Anime Movies: Satoshi Kon, Ghibli and Miyazaki
In general I don't watch a lot of anime movies. I am personally more interested in series which I feel allow more time for character and plot development. I also like how anime series (for the most part) don't go on and on forever like American TV shows. So instead we are presented with a story over a period of episodes sort of like a novel or mini-series.
But that being said lately I've been trying to watch more anime movies based on director or studio.
Spoilers and me rambling on and on Behind Cuts
I ended up renting both Tokyo Godfathers and Millennium Actress. Prior to this I have never seen anything by Kon (although of course I've heard of him. Tokyo Godfathers was a nice story to watch once but I can't say it amazed me in anyway. But then again gritty realistic movies aren't really my thing. The relationship between the 3 main characters was well written though.
Millennium Actress on the otherhand was quite subperb. As someone who loves historical fiction this movie was right up my alley. I also really liked how the movie chronicled Japanese film history and although it was a little confusing I liked how the story blended in Chiyoko's past with her films. Very well done. My only complaint is I thought the camera guys interjected in the story for humor didn't really work so well and killed some of the mood of the scenes (although the one camera guy being in love with Chiyoko was a nice touch). And the ending is one of my favorites ever. The last line really tied everything together perfectly.
Of course I've seen Studio Ghibli films before but I've had a desire to see more recently.
Starting with Howl's Moving Castle which I rented a few weekends ago. I'm not sure what took me so long to watch this. I really enjoyed it not as much as some other Ghibli films but it was still fun. And the animation was top notch. I especially liked how Sophie changed back and forth from the old to young at certain moments when her convictions were really strong (a subtle nice touch.) I ended up watching this dubbed because I am a big fan of Christain Bale who does the voice of Howl. John Lasseter bragged this was the best english dub for a foreign film yet. Of course it's not fair to compare live action dubs to cartoon dubs but I have to say if not the best dub this dub was extremely well done. Besides Howl, I also really liked the actresses who played Sophie (there were two in the dub, one in the sub). Anyways the book is now on my reading list since I know it is a lot different from the movie.
Next I ended up buying My Neigbor Totoro and Whisper of the Heart since I knew there was no way I would find them to rent. Normally I don't buy movies without seeing them first but for Studio Ghibli I make an exception.
I am very sad that we will not be able to see anything more from Yoshifumi Kondou because Whisper of the Heart was a great start for his directing career. I thought the relationship between Shizuku and Seiji was especially sweet. At first I didn't really like that Seiji asked Shizuku to marry him at the end when he was leaving her for many years to study how to make violins (I thought the "I love you" would be sufficient) but after reading Miyazaki's explanation to this, the scene makes more sense. Miyazaki wanted to put the forth the message that if you have a goal you should go for it. There is no need to be wishywashy. Reflecting back on the whole film with Shizuku's writing and Seiji leaving home to make his violin. The two children deciding for sure that they want to marry when Seiji finishes his studies does tie into this very well.
I watched this movie subbed and rewatched certain scenes dub. The voices for this dub were fine but I noticed something very alarming. Disney changed lines that ended up changing the story. Disney had Seiji say he was going to go to HS and then study violins. This really bothers me because this is not what he said. I realize that Disney didn't want to push the message of a child dropping out of school but Seiji was going to a vocational school that's all. Also Seiji does ask Shizuku to marry him in the Disney dub but it doesn't sound as firm and then he calls it corny. This ruins the message Miyazaki was trying to portray in my opinion. Leave it to Disney.
And I wish Disney would add subtitles for the songs.
My Neighbor Totoro is now my absolute favorite Miyazaki, Ghibli films and my second favorite Ghibli film behind Grave of the Fireflies. Totoro was shown as a double feature with Fireflies so I guess it's fitting that it should be my other favorite. Some people might think Totoro is too simple and in a way it is but I think that is the beauty of it. By the end of this movie I was crying out of pure happiness and I don't think any movie has made me feel that way in a long time. Absolutely beautiful and I loved every moment of it. This movie was the perfect reflection of innocence and childhood.
And now I really want to see Takahata's Only Yesterday but of course it is not released on DVD here. D:.
Lupin the III: The Castle of Cagliostro- This is another movie I bought on a whim because on anime academy there was a post on what everyone's favorite Miyazaki film and a good number of people put this film. Although not my absolute favorite I can see why this movie is so loved. This is the first movie Miyazaki ever directed and you can see even back then (1979) he was bound for greatness. I was never really interested in Lupin III before this but with just this one movie I fell in love with all the characters. Anyone who likes the older James Bond movies will feel right at home with Lupin (although Lupin is a thief not a spy.) This movie is a ton of fun. I also believe this is the oldest anime title I've seen and although the animation does look a little dated it did not distract me from enjoying this movie in the least. This movie seems to be the inspiration of a lot of other films and it is rumored (though not confirmed) that Spielberg called it one of the greatest adventure movies of all time. I highly recommend it.
Edit: Since I uploaded these for myself I thought I would share the following songs
Whisper of the Heart: Country Road http://www.sendspace.com/file/lp4kdy
Laputa: Kimi wo Nosete (not talked about here but another Ghibli film I really loved)
http://www.sendspace.com/file/wel9p4
Lupin III: Fire Treasure
http://www.sendspace.com/file/ixkxop
My Neighbor Totoro: Opening and Ending theme songs
http://www.sendspace.com/file/ry1na4
http://www.sendspace.com/file/ugm46j
But that being said lately I've been trying to watch more anime movies based on director or studio.
Spoilers and me rambling on and on Behind Cuts
I ended up renting both Tokyo Godfathers and Millennium Actress. Prior to this I have never seen anything by Kon (although of course I've heard of him. Tokyo Godfathers was a nice story to watch once but I can't say it amazed me in anyway. But then again gritty realistic movies aren't really my thing. The relationship between the 3 main characters was well written though.
Millennium Actress on the otherhand was quite subperb. As someone who loves historical fiction this movie was right up my alley. I also really liked how the movie chronicled Japanese film history and although it was a little confusing I liked how the story blended in Chiyoko's past with her films. Very well done. My only complaint is I thought the camera guys interjected in the story for humor didn't really work so well and killed some of the mood of the scenes (although the one camera guy being in love with Chiyoko was a nice touch). And the ending is one of my favorites ever. The last line really tied everything together perfectly.
Of course I've seen Studio Ghibli films before but I've had a desire to see more recently.
Starting with Howl's Moving Castle which I rented a few weekends ago. I'm not sure what took me so long to watch this. I really enjoyed it not as much as some other Ghibli films but it was still fun. And the animation was top notch. I especially liked how Sophie changed back and forth from the old to young at certain moments when her convictions were really strong (a subtle nice touch.) I ended up watching this dubbed because I am a big fan of Christain Bale who does the voice of Howl. John Lasseter bragged this was the best english dub for a foreign film yet. Of course it's not fair to compare live action dubs to cartoon dubs but I have to say if not the best dub this dub was extremely well done. Besides Howl, I also really liked the actresses who played Sophie (there were two in the dub, one in the sub). Anyways the book is now on my reading list since I know it is a lot different from the movie.
Next I ended up buying My Neigbor Totoro and Whisper of the Heart since I knew there was no way I would find them to rent. Normally I don't buy movies without seeing them first but for Studio Ghibli I make an exception.
I am very sad that we will not be able to see anything more from Yoshifumi Kondou because Whisper of the Heart was a great start for his directing career. I thought the relationship between Shizuku and Seiji was especially sweet. At first I didn't really like that Seiji asked Shizuku to marry him at the end when he was leaving her for many years to study how to make violins (I thought the "I love you" would be sufficient) but after reading Miyazaki's explanation to this, the scene makes more sense. Miyazaki wanted to put the forth the message that if you have a goal you should go for it. There is no need to be wishywashy. Reflecting back on the whole film with Shizuku's writing and Seiji leaving home to make his violin. The two children deciding for sure that they want to marry when Seiji finishes his studies does tie into this very well.
I watched this movie subbed and rewatched certain scenes dub. The voices for this dub were fine but I noticed something very alarming. Disney changed lines that ended up changing the story. Disney had Seiji say he was going to go to HS and then study violins. This really bothers me because this is not what he said. I realize that Disney didn't want to push the message of a child dropping out of school but Seiji was going to a vocational school that's all. Also Seiji does ask Shizuku to marry him in the Disney dub but it doesn't sound as firm and then he calls it corny. This ruins the message Miyazaki was trying to portray in my opinion. Leave it to Disney.
And I wish Disney would add subtitles for the songs.
My Neighbor Totoro is now my absolute favorite Miyazaki, Ghibli films and my second favorite Ghibli film behind Grave of the Fireflies. Totoro was shown as a double feature with Fireflies so I guess it's fitting that it should be my other favorite. Some people might think Totoro is too simple and in a way it is but I think that is the beauty of it. By the end of this movie I was crying out of pure happiness and I don't think any movie has made me feel that way in a long time. Absolutely beautiful and I loved every moment of it. This movie was the perfect reflection of innocence and childhood.
And now I really want to see Takahata's Only Yesterday but of course it is not released on DVD here. D:.
Lupin the III: The Castle of Cagliostro- This is another movie I bought on a whim because on anime academy there was a post on what everyone's favorite Miyazaki film and a good number of people put this film. Although not my absolute favorite I can see why this movie is so loved. This is the first movie Miyazaki ever directed and you can see even back then (1979) he was bound for greatness. I was never really interested in Lupin III before this but with just this one movie I fell in love with all the characters. Anyone who likes the older James Bond movies will feel right at home with Lupin (although Lupin is a thief not a spy.) This movie is a ton of fun. I also believe this is the oldest anime title I've seen and although the animation does look a little dated it did not distract me from enjoying this movie in the least. This movie seems to be the inspiration of a lot of other films and it is rumored (though not confirmed) that Spielberg called it one of the greatest adventure movies of all time. I highly recommend it.
Edit: Since I uploaded these for myself I thought I would share the following songs
Whisper of the Heart: Country Road http://www.sendspace.com/file/lp4kdy
Laputa: Kimi wo Nosete (not talked about here but another Ghibli film I really loved)
http://www.sendspace.com/file/wel9p4
Lupin III: Fire Treasure
http://www.sendspace.com/file/ixkxop
My Neighbor Totoro: Opening and Ending theme songs
http://www.sendspace.com/file/ry1na4
http://www.sendspace.com/file/ugm46j