Okay, so I'm not entirely sure what the saddest movie I've ever seen in my life is... but this is definitely in the running. This is also the first review on the list that doesn't place Hayao Miyazaki in the writer's/director's chair. Therefore, we're getting ripped away from the charming fantasy and adventure that has taken place so far, and nose-diving into heavy drama from writer/director Isao Takahata. The premise really couldn't be more simple. A young man named Seita (Tsutomu Tatsumi/J. Robert Spencer/Adam Gibbs) finds himself desperately trying to take care of his little sister, Setsuko (Ayano Shiraishi/Rhoda Chrosite/Emily Neves) at the end of World War II, after a firebombing has left them alone to fend for themselves. The catch is, we know pretty much from the get-go what their fate is. Right from the opening scene, you know full well to grab that box of tissues 'cause this is gonna pull on your heartstrings something fierce. This is kinda right up there with something like 'Schindler's List' in that its really well done, but it's hard to sit through, knowing certain truths about certain things. This is, so far, the Ghibli movie to be taken the most seriously. It's an illustration of what Japan had to endure, post-war, showing us the other side of the coin. Let's just stop and think for a second how many families and lives were torn apart during that war from every side. This movie does a wonderful job at showing us that devastation wasn't just ours, it was everywhere. One may very well accuse this movie of pulling something like 'The Bucket List' does, in that it was made to throw something in your face that will make you tear up emotionally just because. But with this one, I kinda beg to differ. I think its a movie people should sit through and endure, even if only once. It displays an important message; a reminder of what nuclear war can accomplish - sheer and utter destruction. I really had no idea what I was even getting into with this movie, but it wowed me in a big way. Again though, it's at the emotional level to where it's a difficult title to sit through. There were moments I was thinking to myself "Jesus Christ, movie!" because it got so damn heavy. It doesn't hold back on anything, and it's very much a strange title to follow up 'Totoro' with, as that one was so innocent and sweet. I highly recommend checking this out, if only for a bit of untapped education on a major time in history. But to quote a friend who forewarned me before diving in, if you're gonna check it out, "I hope you're prepared for the emotional devastation you're about to endure". Fair warning. 4/5
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This is the first one I've come across in my viewing so far that seems to delve deeper into Japanese lore and traditions, any of which are brand spanking new to someone like me. That said, its a much more subtle story, dealing less with an epic adventure and more with a slice of life. Before jumping right in, however, I should be clear about something. There seem to be a few dubs of this movie, so I'm running under the assumption that the voices I heard were among the Disney version. In 1958, university professor Tatsuo Kusakabe (Shigesato Itoi/Greg Snegoff/Tim Daly) and his two daughters, Satsuki and Mei (Noriko Hidaka/Lisa Michelson/Dakota Fanning and Chika Sakamoto/Cheryl Chase/Elle Fanning, respectively) move into a new house. The mother of the family, Yasuko (Sumi Shimamoto/Alexandra Kenworthy/Lea Salonga) is recovering from a severe illness, so the house is located close by so they can visit her more often. Now, here's where it gets a little weird. They end up living with little back fuzzy fuzzball spirits called susuwatari. They learn that if they laugh loud enough, the spirits will go away. It doesn't take long before the family are perfectly comfortable in the new house, and these girls take to playing around the property, and discovering their new surroundings. One day, Mei follows a cute, bunny-eared spirit into a hidden grove, where she meets the likes of a much larger bunny-like spirit known as a Totoro (Hitoshi Takagi/Frank Welker) She takes a nap on top of him as though he's a gigantic teddy bear, and the next day is discovered all by her lonesome, as everything around her disappeared. This is where we see just how awesome the father of the family is, as he comforts her, suggesting she met the likes of the spirit of the forest. He kinda comes and goes as he wants to. So right away, we see just how tight this family is. The typical would tend to be no one believing Mei, and claiming her as being crazy. But here we have such a solid family dynamic that the father either straight up believes her, or, if not, certainly encourages her imagination. Anyway, the rest of the movie unfolds as sort of the back and forth meet-up with Totoro, where every time they get together, its something interesting. That's kind of about it though. You may wonder, who's the antagonist in this movie, and this is where things get sort of interesting, at least judging from my own perspective. Ghibli fans, please do feel free to correct me on anything I get "wrong" here, but this is just how I see the movie. The villain of the movie is really nothing more than Yasuko's illness. The hero of the movie is Totoro, who may or may not be a figment of Mei and Satsuki's imagination and/or dreams. The idea is that Totoro is a sort of guardian angel creature, if you will. He's there to be there for these girls in their time of need, as they are worried about what may or may not be happening with their mother. He's there to give them hope, and something to hang on to. Now, again, if I missed the point entirely, do feel free to correct me on things. This is only my guess at what Hayao Miyazaki may have been trying to accomplish. He furthermore seems to know exactly what he's doing when writing about the imagination of a small child. The way Mei's childlike innocence is captured is kinda something to be admired, and the whole thing adds a certain level of adorable charm to the whole thing. Fair warning though, they like to scream for no good random reason, which can get slightly annoying at times. I'm not sure I liked this one as much as the first couple, but its also certainly nothing bad. It is a breath of fresh air to see something a bit more simplified and innocent, and the film does have a heartwarming sense of humour throughout. What you essentially get in the end is the imaginative world through the eyes of Mei, and it's a pretty damn cool world. I just hope I didn't get confused as to what it all stood for, and missed the whole point in the end. 4/5 Up next we have a title that I'm actually revisiting for the first time in a couple of years. I remembered liking it back then, and I can happily say that it only gets better upon multiple viewings... even if its only my second. Right from the get-go, we learn that a young girl named Sheeta (Keiko Yokozawa/Lara Cody/Anna Paquin) has been kidnapped by a government agent named Muska (Minori Terada/Jeff Winkless/Mark Hamill). The ship is attacked by a band of bumbling pirates, lead by Captain Dola (Cloris Leachman). One thing leads to another, Sheeta falls from the airship, and lands in the presence of a boy named Pazu (Mayumi Tanaka/Barbara Goodson/James Van Der Beek). she survives this fall by being guided by the "levitation stone" she wears around her neck. The pair form a very solid friendship pretty much right from the beginning, and Pazu tells Sheeta of a floating island known as Laputa; an apparent myth, but something Pazu's father brought home clear photographic evidence of. Soon enough, long story short, the duo find themselves set on an adventure, teaming up with unlikely characters, on the run from the government, and on course for Laputa, itself. One fairly consistent theme throughout Hayao Miyazaki's films is, evidently, flight. This movie has that by the truckloads, and it makes for some of its most appealing charm. Some of the scenery we get in this is just plain beautiful, showing off vast landscapes and breathtaking views. Once again, no surprise, but the animation is easily one of the best parts of this title. Characters in this one, I sort of meet in the middle. For me, I can't help but love Pazu. He's a scrappy little go-getter, willing to risk everything to help out this girl who fell from the sky. You just can't help but find the kid charming. Sheeta, on the other hand, I have to admit wasn't entirely interesting to me. That said, I was able to empathize with her overall situation just fine. She's confused as to a lot of what's going on and ultimately just wants to get back home. I think its perhaps that after someone like Nausicaa, Sheeta kinda takes away from that strong female lead. She has her talents, to be sure, but ultimately she sort of ends up being the typical princess who needs rescuing. Perhaps the most interesting character to me here was, surprisingly, Dola. If I say too much about it, it approaches a bit of spoiler territory, but let's just say she plays an interesting contrasting character. One might say a "true neutral". As for Muska, he's the villain doing his villain thing. Unlike a character like Princess Kushana of 'Nausicaa', there's not a whole lot of depth to him. He's just kind of a jerk after what he wants. So the characters here kinda just level out for me. What really makes this movie special though, is the overall storytelling. When you stop to think about it, the whole thing feels like a truly original concept, especially when you get down to some of the finer plot points. And I have to say, it's awesome to see the relationship that Sheeta and Pazu have. It's like there's a sort of unspoken something between them, but they still consistently come across as just really good friends. In other words, the romantic side of things never gets much in the way of the storytelling. If there's a charming moment between them, it lends itself to the plot going on outside of their relationship. At the end of the day, I think this will end up being one of my favourites of the series that I keep going back to, and enjoying more upon multiple viewings. I know that's a super bold statement, considering how much I have left to go, but there was so much more to enjoy here than to dislike. The animation, the concept and the soundtrack are all aspects of the movie I really loved. Even if a few characters were a bit weaker, it wasn't enough to take anything away. It's a high-flying fantasy adventure with a lot of imagination and charm - what's not to like? 5/5 For starters, it seems apparent that this title isn't really an official Ghibli title. However, it is the title that begins to pave the way for Ghibli's overall success, by bringing animation into a more serious and dramatic tone with some pretty amazing storytelling. Nausicaä' takes place some thousand years into the future. Things are post-apocalyptic, following nuclear war known as the "Seven Days of Fire", and a Toxic Jungle, full of toxic plants has been taken over by giant insects. These giant insects are of interest to Princess Nausicaä (Sumi Shimamoto/Alison Lohman), as she explores this jungle, and attempts to communicate with the creatures, and get to know a little more about them. Meanwhile, the people of Tolmekia, get their hands on a gigantic bioweapon known as a Giant Warrior (a.k.a God Warrior) - one of the weapons that ultimately caused the Seven Days of Fire. They eventually plan to mature it and use it to lay waste to the toxic jungle, which, in turn, has Nausicaa fighting for the rights of these creatures, having established a bit of a peace with them, herself. In truth, this can be a bit of a tough one to review, as there's just so much going on in it. Speaking for myself, I have to admit that it would take multiple viewings to fully understand everything in full detail. It's the kind of movie where if you turn away for a few seconds, you might miss something important. That said, what I did follow, I enjoyed. One may very well compare this to something along the line of 'Avatar' or 'Dances with Wolves' but here's the thing; this predates just about any movie I can think of with such similar plot points. Of course, to say the animation is really quite beautiful would be kind of a moot point, as the same thing applies to just about anything from this studio. We had some great animation going on in North America for the time, to be sure, but these Ghibli flims take us to strange, new worlds, and crank the imagination up to eleven. So, I kinda wish I had something better to offer for a review, but the good news is that I have always kind of appreciated this kind of story. Different movies execute it in different ways, but hell, I'm just gonna say it, THIS is the most imaginative way I've seen it done. I mean, sure, 'Avatar' was cool and all, but I actually find it kinda weak without the aspect of the amazing 3D effects. Let's face facts, almost 10 years later, the 3D was REALLY what made that movie so amazing. As I said before; this predates it - by about 25 years. More to appreciate about this movie is some of its characters. Nausicaä, herself, is most definitely a strong female protagonist, both in kick-assery and in overall personality. Lord Yupa (Goro Naya/Patrick Stewart), may not be around much, but he's pretty damn kick-ass himself with his swordsmanship, and his wisdom. But a most interesting addition is princess Kushana (Yoshiko Sakakibara/Uma Thurman). She's the main antagonist of the film, but she's much like Thanos, or Vulture (from 'Spidey: Homecoming') in that we can see both sides of her coin. She's not just evil for the sake of evil. She wants the toxic jungle destroyed so that humanity can develop. It's definitely something I'll be revisiting in the near future, in order to get a bit more out of it. But I am happy to say that I've taken a genuine interest in this collection. I look forward to seeing a lot of the titles I've heard so much about, along with revisiting some I've seen only one, a couple of years ago. 4/5 |
AboutAs anime is an all-around untapped resource for my viewing pleasure, I have decided to explore the Ghibli titles, one-by-one. It seemed good a place to start as any. I'll be focusing on these titles throughout the month of August. ArchivesCategories
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