Friday, November 18, 2005

Miyazaki appreciation post

Because it's been awhile since I've pushed his films at people and everyone needs to give them a chance at least once. Sure, you can pass it off as "anime", but you're missing out on something that most Disney movies can't even surpass. These aren't merely "cartoons". They are real movies that use the animation medium to create worlds and characters that can't even be created by visual effects. These movies are moving just like dramas can be, have characters that you can relate to, and are just happy and make you feel good (well, maybe not Grave of the Fireflies). So if you enjoy movies, then please give these a chance. Rent them, or borrow them (I own all of his films), or heck, watch them with me. I'm always up to watching them again. OK, I'll shut up now and just leave you with summaries of each one.

EDIT: I should point out that I didn't write these summaries. They're taken from rottentomatoes.com. I was too lazy to write up my own summaries.

Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind - 1984 - My score: 8/10

An epic, environmentally conscious film, takes viewers on a voyage through time and space to the magical and dreamlike Valley of the Wind, where good battles evil for the future of the human race. Faced with almost certain destruction of her planet's natural resources, the warrior Princess Nausicaa must rally her people against an evil queen's brutal army to bring a new life to her homeland.

Castle in the Sky - 1986 - My score: 9/10

A rousing adventure that follows an orphan named Sheeta as she eludes the clutches of a secret agent named Muska while trying to discern her family's history. After her first escape from Muska, Sheeta meets up with a young boy named Pazu, whose father, a photographer, was disgraced after he took a picture of the legendary flying island of Laputa and had it dismissed as a hoax. When the two realize that a family heirloom Sheeta carries allows them to levitate, the two begin a search for the lost island, trailed by Muska, who is also searching for Laputa.

My Neighbor Totoro - 1988 - My score: 10/10

A slower-paced, stunningly realistic portrayal of life in the countryside. When their mother is hospitalized because of an unspecified illness, two young sisters spend a summer in the Japanese countryside with their father. The children's strange new environment turns out to be a natural wonderland filled with exotic real-life creatures and a trio of furry, woodland sprites who can only be seen by children. The film evokes both the terrors and wonders that children can experience unbeknownst to adults--a feeling the young Miyazaki knew only too well after his mother was hospitalized because of spinal tuberculosis. With homages to Alice in Wonderland and Mary Poppins.

Grave of the Fireflies - 1988 - My score: 9/10

In post-World War II Japan, a janitor finds a deathly ill boy lying beside a metal candy container. The janitor unwittingly tosses the possession into the night, beginning a most unusual tale of survival set amid the atrocities of war. Brother and sister Seita and Setsuko, ages 14 and 4, flee their disheveled home and deceased parents to make their bid for a new life. Before American troops begin to occupy their country, the children resort to dwelling in an abandoned bomb shelter in the countryside. Though these siblings later get a sense of safety, they realize necessities such as food and water will not be easy to come by.

Kiki's Delivery Service - 1989 - My score: 8/10

Set in a time when airships still ruled the skies and World War II never happened, Kiki's Delivery Service is a coming-of-age tale that explores the difficulties of being a young witch. On her thirteenth birthday, budding witch Kiki is in a hurry to leave her family and establish her independence. With only her talking pet cat as a companion, Kiki is attracted to the bright lights of a beautiful port city, but finds that making friends is not easy. Using her skill at riding a broom to start an express delivery service, Kiki quickly discovers that she cannot take her unique abilities for granted.

Porco Rosso - 1992 - My score: 9/10

A period, fantasy film about an Italian, ace WWI pilot who undergoes a transformation to become Porco Rosso, part man, part pig, after witnessing the deaths of other pilots in his last air battle. Under this spell, Porco Rosso survives by taking odd jobs, and finds himself in one comic situation after another as he romances women, rescues the innocent, and looks for a way out of the porcine spell.

Princess Mononoke - 1997 - My score: 9/10

A beautifully realized tale of civilization versus nature, Princess Mononoke is a true epic. While protecting his village from a rampaging boar-god, the warrior Ashitaka is cursed with a rapidly spreading scar that threatens to end his life. Seeking a cure and a reason for the animal-god's attack, he journeys into the sacred depths of the Great Forest Spirit's realm. On the edge of this once serene forest, however, the Tatara clan have begun to destroy the surrounding land to produce iron. In retaliation, San, the adopted daughter of the wolf-god Moro, has begun raiding the Tatara fortress to stop their encroachment. Soon Ashitaka is caught in the middle and must stop the war between the humans and the forest dwellers before they destroy each other.

Spirited Away - 2001 - My score: 10/10

Spirited Away is the tale of Chihiro, a young girl who is taken down an unusual road by her parents while moving to a new home in an unfamiliar town. The curiosity of Chihiro's mother and father leads the reluctant child into what appears to be an abandoned amusement park. Soon her parents are greedily feasting on various delights from an enticing food stand and are literally turned into pigs. The frightened and bewildered girl then encounters a young man named Haku, who explains what she must do to navigate this strange and magical realm. Finding employment in a bathhouse for spirits and other odd characters Chihiro attempts to figure out how she can free her parents from the clutches of the resort's owner, a powerful witch named Yubaba. In the process, she makes some very eccentric friends.

Howl's Moving Castle - 2004 - My score: 9/10

Sophie, an average teenage girl working in a hat shop, finds her life thrown into turmoil when she is literally swept off her feet by a handsome-but-mysterious wizard named Howl, and is subsequently turned into a 90-year old woman by the vain and conniving Wicked Witch of the Waste. Embarking on an incredible odyssey to lift the curse, she finds refuge in Howl's magical moving castle where she becomes acquainted with Markl, Howl's apprentice, and a hot-headed fire demon named Calcifer. Sophie's love and support comes to have a major impact on Howl, who flies in the face of orders from the palace to become a pawn of war and instead risks his life to help bring peace to the kingdom.

2 comments:

Krystle said...

When you said you were good at making lists I didn't think you were this good!!

Doug said...

I once spent an entire month doing nothing but making a review archive of all the reviews that a magazine had done in 12 years. I forget the total amount of game scores that I did, but it was somewhere in the thousands. Pretty sad really, but like I said, I enjoy making lists.