Ancien and the Magic Tablet

Dreams are a pathway to mystery and adventure in Ancien and the Magic Tablet. This anime film is partly set in the ordinary world, where teenage girl Kokone lives with his father Momotaro, a skilled but rather introverted mechanic who has been single since Kokone's mother died in an accident. But Kokone also falls asleep anytime and any place, and in her dreams she becomes Ancien, the princess of the strange kingdom of Heartland. Here, all inhabitants are employed by a gigantic car manufacturer. Ancien on her part is equipped with a magic tablet, and she uses its magingal powers to help her father, the king, to stay in power and keep his enemies at bay. The tablet also gives life to her teddy bear Joy and a robot/motorcycle called Hearts.

Kokone's dream life becomes increasingly bizarre and marred with conflict. When her father in real life is arrested, and she is visited by a man with harmful intentions, she starts to realise that the conflicts of her dreamed world and her father's very real problems are somehow connected. Together with her old friend Morio she sets out on a journey to help her father, and gradually the two worlds collide – and merge.

Ancien and the Magic Tablet is a fast-paced adventure, in which fantasy and destruction, dream and reality, and past and present blend into one another. Christina Svien

Kenji Kaiyama (b. 1966) is a Japanese director and scriptwriter. He is affiliated with the company Production I.G. and has directed a number of TV series and films, many of which are part of the Ghost in the Shell franchise/universe.