The GHZ Forum

First, I want to disclaim. This topic is not of Sonic intent, but rather of Studio Ghibli. I don’t know if it’s rude (or stupid) for a newbie to post a slightly off-topic thread... but looking through some old threads, I’ve seen some talk of Miyazaki and co., so here goes.

It started with my aggravated verbal comments towards FOX that I did not want to watch baseball tonight, but would in fact prefer to watch Family Guy. Having warmed up a pizza, but now without anything to watch while eating it, I began to dig through my video drawer, desperate to watch something I hadn’t seen 10 times over or wasn’t interested in.

It’s probably a good idea to point out here that I have Japanese relatives who send me stuff every half-decade or so. Usually, there’s a children’s movie in there, and one such movie was My Neighbor Totoro, in Japanese of course, which I had fallen in love with in my childhood, which inevitably lead to my interest in all Studio Ghibli movies, especially Princess Mononoke and Kiki’s Delivery Service.

Anyway, all these Japanese movies had been crammed into one side of the drawer, along with Godzilla movies and nature documentaries, and looking through them, I happened upon a blank tape cover. Opening, I discovered the words "Jiburi ga ippai collection," and beneath, Mimi o Sumaseba. I didn’t realize it immediately, but I was beholding what in English has become known as Whisper of the Heart, a movie that hasn’t seen release yet in the West (I guess). Even without knowing what the movie title was, I recognized it as a Studio Ghibli movie and was thus excited to watch it.

As I did, I quickly recognized it as the prequel to The Cat Returns, which recently saw its American release. This made me even more excited, as The Cat Returns competes with Kiki as my favorite “cuteâ€￾ Ghibli movie. So I watched the movie with eagerness. I’m in the middle of my Japanese language education, so I was only able to pick up about 10% of the dialogue, but speech connotation, movements, etc. (all of which, of course, were performed with normal Ghibli excellence) made up for what I didn’t understand. From that, I gathered the main character, Shizuku’s, personality, conflicts, and interest in writing, and her romance and connection with Seiji, the young violin genius, among other themes. Altogether, it made for a good and *ahem* magical movie and brought back some of the joy of the rest of the Jiburi collection.

So there’s today’s news. I guess the true point of this topic is for posts about Ghibli and the like.
And again, excuse me for being out of line.

<a href="http://www.boxtorrents.com/details.php?id=10389">If you want, you can get Whisper of the Heart subtitled by clicking here.</a>
It's definately a good movie, even though it's not really as phantasmal as most other Ghibli movies I have. But yes, The Cat Returns is definately one of my favorites as well.
I wish On Your Mark would be picked up in the US, though.

I actually didn't like The Cat Returns. I watched it once, and I don't really consider it a waste of 90 minutes, but I have no plans to watch it again. Ever. I got the same sort of feeling from it as I did from The Emporer's New Groove... I enjoyed it while it was playing, but when it was done, it felt like absolutely nothing had been accomplished. It utterly failed to trigger any responses other than dumb amusement.

It's a good hollow kids' movie, I guess, but even then the ending bothered me. All of a sudden this girl's all grown up or something, but absolutely nothing happened during the course of the movie that would've triggered this maturation. The character remained very static throughout, and the sudden shift at the epilogue felt very out of place.

Not a bad movie, but not what I was expecting, and certainly not in the same league as Kiki.

Was anyone else disappointed with Howl's Moving Castle?
Make no mistake, I did enjoy it very much. However throughout the movie I felt that it was missing a lot of polish compared to any other ghibli production. There were instances of lazy animation and inconsistencies (I'm of course not referring to sophie, as that was intended.) That, and the story itself was not especially memorable. Even the soundtrack consisted of repeated variations of the same theme (although I do find the music very good).

Green Gibbon! wrote:Not a bad movie, but not what I was expecting, and certainly not in the same league as Kiki.

Heh. I was expecting someone to say that. It's odd that I'd find The Cat Returns so entertaining ... I truely believe it's because I am shallow. Still, it certainly isn't as good as Kiki, but it, in my book, gives her a run for the money.

Radrappy wrote:Was anyone else disappointed with Howl's Moving Castle?
Make no mistake, I did enjoy it very much. However throughout the movie I felt that it was missing a lot of polish compared to any other ghibli production. There were instances of lazy animation and inconsistencies (I'm of course not referring to sophie, as that was intended.) That, and the story itself was not especially memorable. Even the soundtrack consisted of repeated variations of the same theme (although I do find the music very good).

I felt very much the same way. I left the theatre feeling like "Well, that was an excellent movie, but it didn't stand out too much, did it?" Nevertheless, the movie was successful in establishing a wizardly sense of feeling, something that seems very hard to reproduce in film. And now that I think back on it, there were a lot of moments in the movie that DID stand out and that I'll probably never forget. Mainly, of course, is the subject of the title -- the moving castle in its physical sense was awesome, but all its variations, and the color-coded door, made just as much of an impact. I also was impressed with the feeling of the environments, most noteably the warzone, the palace, the fields, and the inside of Howl's house.
And, of course, the scarecrow. That was a very cool scarecrow.
So, any disappointments in the technical sense I thought were made up for with usual superb storytelling, setting, and ... cast of characters, but that's a whole other paragraph.

I enjoyed Howl a lot more than Spirited Away. I think Porco Rosso is my favourite, though, closely followed by Princess Mononoke.

I'll always have a soft spot for Totoro. But honestly, it's really hard to pick a favourite.

Was anyone else disappointed with Howl's Moving Castle?

I was. It didn't have that "oomph" that I thought it had.
~Neo

I'm probably the only Ghibli fan on Earth who didn't like My Neighbor Totoro. I found it too slow. I do like the Totoro, and the movie is filled with imagination and cool things like the giant cat bus, but both times I've watched I've had to fast forward through scenes where nothing happens.

I didn't care much for Nausicaa, either. Like Green Gibbon! pointed out before, it was an early Miyazaki work, and it shows (I also hate the music). His follow-up films, though, Castle in the Sky and Kiki's Delivery Service, were excellent, as is Spirited Away. Howl's Moving Castle was great until the last half hour, Princess Mononoke was decent but long, and I haven't seen Porco Rosso (or Grave of the Fireflies) yet.

I thought The Cat Returns was a pretty good film, though certainly not a classic film by any means, or nowhere along the lines of Miyazaki's ventures. I'm probably the only person who saw the film who likes Haru.

and I haven't seen Porco Rosso (or Grave of the Fireflies) yet.

Grave of the Fireflies wasn't directed by Miyazaki, but it's an excellent film nonetheless. The only thing that bothered me was the character Seita, who ultimately just kind of turned out to be the perfect little tragic hero. The writer of the original novel (which was semi-autobiographical) admits that Seita's emotions were not nearly as dynamic as his own, because he experienced both joy and sadness after his sister's death. He loved her, but was weary of having to care for her. If the character Seita had been that multifaceted, I think it would've been an infinitely more interesting movie, though it's excellent as-is.

I don't think I could pick a favorite out of the Miyazaki films specifically. I like them all in different ways. Laputa is the one I seem to return to most often, though I don't know if it's necessarily my favorite or if it's just the one I find most relaxing. (Also, I still haven't seen Howl or Totoro.)

Call me a heathen but I just love Castle of Cagliostro.

He loved her, but was weary of having to care for her. If the character Seita had been that multifaceted, I think it would've been an infinitely more interesting movie, though it's excellent as-is.

I wouldn't mind seeing that either, although I'd probably feel a sense of guilt inside as a result, topped along with all the other feelings I get whenever I watch that film (I always feel a slight sense of disturbance in Grave of the Fireflies whenever I watch it).
~Neo

j-man wrote:Call me a heathen but I just love Castle of Cagliostro.

Hello, fellow heathen!

My allegiances shift depending on which movies I have seen recently or blurred with nostalgia in my mind, but Porco Rosso and Howl's Moving Castle are pretty high up on the list right now. The Scarecrow was cool but ended up as kind of a cop-out, but I really enjoyed the movie as a whole. The Cat Returns always struck me as fun, but not as a film of any great depth. I enjoyed the animation as a departure from the norm of Ghibli.

I haven't seen Castle of Cagliostro yet, but it's high on my to-see list. I'd love to see how Miyazaki handles Lupin's eccentric character.

I have to agree that a favorite is very hard to choose. Mononokehime is probably the darkest, so I'll always be attracted to it. I think The Cat Returns is one of the more fun films, from the main character's clumsy perkiness to the Baron's coolness to the rest of the cast's utter insanity. Howl's Moving Castle had the most devices and subthemes; Totoro, while a definate kid's movie, will always hold a place in my heart; and Grave of the Fireflies, while disturbing, was incrediably successful in depicting pure emotion (I find it interesting that Totoro and Fireflies were released in the same year). I thought Porco Rosso was a little boring, but it was certainly classic, and Porco was the definition of cool. Laputa and Kiki are rather on the same page -- they're different in many ways, but seem to have the same feeling, perhaps because the main character in both is a girl in a blue robe who makes friends with absolutely everyone.
But what about My Neighbors the Yamadas? Certainly not the most thrilling film, and not directed by Miyazaki besides, but it was effective in its poetry and everyday humor.

...How many more are there? Not enough, anyway.

I always say Porco Rosso is my favorite but it's hard to tell if it's actually true or not.

I liked the Yamadas, but I can't shake the feeling it would have worked better as a series of seperate shorts rather than a film.

G Silv, is that Sky Puppy?

No, that is SkyDog. SkyDog was going to be the name of the game initially (in my mind anyway) but everyone thought it sounded like a WW2 fighter plane game or something so we changed it.

But if it was a war-themed game, this is what the SkyDog might have looked like!

Esrever wrote:I liked the Yamadas, but I can't shake the feeling it would have worked better as a series of seperate shorts rather than a film.

That's the way I comprehended it. I tried to ignore the idea that there was any kind of continuity.
I hardly even remember any of the jokes they made. The only two I can remember are the one where the grandmother chases off some hoodlums and the father becomes a superhero in his shame, and the one where everyone becomes forgetful because of ... what was it? Carrots? (irony)

Ginger!

G.Silver wrote:No, that is SkyDog. SkyDog was going to be the name of the game initially (in my mind anyway) but everyone thought it sounded like a WW2 fighter plane game or something so we changed it.

But if it was a war-themed game, this is what the SkyDog might have looked like!

Now I wish it was a war-themed game.

SkyDog is awesome.

I always get Whispers of the Heart confused with this other non-Ghibli but "serious" anime about this family, and there's a scene where they are saddened because they were going to eat this pineapple and it turned out that it was underripe when they cut into it and the whole day was ruined somehow. It was very depressing.

Now I wish it was a war-themed game.

There's always this level.

Sure, if you get that far.

G.Silver wrote:

Now I wish it was a war-themed game.

There's always this level.

<3!

You where disappointed by the dub version of Howl's Moving Castle, or by the original Japanese version with subtitles?