Based on the fairy tale of the same name by Kenji Miyazawa, the anime tells the story of the protagonist Gusco Budori, who, after being separated from his parents and younger sister due to a famine caused by a severe freeze, strives to survive in the harsh natural environment and seeks ways to prevent such disasters from happening again. In 1994, a theatrical anime film directed by Ryutaro Nakamura was released. In 2008, Group Tac, the studio behind the 1985 adaptation of *Night on the Galactic Railroad*, announced plans to produce a new version of this work. Similar to *Night on the Galactic Railroad*, it was to be directed by Gisaburō Sugii, with character designs by Hiroshi Masumura, who is known for adapting Kenji Miyazawa's works into manga. As a result, the characters were redesigned to have cat-like appearances. The anime was originally scheduled for completion in the spring of 2009, but by September 2010, when Group Tac filed for bankruptcy, it remained unfinished. On September 30, 2011, the Agency for Cultural Affairs selected this theatrical anime as part of its "International Co-Production Film Support Program" for the fiscal year Heisei 23 (2011). Tezuka Productions took over the production. The creators expressed their hope that, following the Great East Japan Earthquake of March 11, the film would convey to disaster victims the courage to face natural calamities with resilience.