Tasmania Story

Tasmania Story (タスマニア物語) is a 1990 Japanese-language film, released on July 21, 1990. It was filmed by Pacific Link Communications Japan, the Fuji Television Network, and by David Hannay Productions. Lasting 110 minutes, the film had Kunie Tanaka and Hiroko Yakushimaru as the starring roles. The movie was filmed in Australia, with filming starting in the Southern Hemisphere's winter of 1989.

The soundtrack to the film was released on July 21, 1990, by Joe Hisaishi, who composed the music for the film.

Plot
A sixth-grade elementary school student, Shoichi, visits his divorced father who lives in Australia after retiring from a leading Japanese company and has become obsessed with finding the extinct Tasmanian Tiger. Shoichi had run away from home. At first, he travels to Sydney looking for his father but finds him in the beautiful southern island of Tasmania.

Reception
The film made ¥4.28 billion at the Japanese box office, and was the recipient of the eight Golden Gross Award "Silver Excellence" award given out by the Association of Environmental Health. A DVD of the film was released on November 21, 2001; it was released exclusively in Japan.

Staff

 * Director: Yasuo Furuhata
 * Music: Joe Hisaishi
 * Theme: Hiroyuki Izuta ("In Your Eyes")
 * Executive Producer: Hiroaki Shikanai
 * Producer: Hisashi Hieda
 * Planning: Yasushi Mitsui
 * Executive Producer: Koichi Murakami, Toshikazu Horiguchi
 * Producer: Shinya Kawai, Satoshi Kiyoshi Ichiko, Charles Hannah
 * Producer: Hideshi Miyajima
 * Produced by Fuji Television Network, Inc.
 * Distribution: Toho

Video game


In the Game Boy action video game loosely based on the film, the divorced father is looking for a Tasmanian tiger while trying to survive in the harsh wilderness of Tasmania. This game is a port of Pony Canyon's Fruit Panic for the MSX which plays similar to the classic arcade game Mappy.

Before the gameplay commences, the player is given a choice between the slow mode and the fast mode (using the "Select" button), which modifies the movement speed of the enemies. The player then proceeds to traverse ten levels of varying layouts, having to collect all the plants within each level to proceed to the next level. Four enemies portraying wild animals chase the player character in each level, which the player can knock out for a little while by either planting bombs (one at a time; using the "A" button) for enemies to step on, or by falling onto their heads from above. Being caught by an enemy or falling into a pit left below a jumping platform that has been used too many times in a short period loses the player one life, and losing all lives reset the progress. The player starts the game with three lives, which are increased by hitting certain high score milestones, and ten bombs, increased with additional ten for each lost life. Each level has a theme animal that pops up as an item to be quickly collected before it disappears; both theme animals and additional bomb items pop up by knocking out enemies enough times. The game ends with a congratulations screen after each level's theme animal has been collected, or the game otherwise loops.