Harvest Moon: The Movie

Harvest Moon (also known as Harvest Moon: The Movie) is an upcoming 2022 Japanese animated film based on the Harvest Moon and Story of Seasons series of video games. The film centers on Pete, a young man who is determined to restore the farm of an old man he befriended as a child. The plot is primarily inspired by Harvest Moon 64 and Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town, but takes elements from multiple games in the series.

Plot
An old black and white recording plays during the opening credits, showing Farmer Jack meeting young Peter "Pete" Riverheart (the boy recording with the old camera) when Pete is lost while vacationing in Mineral Town with his family. Noticing Pete's growing interest in the farm animals, Farmer Jack invites the Riverheart family to stay at his house for the duration of their vacation, during which Pete grows to love the countryside, farming life, animals, and even makes friends with a young girl who spends time with him every evening on the Moon Mountain, where they sing a traditional Mineral Town lullaby. As the Riverheart family packs their belongings to return to their home in the city, Farmer Jack promises to write to Pete in the future, and the young girl tells Pete that he must return to Mineral Town someday to meet her again.

It is revealed that Pete, now a young man, is watching the recording in his home in the city, reflecting on his memories of Mineral Town as a child. Farmer Jack hasn't written back to Pete in weeks, and Pete is beginning to worry about him. Convincing his now widowed father to take him back to Mineral Town, Pete goes to visit Farmer Jack, and discovers that he has fallen ill and is in the hospital. Upon visiting the hospital, Pete is greeted by nurse Ellen "Elli" Daybrook, daughter of the deceased Daniel Daybrook, former owner of the local bakery, now run by Elli's good friend Jeff Fogbrew. Elli explains to Pete that Farmer Jack is dying, and has been waiting to see Pete one last time. Farmer Jack, happy to see Pete, tells him about how the farm has gone to ruin over the past few months due to his lack of strength from old age. Pete is unable to make out the last of Farmer Jack's words before his last breath, and he mourns his death.

Upon returning to the farm, Pete discovers that Farmer Jack has given it to the Riverheart family in his will. Pete initially wants to return to the city, but, upon discovering that a team of land developers intend to purchase the farm and build an amusement park on the property should nobody choose to fix it up, he remembers how much fun he had on the farm as a child and decides to stay in Mineral Town to work on the farm. His father (still upset over the death of his wife three years prior) is skeptical of the idea, but eventually gives in and tells Pete that he can keep the farm if he manages to get it running smoothly in two years. He promises to return at the end of the third Spring to check up on the farm, and then departs for the city across the sea.

Over the following few months of Spring, Pete struggles to get the farm's fields cleared of weeds and plant crops. He seeks advice from Douglas "Doug" Green, a local innkeeper who owns another farm in Mineral Town. Doug doesn't believe that Pete is old enough to run a farm, and his son Gray remains skeptical of him. His tomboyish daughter Ann however takes an immediate liking to Pete after seeing him bond with a pony named Lucky, and gives him some advice on how to restore the farm. She also gives him Lucky as his first animal.

Taking Ann's advice, Pete buys seeds for crops from Lillia Flowerbud, the owner of the flower shop, where he meets her daughter Popuri, who he soon develops a crush on. Wanting to impress her, he fills a large portion of his field with flowers, but is criticized by the Green family for wasting space that could have been used for crops.

Jeff's uncle, Duke Fogbrew, the local bartender, soon befriends Pete and gifts him with a bottle of Doorway to Heaven wine, which was made many years ago by the old owner of the Forestgaze Vineyard (formerly the Moon Vineyard). Karen Forestgaze, a descendant of the man who made the wine, works at the bar as a waitress, and, despite her obsessive consumption of alcohol, is well-known by the men of Mineral Town for her good looks and her talent for dancing. Pete pays the vineyard a visit, but discovers that it has been going to ruin for quite few years, and may be closing soon if it can't be restored. Gotz, Karen's father, is a terrible alcoholic, and is very abusive toward Karen and his wife Sasha. Pete, despite Gotz's hatred of him and Karen's overall dislike of him, is convinced by vineyard farmhand Kai Williams (who has a crush on Karen) to help to restore the vineyard, and takes time out of his day every day to help out there. On one of his visits, Pete encounters Karen in the wine cellar and is surprised when Gotz arrives home drunk and locks Karen in (not realizing that Pete is in there as well). Karen begins to cry, and reveals that Gotz used to lock her in the cellar as a child whenever he was drunk, and that sometimes she would be trapped in there all night. Pete recalls a memory of accidentally being locked in the cellar with a younger Karen long ago in a visit to the vineyard as a child, and realizes that he hadn't realized the true nature of what was happening. Remembering how he escaped at the time, he reveals to Karen a hole in the wall behind the wine barrels, and Karen begins to accept Pete as a good friend.

In late June, the Festival of the Harvest Goddess is held, where the villagers must vote for a "Harvest Goddess" to dance with that year's king (the local medicine man). Pete realizes that if Popuri wins the election, he won't be able to dance with her at the festival as she will be dancing with the king. He confides in the medicine man's two young elementary-aged grandchildren, Kent and Stu, that he wishes for Elli to win the election that year (having made friends with her and having heard about her wishes to be the Goddess someday). Kent and Stu decide to pull a prank and rig the election so that Elli wins, which allows Pete to dance with Popuri. However, Elli, knowing of Kent and Stu's prankster ways, suspiciously confronts them after the festival and discovers what Pete told them. This causes her to believe that Pete likes her, and she begins visiting him more often, though Pete remains oblivious to her flirting.

In the middle of Summer, Pete discovers a music box that he buried at the farm during his visit there as a kid, and brings it to Ann's cousin Rick, the owner of the local tool shop, for fixing. Pete tells Rick that the music box plays a lullaby that he remembers hearing from his first visit to Mineral Town as a kid (which turns out to be the same lullaby that he and the young girl sang on Moon Mountain), and that he intends to give it to a girl he likes. Elli visits the shop as Pete is leaving, and Rick tells her about the music box, which causes her to believe that Pete will be giving the box to her, but is upset to discover later that he has given it to Popuri instead. Saddened, she begins visiting him less.

During the remainder of the Summer, Pete, Karen, and Kai work hard at the vineyard, but soon discover that nothing is helping. Karen, in a moment of sadness that the vineyard may die, expresses her wishes to move to the city and become a dancer. Kai, not wanting Karen to leave, finally expresses his true feelings for her, but Karen gets angry and tells him that she doesn't return those feelings and only thinks of him as a friend. Desperate, Pete seeks the advice of the mayor's daughter Maria, a nerdy girl who has a small crush on him. She tells him the secret of the pond at the base of Moon Mountain, where one can meet the Harvest Goddess in person if they throw one of their crops into the pond. Pete takes this advice and throws his best crop into the pond, and discovers that the information was true. The Harvest Goddess assures Pete that the vineyard will be restored before the year is over if he, Karen, and Kai work very hard on it, which gives Pete the confidence to convince Karen and Kai through a moving speech that they will get the vineyard restored.

As promised, the hard work pays off, and the vineyard begins to yield grapes better than any that have grown there for years. Karen and Kai begin to go on dates with each other, and Pete gives many of his flowers to Popuri throughout the Autumn season, knowing that they won't grow during the Winter.

When Winter hits, Pete realizes that he will need to build extensions to his house in order to make a living, and has a greenhouse and a kitchen built by the local carpenters. In mid-November, Pete buys a blue feather from Rick's shop, which (per Mineral Town tradition) he intends to propose to Popuri with, but discovers that Popuri isn't home. The next day, he brings the blue feather into the village and hears news that Elli's dear grandmother Ellen Wellington has died of old age. Knowing of the pain Elli must be feeling from her last living relative passing away, he immediately goes to visit her. A tearful Elli is happy to see Pete, and it is revealed via their conversation with each other that Elli is the young girl that Pete made friends with as a kid. Realizing that Elli is his true love, Pete proposes to her with the feather instead of Popuri, and they are married the following Sunday.

Over the following Spring, Elli assists Pete in taking care of the farm animals (many of them bought from the Green ranch) while Pete takes care of the garden. Pete also enters Lucky into the local horse race and wins, which delights Doug and Gray (who have begun to warm up to Pete). Kai proposes to Karen and invites Pete to their wedding, and Karen decides to stay in Mineral Town.

Meanwhile, Elli reveals to Pete that she has become pregnant, much to Pete's joy. Pete hires the carpenters to build a baby bed, and also wins the prize allowing him to become king for the next Harvest Goddess festival. Kent and Stu rig the election again so that Elli can become the Goddess, but neither Pete nor Elli mind much this time. Elli gives birth to a baby boy in August, and Pete names him Jack after his old friend.

In Winter, Maria is married to Harris, the mailman, while Gray begins dating Popuri. Pete begins to believe that his life is going on the right track, but in early Spring, a hurricane rips through Mineral Town and destroys his field and greenhouse. Pete believes that he will lose the farm for sure, since his father is set to return at the end of the season, but Elli reassures him, and a large amount of the villagers (including Gotz, who is trying to recover from his alcohol addiction) assist him in fixing up the place. Gray and Popuri are married, and Ann begins dating a bird-watcher named Cliff.

At the end of Spring, Pete's father arrives to evaluate the farm. Since a large amount of the hurricane damage still remains, he tells Pete that the farm is still unsuitable, and that he will have to return to the city and allow the land developers to purchase the property. But Pete's friends from the village arrive and stand up for him, citing many of the wonderful things he has done for Mineral Town. Pete realizes that he's had a bigger impact on the town than he originally thought, and his father at last mellows down and allows Pete to keep the farm. On the shore, Pete's father tells him that his mother would be proud of him, and they share a tearful hug before Pete's father sails away to the city. Pete and Elli climb up Moon Mountain to watch the sunset, and Pete tells Elli that he believes that Farmer Jack's unintelligible final words to him were his wishes to restore the farm to its former glory. He also tells her that, although he has been allowed to keep the farm forever, tomorrow will be another hard day of work, and it will continue that way for many years. Elli assures him that things will be easier now that he has made so many friends, and that she will stand by him through any hardship that may come their way, and they share a kiss before singing their old childhood lullaby as the sun sets.

Cast

 * Peter "Pete" Riverheart, the main character of the film. Having spent a Summer on Farmer Jack's farm as a young boy, he is determined to restore the farm to prevent it from being purchased by greedy land developers. He is based on Pete from the Harvest Moon series of games.
 * Farmer Jack, Pete's old childhood friend, who died and left him the farm in his will. He is a kind old man who loves animals and children, and is based on the original owner of the farm from Friends of Mineral Town.
 * Mr. Riverheart, Pete's father, who allows him to restore the farm. He loves his son, but is bitter over the death of his wife three years prior, and has difficulty expressing happiness.
 * Mrs. Riverheart, Pete's mother, who died three years prior to the main events of the film.
 * Ellen "Elli" Daybrook, orphaned daughter of Daniel Daybrook, former owner of the bakery. A brunette, she is also slightly overweight and longs to someday win the Harvest Goddess vote at the Spring festival. She serves as Pete's love interest (and later wife) in the film. She is a nurse at the hospital, and also helps out at the bakery occasionally, struggling to make money to support her grandmother. She is based on Elli from Harvest Moon 64 and Friends of Mineral Town.
 * Ellen Wellington, Elli's grandmother, who Elli struggles to support. She is based on Ellen from Harvest Moon 64.
 * Jeff Fogbrew, the current owner of the bakery. He was orphaned as a child, and taken in by Elli's father. He is based on Jeff from Harvest Moon 64.
 * Duke Fogbrew, the bartender. Jeff's uncle. He is based on Duke from Harvest Moon 64.
 * Douglas "Doug" Green, the local innkeeper, and owner of the Green Ranch. He initially believes that Pete is too young to run Farmer Jack's farm, but eventually discovers that Pete's enthusiasm is making the farm better than ever. He is based on Doug from Harvest Moon 64 and Friends of Mineral Town.
 * Gray Green, Doug's son. He is very antisocial, and not very fond of Pete, but really does care deep down inside, and eventually marries Popuri. He is based on Gray from Harvest Moon 64.
 * Ann Green, Doug's daughter. She is a redheaded tomboy who loves animals, and trusts Pete from the beginning. She briefly attempts to help with the cooking at the Daybrook Bakery, but ends up making a huge mess, She begins dating Cliff, and is based on Ann from Harvest Moon 54 and Friends of Mineral Town.
 * Rick Green, Ann's cousin who owns the shop. He is good friends with Pete, and is based on Rick from Harvest Moon 64 and Friends of Mineral Town.
 * Lillia Flowerbud, owner of the Mineral Town flower shop. she is a kind woman who trusts that Pete will eventually restore the farm. She is based on Lillia from Harvest Moon 64.
 * Basil Flowerbud, Lillia's husband, who only lives in Mineral Town during the Spring and Summer. During Autumn and Winter, he departs for another village to take care of other flowers. He is based on Basil from Harvest Moon 64.
 * Popuri Flowerbud, Lillia and Basil's daughter. She has inherited her mother's pink hair, and is one of the most beautiful girls in Mineral Town. She is good friends with Pete, and eventually marries Gray. She is based on Popuri from Harvest Moon 64 and Friends of Mineral Town.
 * Karen Forestgaze, a waitress at the Mineral Town bar, who intends to eventually move to the big city and become a dancer. She is fond of alcohol, and is also well-known by the men of the town for her attractiveness. She has a very bad temper, but eventually becomes good friends with Pete, and is sympathetic because of her harsh childhood. She is based is based on Karen from Harvest Moon 64 and Friends of Mineral Town.
 * Gotz Forestgaze, Karen's father, former lumberjack, and owner of the vineyard. He is a terrible drunk, and is abusive towards his wife and daughter, having even locked Karen in the cellar when she was a child. It is eventually revealed that his former wife and daughter died from a sickness a few years before he married his current wife, which is why he has become the man he is. With Pete's help, he eventually recovers from his alcohol addiction and becomes a better father. He is based on Gotz from Harvest Moon 64 and Friends of Mineral Town.
 * Sasha Forestgaze, Gotz's wife, who worries about her husband and daughter. She is a descendant of Eve Moon, former owner of the vineyard, and is based on Sasha from Harvest Moon 64.
 * Kai Williams, a Hispanic farmhand at the Forestgaze vineyard. He cares very much for the Forestgaze family, and is determined to help them out as much as possible. He eventually falls in love with Karen and marries her. He is based on Kai from Harvest Moon 64 and Friends of Mineral Town.
 * Degas, the local medicine man. He is based on Degas from Harvest Moon 64.
 * Saibara, a lonely old man who works as a blacksmith
 * Kent, Degas' ten-year-old grandson. Although he is good friends with Pete, he is a prankster and is first seen teasing Elli with a ladybug. He is based on Kent from Harvest Moon 64.
 * Stu, Kent's younger brother, first seen accompanying Kent during his prank on Elli. Although he is shy and friendlier than Kent, he can't resist accompanying him on many of his pranks. He is based on Stu from Harvest Moon 64 and Friends of Mineral Town.
 * Gaea, an old retired midwife. She retired after one one of her patients (her son's wife) died, but comes out of retirement to help with the birth of Pete and Elli's son. She is based on Gaya from Harvest Moon 64.
 * Zack, Gaea's son. A strong, tough man, he lost his wife when she gave birth to his daughter, but tries to remain kind. He helps to ship Pete's goods, and is based on Zack from Harvest Moon 64 and Friends of Mineral Town.
 * May, Zack's six-year-old daughter. Zack cares for her more than anybody else he knows. She is good friends with Pete, and is based on May from Harvest Moon 64.
 * Cliff, a bird watcher who often visits Mineral Town. He is based on Cliff from Harvest Moon 64.
 * Greg, an old fisherman who lives in a tent by the lake. He is based on Greg from Harvest Moon 64.
 * The carpenters, who build Pete many of his home extensions.
 * Thomas Waterrun, the mayor of Mineral Town, who relies on Pete to restore the farm to prevent it from being turned into an amusement park. He is based on Mayor Thomas from Harvest Moon 64 and Friends of Mineral Town.
 * Maria Waterrun, Mayor Thomas' daughter. She works at the Mineral Town library, and is very shy. Her friendship with Pete is formed by their similar interests, Cabbage, insects, and talk of religion. She is one of the only people in Mineral Town that Gray trusts, and he initially has a crush on her, but ends up falling in love with Popuri. She prays often, and is based on Maria from Harvest Moon 64 and Mary from Friends of Mineral Town.
 * Harris, the Mineral Town postman. He is very shy, but makes friends with Pete, and his friends, and eventually marries Maria. He is based on Harris from Harvest Moon 64.
 * The con man, who often shows up to Mineral Town to sell defective products to the villagers. He eventually reforms after Maria gives him a pendent as a gift, and tells him that she will pray from him. He is based on the con man from Harvest Moon 64 and Friends of Mineral Town.
 * Pastor Brown. Maria and Pete often visit him for religious advice. He is based on Pastor Brown from Harvest Moon 64 and Friends of Mineral Town.
 * The Harvest Goddess, the deity of the film. Pete consults her to seek advice on how to restore the vineyard. She is based on the Harvest Goddess from the Harvest Moon series of games.
 * The land developers, a group of greedy men who plan to purchase the farm property and turn it into an amusement park if it cannot be restored.

Development
The idea for the film was first proposed in early 2017 by the director. The director was a fan of the game series and thought that fans would love a movie based on the games. The early drafts for the screenplay were written later in the year, and the filmmakers consulted many fans of the games in order to make the adaptation a faithful homage to the games. Because many of the games differ from each other in characters and storyline, the director and screenwriter settled on using Harvest Moon 64 and Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town as their main inspiration. The director stated, "I enjoyed playing 64 when I was young, and it, along with Friends of Mineral Town, is one of the most popular games in the series. It was important to us to make a film that the fans would enjoy, and it seemed wrong not to get most of our inspiration from those two games." At the same time, the director also stated, "I wouldn't call this an adaptation of any particular game in the series, but rather an homage to many of the most popular games. Many plot points are taken from 64, because I think it had the strongest characters, but the many parts of the storyline are entirely original, and there are also homages to other games in the series." Most notably, the plot point about the land developers plotting to buy the farmland and turn it into an amusement park was taken from Harvest Moon GB 2. The director stated that "it was important to give Pete the motivation for leaving his life in the city behind and taking on a new life in the country across the sea. With the addition of the land developers comes the motivation for him to prevent the vacation place he knew as a child that belonged to his old friend from being replaced with new land developments. It made sense, and it felt right for the character."

The screenplay went through many revisions as the director and screenwriter consulted many of the fans of the Harvest Moon and Story of Seasons franchise. Earlier drafts included more references to Harvest Moon 64, with the town being named Flowerbud Village, and Farmer Jack being Pete's grandfather. The screenwriter later stated, "We really liked the name "Flowerbud Village," so that's what we originally went with. But we realized that many of the people who watched this film would be more familiar with the name "Mineral Town" from the later games in the series, and it was important to us to give the fans that nostalgia of playing those games. And though we liked the generational aspect of the older games, we felt that the backstory from Friends of Mineral Town was a better way to open the film. Rather than having Pete spend countless Summers on his grandfather's farm and meeting his future wife as a kid, it makes for a better backstory to have Pete meet an old man who is unrelated to him, and later take ownership of his farm after remembering his friendship. It makes for a better story." Nonetheless, Popuri and her family were given the surname of Flowerbud in the film as an homage to the older games and Pete mentions that Farmer Jack was almost like a grandfather to him.

One major point of controversy was whether or not to include the fantasy elements of the games in the movie. The director stated, "I've never really been a fan of the harvest sprites or any of those things. They felt like some characters from the Legend of Zelda world had walked into the Harvest Moon world from out of nowhere, and created more confusion than anything else. The church in the games is designed like a Christian church, with crosses and everything, and yet we have all these other fantasy elements like Harvest Goddess at the same time, which kind of make the world feel way off." The earliest drafts of the script did not contain any fantasy references, but references to the Harvest Goddess (as well as a scene featuring her) were later written into the script. The director stated, "It was important not only to make the story flow well for the movie, but to please the fans as well. My problems with the Harvest Goddess were the inconsistencies with the religion featured in the games, as well as the fact that Pete simply asks the Harvest Goddess to restore Karen's vineyard, taking away from what could have been a nice character moment between Pete and the Forestgaze family. In this movie, the Harvest Goddess is made the major deity that the people of the town pray to, and though I've inserted a nice scene between her and Pete, it is ultimately the friendship between Pete, Karen, and Kai that helps them to restore the vineyard."

Trivia

 * The original owner of the farm in the film is named Jack, which is a reference to the name given to Pete by fans of the game who didn't know his real name.
 * In early drafts of the script, Pete marries Popuri. However, the director eventually concluded that Elli was the girl that Pete was meant to belong with, and the script was modified to make Elli the main love interest. The director stated, "Sometimes these screenplays write themselves, and the way we had characterized Elli indicated to us that the natural conclusion was for Pete to marry her." Popuri remained as a major love interest for Pete in the final film.
 * Most of the traits of the characters were taken from Harvest Moon 64, which the director felt was the game in the series with the best characterization. Nonetheless, character traits from other games in the series also made it into the film, most notably Elli's profession as a nurse at the hospital from Friends of Mineral Town, which, according to the director, made Elli a more rounded character, and gave more for the audience to be drawn to her with, due to her very busy work schedule.
 * Early drafts of the script referred to the village as Flowerbud Village, which was the name of the village from the original game and 64. However, it was eventually decided to rename the village to Mineral Town, as that name was known better from later games in the series. Popuri's surname is Flowerbud as a reference to the original name of the town.
 * The director and screenwriter had difficulty coming up with surnames for most of the characters (who didn't have surnames in the original games). They eventually decided on fantasy-esque sounding surnames as a subtle nod to the fantasy elements in the game series.

Possible Sequel
When asked by fans, the director stated that he was open to the possibility of a sequel. "I think a movie based on Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life would work really well. I don't think we need to see another movie about Pete and the other folks from Mineral Town. I believe their story is done. But there's still other towns that deserve to have their story told, and Forget-Me-Not Valley is the one that I think deserves to be told next." The director also stated that the sequel would need a new screenwriter. "The screenwriter of the first movie has already moved on to other projects, so I would need to find someone else who understood what these games are and what fans want to see."