttime 1980s Japan, a 1960s television set is disposed at a junkyard. It shoos away a wind-up toy cat who tries to watch a program on it. The toy cat flees, but becomes immobile after running too much. A chair, bucket, and electric fan emerge, and the fan saves the toy cat by winding its key. The next day, the television notices a junkyard magnet above a hill. It tries to dig under, squeeze through, and jump over a fence, but is unsuccessful. Later, the toy cat watches a program on the television, who becomes resentful of a newer television set being advertised. At night, it hides from the rain as the toy cat watches from its cubicle.

The next day, the television tries to improve its poor signal, but only gets noise. In a flashback, a family watches the television after the father fixes it with percussive maintenance. While digging, it notices and approaches a recycling truck, whose driver removes its screen. The television, distressed, covers itself with a thin cloak, to the curiosity of the chair, bucket, fan, and toy cat. It bashes against a utility pole out of misery as the toy cat tries to stop it, and at night, it lies in the rain as the toy cat watches from its cubicle. The next day, the television climbs the hill to the junkyard magnet. The toy cat realizes it is missing, follows it to the magnet, and tries pulling it away, but only removes its cloak. The magnet rips away the television's antenna and cable, and the toy cat falls down the hill out of immobilizing laughter. After descending the hill, the television realizes the toy cat's key is missing. While carrying the toy cat, the television finds it at nightfall. After inserting the key, the toy cat laughs when more of the television's parts fall out. The television revisits its tunnel, where moonlight shines through its panel and over its shadow.

The next morning, a truck picks up the television, still asleep. It tries to escape its tie down straps, but is unsuccessful. The toy cat notices and chases the truck, but becomes immobile after running too much. The chair, bucket, and fan emerge, and the fan winds the toy cat’s key. The television is taken to a farm, where it serves as a chicken coop.

Production
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Release and reception
The company Hobonichi premiered Golden Time through two December 26, 2013, screenings on Ustream. The film was then screened on February 9, 2014, at the 17th Japan Media Arts Festival award-winning works exhibition, from October 11–12 at the Ebisu Cultural Festival, and on November 1 at the 2014. It was also shown from November 28–29, 2015, at the Japanese Film Festival, which was organized by the Agency for Cultural Affairs and held at a CGV Blitz theater in the Grand Indonesia, a mall in Jakarta. Producer Emi Matsumoto participated in the festival's panel discussion held on November 29. Netflix temporarily gained the rights to Golden Time, and in late 2017, added it to the catalog.

Golden Time was screened alongside the short films Mr. Tap and La Maison en Petits Cubes collectively under the name Handwork Animation. Handwork Animation premiered from January 11–26, 2014, at the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography. Writing about the premiere, Atsushi Ohara of The Asahi Shimbun indentified charm in the film's visual storytelling and commended the dynamic between the television and toy cat, which he described as playful. Handwork Animation was then screened from April 26 – May 23 at the, from July 5–11 at the theater, and on March 23 at the 2015 Tokyo Anime Award Festival.

Related media
A picture book adaptation of the film titled Golden Time Goodbye Mr. Television was released by Hakusensha on April 11, 2014, after being published in a February issue of their magazine MOE. The book was written by Yoshifumi Hasegawa and illustrated by Inaba. A solo art exhibition of its illustrations took place from April 14–19 at the Pinpoint Gallery in Aoyama, Tokyo.

Accolades
Golden Time won an Audience Choice award in the Short Films category and an Inspiration of Asia award in the Special Competition category of the 2013 Seoul International Cartoon and Animation Festival. It also won an Excellence Award in the Animation Division of the 2013 Japan Media Arts Festival.