Helen the Baby Fox

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Helen the Baby Fox is a 2006 Japanese movie directed by Keita Kono. It stars Takao Osawa, Yasuko Matsuyuki, Arashi Fukasawa, and Ryoko Kobayashi, and runs about 109 minutes.

Seven-year-old Taichi finds a baby fox cub by a rural road in Hokkaido. The cub is blind, deaf, and mute, so Taichi names her Helen after Helen Keller. He takes her to a local veterinary clinic run by Ko and his teenage daughter Misuzu. Taichi’s mother, Ritsuko, is away working as a photographer.

Ko worries that the cub will be a burden, and many people around them are skeptical. Despite this, Taichi cares for Helen and tries to teach her about the world, even as Helen’s brain tumor causes seizures.

The film follows the growing bond between Taichi and Helen and the challenges they face. It opened in Japan on March 18, 2006, and in Singapore on July 27, 2006. It earned about US$1.46 million at the box office. The South China Morning Post said it is “the film for animal lovers.”