Three bumbling goblins help a girl deal with the death of her father in the animated Japanese film “A Letter to Momo,” a comic adventure that suffers from a dearth of both laughs and thrills.
Ploddingly paced, the film by Hiroyuki Okiura centers on a lonely adolescent girl coping with the loss of her father, who, after a quarrel with her, left behind an unfinished letter with only the words, “Dear Momo.”
After her father’s death, the girl moves with her mom to an island village.
Mild high jinks with the goblins ensue, along with a health crisis that is resolved at tedious length. Only in the final minutes does the film achieve some real feeling, with a beautiful launch of straw boats lit by lanterns, and a secret message. Too bad the little ones will be nodding off by then.