A teaser trailer for the big screen adaption of the video game series Animal Crossing has gone live on the official site. The teaser doesn't show much, unsurprisingly, but it does give an early glimpse of the art style of the film and its cast of characters.

The movie, literally called Animal Forest Movie Edition, is based on the best selling Nintendo series of the same name, whose latest DS edition has posted phenomenal sales of over 3 million copies in Japan and is the top selling portable game in the region for this generation. The film's director is Joji Shimura, whose previous work includes the 2004 production New Amhaengeosa, and the movie is being written by Aya Matsui of Ranma 1/2 fame.

Animal Crossing the Movie is set for a release date in Japan of December 16th, 2006, and will be distributed theatrically by Toho. The film is being produced through a committee, although which companies are involved is of yet unknown.

The teaser trailer is located here while the movie's official site is found at doubutsunomori-movie.jp, and is fairly interesting to navigate for those familiar with the games.