The Quick Guide to the Films of Hayao Miyazaki (Part 2)
Last week I summarized my four favorite films by Hiyao Miyazaki. By popular demand (really, khiron1416 asked!), Here are my quick opinions on the remaining five.
5. Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind has one of the strongest female lead characters I've seen in an animated film. Nausicaä is smart, brave and marvelously competent. She has clearly earned the respect that the people of her small kingdom clearly have for her. The only real complaint I have about this film is that the whole ecosystem described makes so little sense that it bothered me while I was watching the film. I like internal consistency, or failing that, enough of it to get me through the movie before I start saying "what the heck?"
6. I would say that Kiki's Delivery Service is more of a kid's film than a family film. It's fun and cute and has a well executed original concept, but I felt it was sort of cutesy and not terribly interesting. However, I'm reliably informed that one of my favorite kindergartners really loves this movie so it's clear that I'm not in the target audience, and that's ok. Watch it with your favorite six year old, and enjoy the talking cat.
7. My memories of the first time I saw Howl's Moving Castle back in 2005 are fairly negative. I remember it being heavily political and not terribly good. When I saw it again this month I came away with a much more favorable impression of the film. The cast of supporting characters is quite interesting; Calcifer the fire-demon and the silent scarecrow are both particularly good. The animation is top-notch and the political elements didn't stand out as much as they did back in 2005. One aspect of the ending doesn't make a great deal of sense (ok, any sense) especially given how easy it would have been to throw in a single line and foreshadow it, but on the whole this is a solid film. I'd rate it higher if it weren't for my negative memories of the first viewing. Also, gieves tells me that they ruined the book when they made this movie version.
8. Miyazaki's female characters are generally pretty strong. I'm not saying that they all pass the Bechdel test or anything, but compared to the movie industry at large his female characters, both leading and supporting, are more than a match for any of his male characters in competence and intelligence. Unfortunately, Castle in the Sky is a major exception. The leader of the pirates is a tough, competent woman, but the female lead Sheeta is basically one step away from being a human McGuffin. Instead of her actions driving the plot, things happen to her. This might not have been so glaring a flaw if the rest of the film was up to snuff, but sadly it isn't. It's beautifully animated and the sky pirates are well done, but the bad guy is strictly one dimensional and the plot is weak. I'd say it is for completists only.
9. Ponyo is a film based on the story of the Little Mermaid. I had to learn that from reading the wiki article, because the film itself is a convoluted mess that borders on the verge of being incomprehensible. It is, however, absolutely gorgeously drawn. Some of the scenes with giant fish swimming over the flooded lands are as beautiful as any animation that has ever been put on screen, but it's not enough to overcome how bad the plot is. I guess I should have seen it with a six-year-old.
In further good news, the director of the Cleveland Cinematheque said that they are working very hard to get some of the other Studio Ghibli films on their schedule in early 2013. Since the only one of the non-Miyazaki films I've seen is Arrietty (which Miyazaki actually helped script but did not direct), I'm very much looking forward to that.
5. Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind has one of the strongest female lead characters I've seen in an animated film. Nausicaä is smart, brave and marvelously competent. She has clearly earned the respect that the people of her small kingdom clearly have for her. The only real complaint I have about this film is that the whole ecosystem described makes so little sense that it bothered me while I was watching the film. I like internal consistency, or failing that, enough of it to get me through the movie before I start saying "what the heck?"
6. I would say that Kiki's Delivery Service is more of a kid's film than a family film. It's fun and cute and has a well executed original concept, but I felt it was sort of cutesy and not terribly interesting. However, I'm reliably informed that one of my favorite kindergartners really loves this movie so it's clear that I'm not in the target audience, and that's ok. Watch it with your favorite six year old, and enjoy the talking cat.
7. My memories of the first time I saw Howl's Moving Castle back in 2005 are fairly negative. I remember it being heavily political and not terribly good. When I saw it again this month I came away with a much more favorable impression of the film. The cast of supporting characters is quite interesting; Calcifer the fire-demon and the silent scarecrow are both particularly good. The animation is top-notch and the political elements didn't stand out as much as they did back in 2005. One aspect of the ending doesn't make a great deal of sense (ok, any sense) especially given how easy it would have been to throw in a single line and foreshadow it, but on the whole this is a solid film. I'd rate it higher if it weren't for my negative memories of the first viewing. Also, gieves tells me that they ruined the book when they made this movie version.
8. Miyazaki's female characters are generally pretty strong. I'm not saying that they all pass the Bechdel test or anything, but compared to the movie industry at large his female characters, both leading and supporting, are more than a match for any of his male characters in competence and intelligence. Unfortunately, Castle in the Sky is a major exception. The leader of the pirates is a tough, competent woman, but the female lead Sheeta is basically one step away from being a human McGuffin. Instead of her actions driving the plot, things happen to her. This might not have been so glaring a flaw if the rest of the film was up to snuff, but sadly it isn't. It's beautifully animated and the sky pirates are well done, but the bad guy is strictly one dimensional and the plot is weak. I'd say it is for completists only.
9. Ponyo is a film based on the story of the Little Mermaid. I had to learn that from reading the wiki article, because the film itself is a convoluted mess that borders on the verge of being incomprehensible. It is, however, absolutely gorgeously drawn. Some of the scenes with giant fish swimming over the flooded lands are as beautiful as any animation that has ever been put on screen, but it's not enough to overcome how bad the plot is. I guess I should have seen it with a six-year-old.
In further good news, the director of the Cleveland Cinematheque said that they are working very hard to get some of the other Studio Ghibli films on their schedule in early 2013. Since the only one of the non-Miyazaki films I've seen is Arrietty (which Miyazaki actually helped script but did not direct), I'm very much looking forward to that.