Miyazaki-san is occasionally called the Japanese Walt Disney. Both had a talent for bringing great animation to the screen, but while Mr. Disney had a talent for increasing technical expertise, and adding occasional story, Miyazaki-san has a talent for bringing exceptional characters and images to the screen. It was a film of his that I saw as a kid which was poorly edited (so I hear - I have yet to see the original version of Nausicaä) which made me a fan of Japanese animation. Some of his films are available now on DVD here in the States, with more to be released (they've already been delayed at least once, so I'm not holding my breath) in Spring of 2005.
His work includes
My Neighbor Totoro
Totoro was a big hit with Claire - about two young girls who move to the countryside, and have adventures with a forest spirit. Cute, fun, and wonderfully animated.
Princess Mononoke
Called the "Star Wars" of anime, this picture is for a more mature audience, and tells the story of Ashitaka, a young prince who is cursed by an evil god for defending his village. He's forced to leave in an attempt to break the curse, and meets a wolf princess, San. (That's her with the painted cheeks). Voices in the Disney/Miramax English Dub include Billy Crudup, Claire Danes, Minnie Driver, and Billy Bob Thornton. The music (by long-time Miyazaki Collaborator Joe Hisaishi) is absolutely gorgeous, perfectly complementing the incredible animation of Miyazaki-san.
Spirited Away
Winner of the Best Animated Film Oscar in 2002. Highest grossing Japanese film of all time. And an awesome story. Chihiro and her family are moving to a new town, when they make a wrong turn and wind up at an abandoned amusement park. When her parents eat food there meant for the gods, they're turned into pigs by a greedy witch. With the help of a dragon, a spider-like boiler tender, and a reluctant bath-house worked, Chihiro tries to save her family. Reeta says that at points during this, she forgot she was watching a cartoon - it's that engaging. It also has a beautiful musical score (except for the song at the end credits, which I didn't care for - other than that, another Joe Hisaishi success).
Miyazaki's next film, Howl's Moving Castle, is opening in Japan tomorrow. Here's hoping his success is continued. He's got quite a legacy to live up to.
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1 comment:
I've seen all three of these movies, and I liked "Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi" (Spirited Away) the best. "Tonari no Totoro" (My Neighbor Totoro) was really cute for the most part, but after a while that little girl got on my nerves. "Mononoke no Hime" (Princess Mononoke) was very, very good, but a bit too serious and preachy for me. I also didn't like their choice of American actors to do the voices. As much as I like Gillian Anderson (I'm a long time X-Files fan), I hated it when she did the voice of the wolf god. She sounded so bored and out of it, like she didn't really care. I should have watched the movie in Japanese with subtitles instead.
As for Spirited Away...oh man, how you go wrong with a spirit with a mask for a face and an extra, really large mouth that swallows animals and people whole? I remember the scene where he's talking to the little frog person thing. Kaonashi is so huge and his mouth is so big compared with the frog, and I kept thinking, "Oh man, it'd be great if he ate the frog" when all of a sudden- GULP! Hahahahahaha!
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