{ "id": "epa8mp8yj1", "slug": "yona-yona-penguin", "title": "Yona Yona Penguin (よなよなペンギン)", "updated": "2026-11-01", "topic_path": [ { "id": "culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture" }, { "id": "culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.genre-form", "label": "Films by genre, form, and subject", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.genre-form" }, { "id": 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"geo.asia.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.genre-form.animated-shorts.anime-features.yr-1999-2013", "label": "Released 1999 to 2013", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.genre-form.animated-shorts.anime-features.yr-1999-2013" } ] } ], "excerpt": "Yona Yona Penguin (よなよなペンギン) is a 2009 Japanese-French full-CG animated fantasy film directed by Rintaro, produced by Madhouse and Denis Friedman Productions, premiered at Venice 2009, released in Japan December 23, 2009 by Shochiku.", "snippet": "Yona Yona Penguin (よなよなペンギン) is a 2009 Japanese-French full-CG animated fantasy film directed by Rintaro, produced by Madhouse and Denis Friedman Productions, premiered at Venice 2009, released in Japan December 23, 2009 by Shochiku.", "node": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.genre-form.animated-shorts.anime-features.yr-1999-2013", "markdown": "# Yona Yona Penguin (よなよなペンギン)\n\n**Yona Yona Penguin** (よなよなペンギン) is a 2009 Japanese-French full-CG animated fantasy adventure film directed by Rintaro, about a girl named Coco who dreams of flying and is drawn into an underground world where goblins mistake her for a legendary hero. It was produced by the Japanese studio Madhouse with the French company Denis Friedman Productions and released in Japan by Shochiku on December 23, 2009.[1](https://jfdb.jp/en/title/1623) • [2](https://eiga.com/movie/53539/)\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Director and original story | Rintaro, known for *Galaxy Express 999* and *Metropolis*; his first work on an original story[1](https://jfdb.jp/en/title/1623) • [3](https://madhouse.co.jp/works/movie_yonapen/) |\n| Production | Madhouse with Denis Friedman Productions (DFP); a Japan-France co-production with Singapore's MediaCorp as investor[3](https://madhouse.co.jp/works/movie_yonapen/) • [4](https://worldscreen.com/mediacorp-madhouse-team-for-new-anime-feature-film/) |\n| Budget | $13 million[4](https://worldscreen.com/mediacorp-madhouse-team-for-new-anime-feature-film/) |\n| World premiere | Venice International Film Festival, September 12, 2009, out of competition[5](https://asianwiki.com/Yona_Yona_Penguin) |\n| Japanese release | December 23, 2009; 88 minutes; distributed by Shochiku[1](https://jfdb.jp/en/title/1623) |\n| Main voice cast | Ei Morisako as Coco, Rena Tanaka as Chaley, Hikaru Ota as Zammie, Yuji Tanaka as Buccaboo[1](https://jfdb.jp/en/title/1623) |\n| International box office | $188,660, all from international markets[6](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/releasegroup/gr2813022725/) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Story\n\nCoco is a young girl who walks the streets at night wearing a penguin coat, believing her late father's words that penguins too can fly.[2](https://eiga.com/movie/53539/) One night a golden feather falls from the sky, and a penguin-shaped capsule leads her to a hidden shop full of penguin goods, where she meets Chaley, a timid goblin boy.[1](https://jfdb.jp/en/title/1623) • [7](https://movie.jorudan.co.jp/film/40553/) Chaley has brought Coco to the goblin village in the belief that she is the legendary \"flightless bird\" destined to defeat Buccaboo, the Emperor of Darkness who is slowly destroying the village.[1](https://jfdb.jp/en/title/1623) • [7](https://movie.jorudan.co.jp/film/40553/) Zammie, who calls himself Buccaboo's number-one henchman, soon throws the village into confusion, and Coco, though bewildered, rises to the challenge alongside Chaley.[1](https://jfdb.jp/en/title/1623)\n\n## Production\n\n**A first for Rintaro and Madhouse.** The film was Madhouse's first fully 3DCG animated feature, and Rintaro's first work on an original story. Madhouse described the goal as creating \"a unique 3D unlike anything else, drawing on 2D know-how,\" and the studio credited Rintaro, active since the early days of Japanese animation, with producing a gentle fantasy adventure for children.[3](https://madhouse.co.jp/works/movie_yonapen/) In a 2009 interview, Rintaro said the project had originally been planned as a picture book, and that producer Masao Maruyama of Madhouse suddenly proposed making it full CG; he accepted, wondering what new possibilities full CG might hold for him.[8](https://animeanime.jp/article/2009/11/18/5629.html)\n\n**International structure.** The film was created and produced by Madhouse with the French company Denis Friedman Productions, with Madhouse's sister company Dynamo Pictures animating the opening and ending and DFP animating the middle; France's Mikros Image handled post-production.[9](https://awn.com/news/madhouse-ventures-yona-yona-penguin) Singapore's MediaCorp joined as an investor and served as distributor in Singapore and Malaysia.[4](https://worldscreen.com/mediacorp-madhouse-team-for-new-anime-feature-film/) Shochiku distributed the film in Japan, Hong Kong's Golden Network handled other parts of Asia, and France's Wild Bunch represented other international territories.[9](https://awn.com/news/madhouse-ventures-yona-yona-penguin) Japanese, French, and English soundtracks were recorded.[9](https://awn.com/news/madhouse-ventures-yona-yona-penguin)\n\n**Key staff and cast.** The screenplay was by Tomoko Konparu, character design by Katsuya Terada, and music by Toshiyuki Honda, who also appears in the cast as Spider.[3](https://madhouse.co.jp/works/movie_yonapen/) The voice cast mixed professional actors with television personalities: the comedy duo Bakusho Mondai's Hikaru Ota voiced the angel Zammie and Yuji Tanaka voiced the villain Buccaboo, while [Koichi Yamadera](https://www.edgepedia.org/koichi-yamadera) played the archangel and George Takahashi voiced Coco's father.[3](https://madhouse.co.jp/works/movie_yonapen/)\n\n## Release and reception\n\nThe film premiered out of competition at the 66th Venice International Film Festival on September 12, 2009, screened at the Sitges Film Festival in October, and showed in the special screenings section of the 22nd Tokyo International Film Festival on October 19, 2009, before its Japanese theatrical release on December 23, 2009.[5](https://asianwiki.com/Yona_Yona_Penguin) • [10](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1039651/releaseinfo/) It opened in France on February 3, 2010, Singapore on March 11, 2010, Belgium on April 28, 2010, and Brazil on December 24, 2010.[6](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/releasegroup/gr2813022725/) • [10](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1039651/releaseinfo/)\n\n[Box Office Mojo](https://www.edgepedia.org/box-office-mojo) records a total gross of $188,660, all international, with Brazil contributing $127,196 and France $27,790.[6](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/releasegroup/gr2813022725/) A contemporary analysis of international animation co-productions noted that the film fell between the target groups of young children's franchises and young-adult animation, and highlighted the difficulty this posed for foreign animation.[11](https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/44571/1/640295665.pdf) A 2018 review of the Maiden Japan Blu-ray rated the film three of five, praising its bright visuals and likable allies and recommending it for children.[12](https://videolibrarian.com/reviews/childrens/yona-yona-penguin/)\n\n## Home media and streaming\n\nThe film was released on Japanese Blu-ray Disc by VAP on November 26, 2010.[13](https://tower.jp/item/2785974) As of September 2026 it streams in Japan on Prime Video (rental), U-NEXT (flat-rate, with a 31-day free trial), and Hulu (flat-rate), and is available through TSUTAYA DISCAS's mail-order rental service.[14](https://filmarks.com/movies/34744/vod)\n\n## References\n\n1. [JFDB – Yona Yona Penguin](https://jfdb.jp/en/title/1623)\n2. [映画.com – よなよなペンギン 作品情報](https://eiga.com/movie/53539/)\n3. [MADHOUSE – よなよなペンギン WORKS](https://madhouse.co.jp/works/movie_yonapen/)\n4. [WorldScreen – MediaCorp, Madhouse Team for New Anime Feature Film](https://worldscreen.com/mediacorp-madhouse-team-for-new-anime-feature-film/)\n5. [AsianWiki – Yona Yona Penguin](https://asianwiki.com/Yona_Yona_Penguin)\n6. [Box Office Mojo – Yona Yona Penguin](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/releasegroup/gr2813022725/)\n7. [映画の時間 – よなよなペンギン 作品情報](https://movie.jorudan.co.jp/film/40553/)\n8. [アニメ！アニメ！ – 『よなよなペンギン』りんたろう監督インタビュー](https://animeanime.jp/article/2009/11/18/5629.html)\n9. [Animation World Network – Madhouse Ventures with Yona Yona Penguin](https://awn.com/news/madhouse-ventures-yona-yona-penguin)\n10. [IMDb – Yona Yona Penguin release info](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1039651/releaseinfo/)\n11. [EconStor – analysis of international animation co-productions](https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/44571/1/640295665.pdf)\n12. [Videolibrarian – Yona Yona Penguin review](https://videolibrarian.com/reviews/childrens/yona-yona-penguin/)\n13. [Tower Records – よなよなペンギン Blu-ray](https://tower.jp/item/2785974)\n14. [Filmarks – よなよなペンギン 配信まとめ](https://filmarks.com/movies/34744/vod)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Films by genre, form, and subject › Animated and short films › Japanese anime features › Released 1999 to 2013*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/yona-yona-penguin", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/yona-yona-penguin.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"Yona Yona Penguin (よなよなペンギン)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/yona-yona-penguin. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[Yona Yona Penguin (よなよなペンギン)](https://www.edgepedia.org/yona-yona-penguin)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/yona-yona-penguin](https://www.edgepedia.org/yona-yona-penguin). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"Yona Yona Penguin (よなよなペンギン)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/yona-yona-penguin. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "Yona Yona Penguin is a 2009 Japanese-French full-CG animated fantasy film directed by Rintaro, produced by Madhouse and Denis Friedman Productions, premiered at Venice 2009, released in Japan December 23, 2009 by Shochiku." }