Japanese Filmmaker Masashi Kawamura Turns Viral Short Hidari Into Ambitious Feature With Keanu Reeves

What began as a five-minute proof-of-concept short has evolved into one of the most intriguing independent animation projects in development, with Keanu Reeves now attached to star in the feature adaptation of viral stop-motion sensation Hidari.

Japanese filmmaker Masashi Kawamura revealed that securing Reeves for the project was once little more than a dream. Following the release of the original short in 2023, which has since amassed more than five million views on YouTube, Kawamura began assembling a wish list of potential voice actors for a feature-length version.

“There was a lot of luck getting Keanu,” admits Kawamura, whose background is largely in music videos and commercials. “After we finished proof of concept with the five-minute film, I just started making this dream list of people I wanted to use as the voice cast and he was obviously at the top of my list.”

According to Kawamura, the film’s revenge-driven narrative shares thematic similarities with Reeves’ iconic John Wick character. The filmmakers reached out directly to the actor and his representatives, and were surprised when Reeves responded positively to the project and agreed to voice the lead character, Jingoro.

“I was so happy we did the proof of concept, because that was the reason we made it,” says Kawamura of the YouTube short that has since amassed five million views. “Nobody really knows me as a director, and this is my first-time feature film. It’s an original script and doesn’t have any IP attached to it, so I knew there were going to be a lot of challenges. We couldn’t pitch the concept with the script or concept boards – we really had to have something that gets people excited.”

Inspired by the legendary Edo-era craftsman Jingoro Hidari, the feature follows a master sculptor whose life is shattered after losing his father figure, fiancée and right arm in a betrayal tied to the reconstruction of Edo Castle. Refusing to surrender to despair, Jingoro channels his grief into a relentless quest for vengeance, using extraordinary carpentry skills and a collection of deadly mechanical prosthetic arms to pursue justice.

Joining him on the journey is the iconic “Sleeping Cat,” one of the most famous elements associated with Hidari folklore. The story combines historical inspiration with fantasy, action and elaborate visual invention.

“There’s fantasies, chainsaws, crazy wooden robots appearing and it’s kind of like a fictional period drama,” says Kawamura. “But we wanted to keep the narrative quite simple, because the visual is so complex. So, we are definitely going more down the action path with this.”

The project is being produced by Noriko Matsumoto of dwarf studios, alongside Whatever and TECARAT, with financing support from Tomonobu Ibe of Questry Co. Matsumoto has helped position dwarf studios as a key player in Japanese stop-motion animation, particularly through its work on Rilakkuma and Kaoru and other internationally recognized projects.

Although this marks Kawamura’s first stop-motion feature, the filmmaker says he has long wanted to work in the medium.

“My expertise is live-action and CG work,” he says. “But when Noriko approached me about developing a project that could resonate with international distributors, platforms and studios, we thought we could figure out a way to create an ambitious stop-motion feature film.”

He added: “I loved watching stop-motion in my youth, and I felt the magic is the fact that you’re shooting real objects and you’re not replicating them through programming. It’s really these inanimate objects using cinema magic. The texture, the material, that kind of tactile presence is what I really wanted to make as part of the story.”

The visual identity of Hidari emerged from Kawamura’s fascination with physical materials. After considering elements such as metal, fire, water and leather, he ultimately settled on wood because of its deep cultural significance in Japan.

“It was a very conscious decision, and I thought if we could do some wooden puppet work, it would be something visually and aesthetically unique and interesting.”

That creative choice led him to the mysterious figure of Jingoro Hidari, a legendary sculptor whose existence remains debated among historians. While hundreds of works across Japan have been attributed to Hidari, the timeline of the sculptures spans centuries, deepening the mystery surrounding the artisan.

“Nobody knows if he existed or not,” he says. “There’s this writing left of him and there are sculptures still left in about 500 locations that are said to be the work of the Hidari, but when you look into it, the work spans across 200 years.”

“I felt like there was a lot of intrigue behind this mysterious, somewhat historical character, and it felt perfect because he was a sculptor and his work was said to come alive because it looked so real. That’s the kind of myth around him and I knew that if I could tell the story of a sculptor through a wooden puppet that looks like it’s one of his own creations, then that would be a very interesting and extra layer to the film itself.”

One of Hidari’s most famous creations, the Sleeping Cat sculpture housed at Nikkō Tōshō-gū, also plays a key role in the feature.

The filmmakers are currently in discussions with international partners as they move the project toward production. Kawamura said Reeves has already become an active creative collaborator, contributing ideas and helping shape the film’s development.

“He’s super focused,” he says. “I was just a fanboy but now I’m almost working as a partner with him. I’ve learned so much from him and continue to learn from him as we go.”

With its blend of Japanese folklore, handcrafted stop-motion artistry and action-driven storytelling, Hidari is shaping up as an ambitious international animation project that could introduce a little-known legend to audiences around the world.

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