I don't know why I haven't seen this one until now. It is, to put it lightly, a fantastic movie. Not my favorite Miyazaki film or even my favorite Studio Ghibli film, but a great film none-the-less. Princess Mononoke has a certain type 'heroes journey' feel to it. Other works by the same company also have this same feeling but the messages of those movies didn't strike me as being the main theme like this one is. The story follows the plight of Ashitaka. A young warrior who lives in a small village and is one day attacked by a giant demonic boar. Ashitaka takes down the boar but has his arm cursed by it as he strikes it down with his trusty bow-and-arrow. After this unfortunate event, he is told that he must leave the village and never come back as the curse will slowly spread throughout his body and kill him. Ashitaka decides to look for the Forest Spirit who may be able to cure his ill but instead comes across two groups at war: a small mining town who is ruining the neighboring forest in their search for iron and the forest spirits who are lead by the one and only Princess Mononoke. This brings me to my first reason why I love this movie. Ashitaka doesn't take sides. The film doesn't say that we should 100% protect the nature and not continue developing nor does it say that we should bend nature to our will and mine it dry. Ashitaka is only entangled in this for one reason at the start: to cure his curse. This creates a scenario where he needs to find a way to appease both sides without insinuating any more violence. Because Ashitaka has to not take too much to either sides he ends up befriending both Princess Mononoke and most of the mining village's people. This is firstly a story of compromise but I think it is also a tale of how you can take things too far and get wrapped up in things that can hurt your cause. Princess Mononoke is one of those Ghibli movies that really makes you think about the morals that it is trying to present. For that it is a really great film.

Princess Mononoke is fantastic!
Sunday, January 31, 2016
From what I usually expect of movies and what I want good movies to do is not fall in the trap of clichés and predictability. Studio Ghibli's Whisper of the Heart falls into both of these traps. For some reason, however, I still love this movie immensely. I believe the reason for my affection is the characters and of how real the story feels. The story revolves around Shizuku, a junior high school student with a passion for writing. After trying to rent out a book from the library that has been rented before, she finds out that the one with the same interest in books as her is a boy named Seiji, who she hates from past experience. This plot point I could see coming from a mile away but am given enough time with Shizuku as an individual that I can relate to her in some way and enjoy her curiousness for storytelling. This boy is also set up as sort of a rival for her as he plans to follow his dream of making violins and move out of the country. This pushes her to write an entire novel before he gets back. Kind of cliché and it's very predictable, yes, but the atmosphere and the lovable characters make the movie. I say atmosphere mostly because of one location: the antique shop run by Seiji's grandfather. You can tell that this particular room had a lot of effort put into it. The times that Shizuku is in the antique shop, you can pause the movie at any time and spot all sorts of knick-knacks and curious items. One of these items like the suited cat, the Baron, gets his own movie in the future. The Baron does also play a big role in the story as Shizuku's novel is about the Baron's adventure to get his wife back which parallels Seiji's grandfather's life. Everything about this movie involving plot I should hate because it is as predictable as can be, but the characters, environment, and message are just so good that I honestly just don't care.

Whisper of the Heart is very good.
Tuesday, January 26, 2016
Pom Poko is by far the strangest Studio Ghibli movie I've seen. It has a blend of the mythological while presenting a moral that confronts the modern world. The overarching plot is also very scattered as the Tanooki try to save their homeland from the humans in very strange but awesome ways. One thing I absolutely love about this film is its way of teaching the audience about Japanese culture. To my knowledge this film wasn't made to teach but I sure learned a lot from it. The history of Japan after WWII, the mythos of the Japanese raccoon, and the crazy creatures that the culture has made up over the years. Pom Poko is narrated throughout the entire feature. If it were any other movie with this narration it would be a huge negative for me but in this one it actually adds to the experience. Mostly because the story takes place over a span of thirty-plus years of these Tanooki trying to stop the development of the humans. They try to do this by using the power of transformation which is taken from Japanese folklore of the native raccoon species. There actions start out pretty brutal as they end up killing three regular people just doing their job. Though most of them feel justified in their actions, they soon learn, with the help of a young Tanooki named Shoukichi, that they can try to defend their homeland without hurting. This leads to a bunch of silly antics with the raccoon dogs trying to scare the humans away. This eventually leads to them gaining the help of a neighboring "village" using their more advanced transformation powers to put on an accidental "parade" that just ends up entertaining the humans instead of scaring them. The parade scene is the one thing that I take away most from this movie. Though I'm no expert, I do have some knowledge on Japanese folktales and there were a number of times that I could point out the names of some of the ghostly creatures, or 'yokai'. One of the yokai that stood out was a creature called the kasa-bake which is literally just an umbrella with one eye and one foot. The entire film is not only a very informative experience but a very good story as well.

Pom Poko is very illuminating.
Saturday, January 23, 2016
I have a lot of mixed feelings about Studio Ghibli's Porco Rosso. On one respect I thoroughly enjoy the film for its fun action and interesting characters but on the other hand there is just so much different plot going on at once that I have trouble following the movie even after I've watched it for a second time. The main character is Marco Rosso, a veteran pilot of WWI, who was somehow turned into a pig. This is my biggest, though minor, gripe with the film. It never explains why exactly he is a pig. It does mention that he was turned into one but there isn't any mention of magic, wizards, or anything of the like. This world is pretty normal besides for the fact that this man is a pig. Through his 'journey' of some kind with some kind of plot happening somewhere in the film he comes across a lot of different and interesting characters. A young mechanic named Fio, who he doubts as a mechanic because 1920s sexism, a full-of-himself American fighter named Curtis, who just kind of shows up to be a 'villain', and the Mama Auto Gang, who is just there for comedy relief. Another problem I have with Porco Rosso is the fact that things just kind of happen. This isn't odd for a Ghibli movie because some of their best productions are just ordinary people doing ordinary things. In this case, however, few scenes are truly memorable. One great scene is when Marco and Fio are on his island getting ready for the battle and while Fio almost falls asleep she sees what Marco used to look like before he was turned into a pig. This is great and emotional but would've been even better if his 'condition' was explained. It seems that with every great thing this movie has to offer there is a little plot detail that makes it seem like it is less. Porco Rosso isn't a bad movie but it's not great either. I do really enjoy the action and characters but I could really care less about the overall plot.

Porco Rosso is good.

Wednesday, January 20, 2016
This movie is just such a delight to watch. Whenever I try to explain to people my love for this movie I get choked up and I don't know why. Is it because of the wide range of great characters? Yes. Is it because of the beautiful soundtrack and atmosphere? Yes. What about the wonderful (as always) hand-drawn animation? Yes, all of these are reasons as to why I adore this movie but there seems to be something more to it. The story for example is very light-hearted yet down-to-earth as the main protagonist, Kiki, a young witch-in-training, and Jiji, her sassy cat, takes off from home in search of a new environment to live happily as a witch. When she finds the right kind of town she was looking for, she quickly realizes that hardly anybody in the town has even seen a witch, let alone trust one. This gets her into some trouble conflict with the residence and the police but she soon meets some friends in the characters of Tombo, a charismatic young boy who is intrigued by Kiki's 'witchiness', and Osono who takes in Kiki as an employee and provides for her. The interactions between all of these characters are what makes this movie for me. All of the characters get a perfect amount of time focused on them but don't overshadow the fun character of Kiki. Kiki, as previously stated, is a witch-in-training which gives the film an excuse to show the audience wonderfully beautiful sky-high environments and scenes that are remarkably memorable. These scenes aren't far and few between, either. Every time that Kiki has to make a new delivery, she ends up exploring a new part of the sky, getting an overhead view of the beach, or flying through the forest. It's just done so well that you actually feel like she's flying as her movements are given the perfect amount of weight while in the sky. The only real "problem" I had with this otherwise beautiful feature is the somewhat forced ending where Kiki has to save her friend Tombo from falling to his doom from an air balloon. It was interesting to see her try to ride a regular broom but it could have been a lot more subtle. Kiki's Delivery Service is not only a spectacular film but one of my favorite films of all time.

Kiki's Delivery Service is magnificent.
Tuesday, January 19, 2016
My Neighbor Totoro is the movie everyone thinks of when they hear the names of either Miyazaki or Studio Ghibli. Even if you're not a fan of Japanese animation or of Ghibli's films, you have probably seen this film. There is a reason that Totoro is Studio Ghibli's mascot. It's because it's a good movie. It has good characters, a good story, and a great atmosphere. Notice that only one of those things were great. That's because from my point of view My Neighbor Totoro is just a good movie. As a person I love the film but as a critic I can't say it's any more than good. The main reason for my "cynical" perspective is that I don't feel there is enough time put into the main characters. The film is only an hour and a half which isn't uncommon for the studio but their other films that have a similar length are filled to the brim with a lot of character development. That's not to say that the characters in My Neighbor Totoro are bad characters; they're anything but that. The older sister, Satsuki, is very relatable and the younger sister, Mei, is cute and fun but it never really explores past that. Totoro, however, steals the show for when he's in frame. He's cute and mysterious which gives the film a very unique type of atmosphere all of it's own. I especially enjoy the scene where Satsuki and Mei are stuck in the rain and Totoro just kind of shows up. Satsuki hands Totoro her extra umbrella and the group just kind of stands there for a little bit. This scene somehow portraits a lot of emotion through little to no movement almost the entire time. It's a solid minute of the girls interacting with Totoro through the means of not interacting with him. It's borderline genius. Again, the film isn't bad nor is it great. It's just fun and relaxing and I can come back to it over and over again and enjoy it for different reasons. From the atmosphere to the big fluffy guy himself...

My Neighbor Totoro is a good time!
Monday, January 18, 2016
Grave of the Fireflies is truly like nothing I've ever seen. It's not just somber but provides an atmosphere and tone that just isn't seen in a whole lot of other Studio Ghibli movies. I mean that as in no other Ghibli film reaches this point of pure emotion and heartbreak. Because of this, it is the only Ghibli movie that I find to be hard to watch. This might be mainly because of the very opening of the film which starts off with the two main characters, Seita and Setsuko, dying. This very first scene is what makes the experience all the more sorrowful. As you travel through the war life that this brother and sister have to go to you want to see them make it through their struggles and come out on top in the end. You like to see them succeed and hate to see them fail. In the end, however, they can't succeed because you've been told that they won't. This creates a strange dichotomy in scenes that, if stuck into any other film, would seem happy if not for the fact that you know the characters' fates. The moral of Grave of the Fireflies is also not thrown in your face like other Ghibli films in part because the movie can be taken differently by different viewers and critics alike. Doug Walker from Nostalgia Critic, for instance, takes the principle of the movie as a battle between one's pride and their own senses. Though I don't not agree of that statement, I believe that it is more a tale sacrifice. Seita wants to protect and feed Setsuko but knows that he will have to give up some of his own rations and break the law in order to do so. Seita also wants to leave his Aunt's residence for their own sanity but will have to give up a whole lot of protection to do that. The whole movie seems like a constant tug of war between what we believe to be right and what Seita believes to be right. But looking back on Grave of the Fireflies and emotional movies in general, isn't that usually the case. As a viewer we feel empathy for characters who we know are doing wrong and are in fact fictional, but can't stand to watch them fail in the end. This is why this film is so beautiful. It's interpretive. It's emotional. And most importantly of all, it's a film and we know it. We don't only feel sorry for the characters but, in one way or another, we feel saddened by the fact that we can't help them.

Grave of the Fireflies is beautiful.
Wednesday, January 13, 2016
Studio Ghibli is a special snowflake in that their movies are the only ones that I can have conversations about to just about anyone as almost everyone has seen or at least heard about one of the studio's movies. As some may know, Studio Ghibli's 'lost' film from 1991 is finally getting a U.S. release in late February of this year. In order to honor this movie's release and the potential end of the studio entirely, I am going to review every single Studio Ghibli movie. First off is one of my personal favorites, Castle in the Sky.

Objectively, Castle in the Sky is a pretty simple movie. In a way we've seen it many times as it is based loosely on the story of Gulliver's Travels. A young girl named Sheeta has a necklace that just happens to be a key to the ancient floating city of Laputa which our main hero, Pazu, has always dreamed of seeing for himself. The problem, however, is that two other parties are also on the trail of the city and need the key to get in. This puts Pazu and Sheeta in all sorts of dangerous situations and while Sheeta is in the hands of the military's nefarious General Muska, Pazu needs to team up with a band of sky pirates who also want get to the ancient land. So yeah; simple.

For Miyazaki's first big-budget theatrical release, the way he directs the action in this film is marvelous. Whenever somebody gets hit with a bullet or ship gets rammed at the side by another the audience feels the impact. Something about the camera angles and blur lines are simply very engaging to watch. The are also very vibrant, especially in the flying segments, and makes the important parts of the scenes really pop out. This is very noticeable when all involved properties land on Laputa. The top half is mostly a lush green with hints of tan and bright lights that make it feel like a living place. The characters are all very expressive and have an important role in the story. Besides Sheeta for about the first half of the movie. It was interesting seeing her learning about her past and the land of Laputa but as for her personality, there just isn't anything real special about her until she stands up for herself in the last act. Her accent is just a little bit jarring, too. Every other character has an American accent (in the English dub, of course) except for Sheeta, who has a distinct Australian accent. Mark Hamill as Muska is also disappointing as he doesn't have a whole lot of memorable lines and his voice inflection barely changes. I have no problem with the other characters, however. They are all memorable and fun.

Laputa: Castle in the Sky is wonderful adventure that I can watch over and over again. Memorable characters and great action is a trend the Miyazaki and will continue in his follow-up films.

Laputa was very fun!
Monday, January 11, 2016
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