Has anyone here ever seen any movies by the Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki? Three weeks ago a friend of mine got me to watch "Spirited Away". To my great surprise I found it utterly enchanting. The film is a somewhat unusual take on the Alice in Wonderland concept. However, at its core, as seems to be the case with all Miyazaki films, this is a truly character driven story. It manages to give everyone reasonable and relatable motives, without any need for evil or external calamity as a source of conflict. At the same time the film creates such a plethora of novel characters and situations that it felt more innovative then the last ten films by Disney and Pixar combined. Now, I don't want to rubbish either of these Studios, but Spirited Away felt so fresh and new by contrast that my memories of Western animated features are left feeling somewhat hollow now.
It is strange that this film would make me feel this way. I used to be completely opposed to anime. My small brother is an ardent fan of anime shows on TV and to me it always seemed so ridiculous. It just looked like a bunch of Mary Sue characters with magic powers beating the crap out of each other in slow motion. Boy, was I wrong.
Anime, so I have learnt, is not a genre but actually an art form - with its highs and lows. Miyazaki's films clearly represent the high art form of anime. Since Spirited Away I have also watched Princess Mononoke, Howl's Moving Castle, Ponyo and My Neighbour Totoro. There is quite a bit of variation in how successfully these movies realise their potential. Nonetheless, all of them are unusually creative and offer subtle and gentle appreciation for nature and human dignity, often with very thoughtful and understated messages. Another interesting point is the use of unlikely heroes as the main protagonists, with a major focus on young women and girls.
In conclusion, these films manage to be meaningful in ways that animated films usually are not. This seems especially true of Spirited Away and My Neighbour Totoro. Add to this truly expressive animations and vividly naturalistic landscapes that, in most parts, are painted by hand, with little to no aid of computers and beautiful atmospheric music and you are presented with the finest ingredients for the perfect fairy tale.
It is strange that this film would make me feel this way. I used to be completely opposed to anime. My small brother is an ardent fan of anime shows on TV and to me it always seemed so ridiculous. It just looked like a bunch of Mary Sue characters with magic powers beating the crap out of each other in slow motion. Boy, was I wrong.
Anime, so I have learnt, is not a genre but actually an art form - with its highs and lows. Miyazaki's films clearly represent the high art form of anime. Since Spirited Away I have also watched Princess Mononoke, Howl's Moving Castle, Ponyo and My Neighbour Totoro. There is quite a bit of variation in how successfully these movies realise their potential. Nonetheless, all of them are unusually creative and offer subtle and gentle appreciation for nature and human dignity, often with very thoughtful and understated messages. Another interesting point is the use of unlikely heroes as the main protagonists, with a major focus on young women and girls.
In conclusion, these films manage to be meaningful in ways that animated films usually are not. This seems especially true of Spirited Away and My Neighbour Totoro. Add to this truly expressive animations and vividly naturalistic landscapes that, in most parts, are painted by hand, with little to no aid of computers and beautiful atmospheric music and you are presented with the finest ingredients for the perfect fairy tale.
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