Toy Story ep 4: The Plastic Menace.

[Rob-Bert]

Derp. I meant Flintstones episodes like the "Man Named Flintstone" or whatever. I hated those episodes as a kid - and there was at least like one a season. Fred Flintstone is not a spy, damnit!

"The Man Called Flinstone" was actually a theatrical film, and I'd say it's a considerably grade better than a lot of those similarly-plotted TV episodes that you seem to be recalling.

[Radrappy]

saw cars 2 earlier today. It was pretty joyless. Definitely pixar's worst by far.

[Radrappy]

http://pixarblog.blogspot.com/2011/06/b ... gital.html

Check it out, he totally got sacked. Coincidence? Doubtful.

[Radrappy]

So I finally saw Karigurashi No Arrietty the other day and I must say it was a peculiar piece of work. It was clear almost immediately that Miyazaki didn't direct the film. From there, the film is an almost consistently boring 1.5 hours in which characters do and say things nobody cares about. Every now and then though the viewer is treated to such an appealing piece of animation or intimate scene that it almost makes you forget how mind numbing the damn thing is as a whole. Until of course, Arritetty and Sho's confrontation on the rock where both start giving speeches about shit nobody asked to hear about in the first place. It's pretty uncanny how robbed I felt during the ending scene where the main characters part ways, practically bawling, even though they haven't bonded or gotten to know each other at all during the course of the movie. The end result is a movie that while visually arresting, is devoid of any tension or warmth. It's still twice the movie Cars 2 is though. Anyone else see Arrietty yet? I imagine gibbon's seen it 8 times by now.


Oh! I forgot to mention this but the score is drop dead awful. It is shit.

[Malchik]

Oh! I forgot to mention this but the score is drop dead awful. It is shit.

Blame this chick. The main Celtic song is uninspired.

[Green Gibbon!]

Anyone else see Arrietty yet? I imagine gibbon's seen it 8 times by now.

The only Ghibli movie I've ever seen not directed by Miyazaki or Takahata was that cat thing. It seems like all the other directors they've got try very hard to mimic the Miyazaki style except none of them are as good at it. The studio would be a lot more relevant if it could break free of this one-style mold it's stuck in.

Speaking of different styles, I just saw My Neighbors the Yamadas for the first time a few weeks ago and completely loved it. I've heard people complain that it's not very funny, and I probably would've thought so too if I'd seen it before living in Japan. I still wouldn't call it a laugh-out-loud film, but I did just that two or three times. The scene where the grandmother absentmindedly slips the tax statements into the mailbox utterly slayed me. I kept giggling about that scene all night and again the first thing when I woke up the next morning.

I wish they'd speed up their Blu-ray release schedule.

[Pepperidge]

Anyone else see Arrietty yet? I imagine gibbon's seen it 8 times by now.

The only Ghibli movie I've ever seen not directed by Miyazaki or Takahata was that cat thing. It seems like all the other directors they've got try very hard to mimic the Miyazaki style except none of them are as good at it. The studio would be a lot more relevant if it could break free of this one-style mold it's stuck in.

Speaking of different styles, I just saw My Neighbors the Yamadas for the first time a few weeks ago and completely loved it. I've heard people complain that it's not very funny, and I probably would've thought so too if I'd seen it before living in Japan. I still wouldn't call it a laugh-out-loud film, but I did just that two or three times. The scene where the grandmother absentmindedly slips the tax statements into the mailbox utterly slayed me. I kept giggling about that scene all night and again the first thing when I woke up the next morning.

I wish they'd speed up their Blu-ray release schedule.

You haven't seen Whisper of the Heart? You really should. I mean, the director died from the stress of making it.

[Tsuyoshi-kun]

Whisper of the Heart is great aside from the ending. Hayao Miyazaki wrote it himself, if it helps interest you more.

[Green Gibbon!]

Oh yeah, that guy was supposed to be like their next great director and then he died after his first movie. I do want to see that one.

[Tsuyoshi-kun]

It and its sequel The Cat Returns are loosely connected (both are based on manga from the same woman), but Whisper of the Heart is way more down-to-Earth. I point this out to you as I know you didn't like The Cat Returns.

[Radrappy]

Yamadas is brilliant. I've never even been to Japan but I think its universal enough to be appreciated by all. The dub just doesn't work because the jokes are all VERY Japanese though. Whisper of the heart is awesome until

the ending

Don't know why but it was very unsatisfying. Check out "Only Yesterday" too. It's intimate and engaging.

[Crowbar]

Yamadas is my second favourite Ghibli film! It's funny you say the dub doesn't work, Radrappy, as for me it's the only Ghibli movie (or japanese thing in general) that I prefer to watch in english.

Only Yesterday ("Omohide Poroporo" in Japan)

[Crowbar]

Gah, that last sentence should read "Only Yesterday ("Omohide Poroporo" in Japan) is my first favourite, by the way." Goddamn edit limit.