Hug! Pretty Cure Futari wa Pretty Cure: All Stars Memories (Japanese: 映画 HUGっと!プリキュア♡ふたりはプリキュア オールスターズメモリーズ, Hepburn: Eiga Hagutto! Purikyua ♡ Futari wa Purikyua Ōru Sutāzu Memorīzu) is a 2018 Japanese animatedactionfantasy film based on the Pretty Cure franchise created by Izumi Todo, and its first and fifteenth series, Futari wa Pretty Cure and Hug! Pretty Cure. The film is directed by Hiroshi Miyamoto, written by Junko Komura, and produced by Toei Animation, and was released in Japanese theaters on October 27, 2018.
It is the eleventh entry in the Pretty Cure All Starscrossover film series and celebrates the franchise's 15th anniversary. The Hug! Pretty Cure team joins forces with the Futari wa Pretty Cure team to retrieve the Pretty Cures' stolen powers and memories from an vengeful teru teru bōzu named Miden.
The film topped Japanese box office records in its theatrical run and currently holds the Guinness World Record for "Most Magical Warriors in an Anime Film", with a total of 55 Pretty Cures across thirteen generations.[2]
Plot
The Futari wa Pretty Cure Max Heart team: Cures Black, White and Shiny Luminous fights a mysterious monster who is attacking Minato Mirai 21 and defeat it using Extreme Luminario. They then rescue a reporter who had become trapped on a Ferris wheel, but then a teru teru bōzu named Miden appears before them. Later, the Hug! Pretty Cure team: Hana, Saaya, Homare, Emiru, and Ruru are having a picnic when Miden appears before them. They transform and fight him, but notice that he is using the attacks of other Pretty Cures. Miden attacks Yell with a mysterious beam, and Ange, Etoile, Macherie, and Amour shield her from the attack but are turned into babies in the process. The Max Heart team arrives to protect Yell and the kids, but Miden disappears after turning White into a baby. Nagisa explains to Hana that Miden has turned the other Pretty Cures into toddlers and stolen their memories.
After finding their baby teammates, who had run off, Miden appears before Hana and Nagisa. After Nagisa demands he give Honoka's memory back, he furiously attacks both girls, which causes Honoka to revert back to normal. They transform and fight Miden, with Hana assisting them; while cheering for Yell, the rest of the Hug! team reverts back to normal. Miden takes the towns' memories and leads the Cures to his lair.
After exploring his lair, the Cures learn that Miden was a camera called the Miden F Mark II. Its manufacturer went bankrupt, and as a result it never had any photos taken. After gaining sentience, Miden decided he wanted to have his own memories and began stealing memories from others. Yell notices his pain and loneliness, as everyone he knew had forgotten about him. After Harry and Hugtan use the Miracle Light's power to restore the rest of the Pretty Cure to normal, they help to fight off Miden's shadows while Yell heads to Miden. She comforts Miden and assures him that they'll make new memories together. The Pretty Cures, with the power of the Miracle Lights, heal him as he smiles and fades away. Later, Hana takes pictures of everyone at the picnic with a fixed Miden camera.
Inori Minase as Kirarin/Ciel Kirahoshi/Cure Parfait
Film characters
Mamoru Miyano as Miden, a white teru teru bozu-like monster that steals the Pretty Cures' memories and powers and turns them into infants. It can also create offshoots that swarm like locusts. Miyano stated he was excited to have the 55 Cures gather together in a single movie.[5]
Mizuki Yamamoto as herself; in the film, she is a reporter who falls in the crossroads of the battle between a monster and the Futari wa Pretty Cures.[6] Yamamoto, an anime enthusiast and a big Pretty Cure fan, said, "I was really happy when I was talking and I was really impressed when I talked to the Pretty Cure that I had longed for."[7]
Tasuku Kida as a mysterious monster who attacks Minato Mirai 21 in the beginning of the film.
Production
On 17 March 2018, it was announced that there a film featuring Futari wa Pretty Cure was in the works,[8] with its title announced on June 17 of the same year.[9] The 15th anniversary film of the Pretty Cure franchise,[9] it would be a crossover between the current series Hug! Pretty Cure and the inaugural series Futari wa Pretty Cure, and would mark the first time since 2016 where all the Pretty Cures appear at once.[10]
Similar to Pretty Cure Dream Stars!, which was also directed by Hiroshi Miyamoto, the film combines cel animation and computer-generated animation.[8] The Pretty Cure dialogue was recorded twice, and the CGI sequence started in January 2018, ahead of Hug! Pretty Cure's premiere. Production of the cel animation started in August 2018.[11]
The Miracle Light for the movie is the Miracle Memories Light (ミラクル♡メモリーズライト, Mirakuru♡Memorīzu Raito),[5] and the first 200,000 children received the Mirai Crystal~Cure Yell and Cure Black~ (ミライクリスタル〜キュアエール&キュアブラック〜, Mirai Kurisutaru〜Kyua Ēru & Kyua Burakku〜) as a present.[12]
There were several tie-ins with Yokohama City. A Pretty Cure special stage dance involving the Kanto Gakuin University cheerleading dance team Fits was held at Minato Mirai Smart Festival 2018.[13] A fifteenth anniversary exhibition was held at Yokohama Landmark Tower for eight days, and Mizuki Yamamoto, who appeared in the film as the reporter, hosted a women-only space called "PRECURE GIRLS 'NIGHT" on September 21.[14] On October 21, the week before the film's release, a premiere screening was held at Yokohama Burg 13, and the costumes of the 55 Pretty Cure appeared at Grand Mall Park.[15] In addition, various places in Yokohama City are included in the film, such as Minato Mirai 21 appearing in the first scene.[16]
The film earned 357 million yen during the first two days of release (October 27 and 28).[19][20] This made it the third Pretty Cure film in a row to rank first place.[20] Pia gave the film a first place ranking at 92.4. Toei described it as "the biggest hit start of Spring and Autumn compared to the 24 films so far".[21]
With 55 Pretty Cures in the movie, Guinness World Records approved the movie for the world record of "Most Magical Warriors in An Anime Film" on 27 October 2018.[24] The film also won the Best 3D in an Anime award at the 2018 CGWorld Awards[25] and the Best Film award at the 2019 VFX Japan Awards.[26]
