Long Long Night (Korean:긴긴밤) is a 2026 South Korean 3D animated drama film directed by Youm Kyu-bock. Based on children's book of the same name by Ruri and narrated by Bae Suzy, the film chronicles the moving lives of a rhino and a penguin as they traverse a vast, ever-changing wilderness brimming with natural beauty and human-generated danger.
Norden, a white boulder rhinoceros, is raised by a herd of elephants after being separated from his own kind. As he grows older, he leaves the sanctuary and travels through the wilderness, and eventually finds other rhinoceroses, falls in love and becomes a father, but his family is destroyed by poaching. Later, Norden finds an abandoned penguin egg and protects it until it hatches. He and the young penguin form an unlikely bond and set out to find the ocean, facing predators, captivity and human poachers along the way.
Subsequently it had its Korean Premiere in the Competition section of the 31st Busan International Film Festival on October 8, 2026 and vied for 'Busan Awards'. It was also screened in Anima't section on 17 October 2026 at the 59th Sitges Film Festival.
Finecut acquired the international sales rights of the film and presented it at European Film Market in February 2026. Japan based Geek Pictures acquired Japanese rights of the film in September 2026.
Reception
Critical response
Christopher Llewellyn Reed of Film Festival Today rated the film 3.5 out of 5 stars. He praised the film's underlying message but felt that its emotional impact was sometimes weakened by excessive sentimentality, particularly in the musical score, though he found no major fault with the music apart from its overemphasis sometimes. Reed appreciated the film's message and concluded that its portrayal of sorrow reflected a bleak outlook on humanity's future.
↑"韓애니 '긴긴밤', 토론토 먼저 사로잡았다 "극장 전체 흐느껴 울었다""[Korean Animation 'Long, Long Night' Captivates Toronto First: “Entire Theater Wept”]. Herald Muse (in Korean). Naver. September 21, 2026. Retrieved September 21, 2026.
