TL;DR, Keanu Reeves will star as Jingoro Hidari in Dwarf Studios’ HIDARI, a 90-minute stop-motion samurai film announced at the Annecy Animation Showcase. The studio screened the pilot, which has over 4.9 million YouTube views and festival awards.

Keanu Reeves will star as Jingoro Hidari in Dwarf Studios’ HIDARI, a stop-motion samurai feature announced at the Annecy Animation Showcase during the 79th Cannes International Film Festival. The studio confirmed it is building a full 90-minute film from its festival-circuit pilot. The Keanu Reeves Hidari pairing points to a bigger international push.

9 million views on YouTube and picked up festival awards, giving the project global visibility and momentum. Variety has reported the feature will be in English and is currently slated for completion in 2029. That long runway tracks with stop-motion’s labor-intensive process, and with the team still recruiting partners and funding.

Keanu Reeves joins HIDARI, explained

Japanese stop-motion studio dwarf studios announced at the Annecy Animation Showcase of the 79th Cannes International Film Festival on Sunday that actor Keanu Reeves will star as Jingoro Hidari in HIDARI. The Keanu Reeves Jingoro Hidari casting accompanied a screening of the project’s pilot and a talk with director Masashi Kawamura and producer Noriko Matsumoto. They shared the current status and prospects for the HIDARI feature film, which is slated to be 90 minutes long.

9 million views on its YouTube channel. It has won several awards at different international film festivals. The project’s Kickstarter campaign has raised 15,255,294 yen from 1,419 backers.

An update on the campaign on September 5 stated the staff estimate about four years of production after they receive a green light. Entertainment outlet Variety previously noted the film will be in English and is currently slated for completion in 2029. The film has also received financial support from Questry, and the team is still recruiting partners and raising funds for its feature-length adaptation.

The film’s website describes a story in which Jingoro defeats the foes who betrayed him, learns the Tokugawa Shogunate was behind the murders, and battles an army of mechanical soldiers while searching for the mastermind. He must also save Edo by stopping Edo Castle, which has turned into a gigantic weapon of mass destruction. The original story draws inspiration from the legend of the Edo-period sculptor Jingoro Hidari, famed for life-like animal carvings and tales that his works come alive at night.

Theories about his name say he was left handed or lost his right arm to a jealous rival.

Masashi Kawamura is directing and writing. Iku Ogawa is co-directing and designing characters with Takeshi Yashiro, who also leads wood carving and art design. Yūsuke Tominaga, Masami Ouchi, and others are producing alongside Noriko Matsumoto.

, which handles the script, direction, art direction, and promotions.

What the HIDARI pilot and story show

The pilot outlines a tight revenge arc that hints at the larger canvas. Jingoro defeats the traitors who wronged him, then discovers the Tokugawa Shogunate orchestrated the killings. He tracks the conspiracy, battles mechanical soldiers, and races to stop Edo Castle, which has been turned into a colossal weapon.

• The Hidari pilot film YouTube release launched in 2023 and has surpassed 4.9 million views.
• Festival screenings brought multiple awards, validating its craft and pacing.
• The Hidari stop motion samurai film leans on tactile choreography and precise, readable action.
• Set pieces promise clockwork combat, collapsing corridors, and intricate gearwork.
• The Jingoro Hidari story draws from folklore about a master sculptor whose carvings feel alive.
• Legend add-ons, like the left-handed motif or a lost arm, inform character silhouette and props.

The synopsis teases a mix of historical intrigue and proto-mechanical spectacle, with practical builds doing the heavy lifting. That balance, revenge plus machinery, places HIDARI between chambara tradition and engineered fantasy, a lane that stop-motion sells with texture and weight.

Scaling this pilot to feature length likely means deepening the conspiracy, extending duels into multi-stage set pieces, and staging a clear path from alley skirmishes to a final siege on a weaponized castle. The pilot’s rhythm suggests lean dialogue, visual storytelling, and escalating, gear-driven obstacles.

Who is making HIDARI and the film’s current status

Dwarf Studios is producing the HIDARI feature with director Masashi Kawamura also writing the screenplay. At the Annecy Animation Showcase at Cannes, the team reiterated the 90-minute target and framed the Hidari Cannes announcement as a step toward locking partners and schedule.

• Studio: the Dwarf Studios Hidari movie is a stop-motion feature expanding the 2023 pilot.
• Director/Writer: Masashi Kawamura Hidari lead, with producer Noriko Matsumoto.
• Co-Director: Iku Ogawa, who is also handling character design with Takeshi Yashiro.
• Art and build: Yashiro oversees wood carving and art design; TECARAT crafts the wooden puppets.
• Creative support: Whatever Co. contributes to script, direction, art direction, and promotions.
• Producers: Yūsuke Tominaga, Masami Ouchi, and others join Matsumoto on the producing side.
• Financing: Kickstarter raised 15,255,294 yen from 1,419 backers; Questry also provides support.
• Timeline: a Kickstarter update estimated about four years of production after a green light; Variety reported an English-language feature with completion slated for 2029.

The announcement did not detail a distributor, release territories, or festival premiere plans. The team said it is still recruiting partners and raising funds for the feature-length adaptation, which aligns with the long lead times of complex stop-motion pipelines.

Festival showcases often spark unusual crossovers and audience discoveries. For a quirky programming snapshot from our archives, see the King Of Prism Sharknado Double Feature, a reminder that global events can put very different fanbases in the same room as artisanal animation like HIDARI.

Source: ANN