What cartoon is this?

Post by **Erik_Twice** » Sat Mar 24, 2012 8:36 am

Perhaps. I know I'm too harsh on him for someone who only remembers Howl and Ponyo. Sure, there are many out there that think they are as good or better than his early work, but I know they aren't as well received as Totoro or Spirited Away.

I have to ask, did he use so much CGI in his early films? It's quite distracting in Ponyo and doesn't look as well as he thinks it does

Post by **RCBH928** » Sat Mar 24, 2012 9:07 am

yes yes you are right
I saw that movie but totally forgot it,
TOTORO was a huge upset to me, I am not sure what is all the fuss about. Looked to me less than average as anime, its too weird. As if people are looking for the wide imagination, I think any one can create such a wide imagination. Its simple, think of what is NOT possible, and draw it.

Over all I see Japanese Anime very over rated, their fans are about to go crazy about them, yet they range within the 6-9/10 for me. I just don't see what is so exciting about them. None the less, its a great change from the American formula for creating animation or movies.

Post by **jay_red** » Sat Mar 24, 2012 1:00 pm

I was introduced to Miyazaki's films just a couple years ago by my fiance, so there is no nostalgia involved, and I think they are great movies (the few I have seen). Sprited Away is my favorite that I have seen, I really enjoyed Howel's Moving Castle, but the book was much better, and told a very different story. I 'm surprised that nobody has mentioned Princess Mononoke yet, that one was very good as well.

Post by **indecks** » Sat Mar 24, 2012 1:42 pm

Nemoide wrote:Miyazaki has made some less than stellar titles, especially of late (Howl's Moving Castle).

?

Howl was awesome. Not as good as Spirited Away or Mononoke, but it was great.

Post by **Ivo** » Sat Mar 24, 2012 1:42 pm

jay_red wrote:I was introduced to Miyazaki's films just a couple years ago by my fiance, so there is no nostalgia involved, and I think they are great movies (the few I have seen). Sprited Away is my favorite that I have seen, I really enjoyed Howel's Moving Castle, but the book was much better, and told a very different story. I 'm surprised that nobody has mentioned Princess Mononoke yet, that one was very good as well.

Agree with this post - I haven't seen the movies as a kid.

I'm interested in this as well - what do the guys that are panning Miazaki think about Mononoke? From the ones I saw, that is the one I liked best (although I'm willing to concede Spirited Away is probably higher quality overall).

Howl's Moving Castle was also good, but not as good I think (about the different story, I think Miyazaki is strongly pacifist so that may explain the changes).

He does have a bunch of movies that are basically nothing going on, like Kiki's Delivery Service (I liked Totoro more) which are probably the kind of movies that are not so appealing to many in this thread.

Ivo.

Post by **GameMasterGuy** » Sat Mar 24, 2012 1:43 pm

Yeah, Kiki's pretty meh. I don't see why there's so much hate for Howl's Moving Castle, though. It's easily as good as Spirited Away IMO, and much better than Totoro, which in turn isn't that bad, just not as awesome as his other works.

Post by **Key-Glyph** » Sat Mar 24, 2012 8:41 pm

I didn't see any Miyazaki films until I was in college, and only Princess Mononoke felt solid enough to live up to the hype. It's the only one I've seen that felt like one coherent expression instead of a bunch of random, fanciful ideas slapped together by a somewhat weak premise -- but keep in mind I have not seen them all.

If an author of a creative work doesn't convince me to believe in his or her world of storytelling I get very disappointed. I'm not saying the premises have to be complicated; I just have to be made to believe there are rules and reasons for what's happening instead of a catch-all "anything is possible here!" Artists can have the coolest character ideas imaginable or execute individual scenes masterfully, but if they rely on the "everything makes sense without question because it's an alternative dimension and/or dream state and/or magical world" trope as an explanation, I don't get immersed. This is generally how I've felt with Miyazaki stuff -- particularly Spirited Away.

I will add that I enjoyed Ponyo, but it's because I found her ridiculously adorable as a fish and thought the initial quiet scenes between her and Susuke were wonderful. I didn't get too invested in the larger story of it, though.

Post by **bladerunner** » Sat Mar 24, 2012 9:57 pm

Miyazaki films in order of greatness (IMHO):

Princess Mononoke
Castle in the Sky
Spirited Away
Nausicaa
Kiki's Delivery Service
Porco Rosso
The Castle of Cagliostro
Howl's Moving Castle
Ponyo
My Neighbor Totoro

The top 5 to me are vary just slightly in terms of their greatness to me. All are awesome. But I agree, Totoro I just never got. Ponyo was ok as well.

As far as other Ghibli films go, Whisper of the Heart was great as was The Cat Returns. Tales from Earthsea is hands down the worst Ghibli film, and it is an ok film, not terrible. The one that never gets enough attention is Only Yesterday. Great film. I recorded it off TCM some years back and it is a real shame it has not received a DVD release here in North America. I understand Disney has some issue with the film as it contains some frank talk about girls and their periods. Give me a break.

Post by **Michi** » Sat Mar 24, 2012 10:42 pm

My personal favorite Ghibli movie list, in order (Mind you, I'm only including the one's I've seen):

Nausicaa or My Neighbor Totoro (I can't decide)
Spirited Away
Princess Mononoke
Howl's Moving Castle
The Castle of Cagliostro
Kiki's Delivery Service
Whisper of the Heart
Only Yesterday
Secret World of Arrietty
Ponyo

I'm not saying they're all on the same level, or that being lower on the list means they're a bad film. I don't think Ghibli has ever really put out a bad film, just one's that weren't up to par with others. I view them the same way I view Pixar. I may not enjoy some of their films as much as others (I'm looking at you Cars), but I can't really say they've made anything bad.

bladerunner wrote: The one that never gets enough attention is Only Yesterday. Great film. I recorded it off TCM some years back and it is a real shame it has not received a DVD release here in North America. I understand Disney has some issue with the film as it contains some frank talk about girls and the periods. Give me a break.

Completely agree. I'd love a release of Only Yesterday. I watched both versions when TCM aired them (That's when I first saw Whisper of the Heart and fell in love with it) and was really disappointed that they didn't give it a release. Sometimes Disney can be really disappointing. They'll release a movie like John Carter, a total dud filled with violence, but one little instance of a conversation of natural bodily functions and they go and freak out. I'm not even sure I'd want to get the film if they did bother to release it because I have a horrible fear that they'd want to edit it in some way.

Post by **Runefaust** » Sun Mar 25, 2012 5:20 am

I grew up watching some Studio Ghibli animated movies. Miyazaki-san's works have a very distinct feel and appeal to them, and it's not for everyone. I honestly can't stand the man's personal philosophy and technophobia but I respect him as a creator.

Personally, I can never watch Mononoke all the way through. I've seen the whole movie, but never from start to finish. I find it very boring... yet I enjoyed Nausicaa.

I'd have to rate Howls and Spirited Away as my favorites though. Haven't seen Ponyo but I heard it was kinda meh.

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