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Post by Neko Bazu on Dec 22, 2007 23:23:53 GMT -1
For those who're fans, or just curious as to what some of us so often talk about, you can find several films from Studio Ghibli (arguably Japan's finest anime-film producer) on Channel 4 over the Christmas period. Sadly, they're mostly on at ghastly hours, but I'm sure most of you have some sort of TV-recording device  Porco Rosso - 26th December (Boxing Day) 6.05am Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind - 27th December 6.35am Castle of Cagliostro - 28th December 6.20am Princess Mononoke - 31st December (New Year's Eve) 12.35pm Kiki's Delivery Service is also being shown on Film 4 on the 26th at 3.10pm and the 30th at 1.00pm. All these titles come highly recommended by both Trav and myself (I'm sure he'll correct me if he disagrees with that statement!), with Princess Mononoke in particular probably being the most 'newbie-friendly' title there - they're all adult- and child-friendly too. Whether they're dubbed in English or subtitled, I'm not sure, but I know Mononoke's dub in particular is good, so be sure to catch that one if nothing else! ;D |
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Post by Neko Bazu on Dec 22, 2007 23:50:02 GMT -1
Found Trav's reviews on the Eastern TV thread: NAUSICAA OF THE VALLEY OF THE WINDHayao Miyazaki's second feature as a director was an adaptation of his own bestselling manga, and was the film that helped launch Studio Ghibli. Appropriately, Miyazaki set a high benchmark, and laid something of a template of what was to follow with this strikingly imaginative tale. The story is that of Princess Nausicaa, and her seaside kingdom, The Valley Of The Wind. A thousand years on from a great war, Nausicaa and her people are engaged in a constant struggle against the steadily encroaching poisonous jungle that the war left behind, and also those creatures who inhabit it. As with the majority of Ghibli releases, the hero of the piece is a girl - Miyazaki et al can certainly never stand accused of being misogynists - and the fantastical nature of the worlds explored are on a par with almost everything else that's followed. Environmental degradation, and the need to strive to find a balance between nature and humanity stands as the key message of the tale, and in that respect it could be considered almost be considered a sister piece, for Miyazaki's later epic, Princess Mononoke. 8/10 KIKI'S DELIVERY SERVICE. Another Miyazaki film, and another joyful viewing experience. Kiki is a young witch, and having turned 13 she must go out into the world by herself, find herself a town, and take on the role of resident witch for a year as part of her training. Lacking as she does, any special powers, she decides to serve the town in the role of a delivery girl. A marked improvement in terms of animation on his previous work, My Neighbour Totoro, it is however very comparable with Miyazaki's former work. Aimed primarily at children (albeit primarily, of a slightly higher age), Kiki's Delivery Service is again a pretty simplistic tale that's full of charm and humour. Not quite as good as Totoro, but very close. 8/10. NB. The personality of Kiki's black cat, Jiji, appears to have been a huge influence on the makers of 'Sabrina The Teenage Witch'. The cat in that show appears to have had it's entire personality based on it. Also noticed during my search that, despite there not being any proper reviews, quite a few 606ers enjoyed Princess Mononoke too, so there's strong support for that one! ;D |
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Post by Travis on Dec 23, 2007 16:03:14 GMT -1
For those who're fans, or just curious as to what some of us so often talk about, you can find several films from Studio Ghibli (arguably Japan's finest anime-film producer) on Channel 4 over the Christmas period. Sadly, they're mostly on at ghastly hours, but I'm sure most of you have some sort of TV-recording device Porco Rosso - 26th December (Boxing Day) 6.05am Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind - 27th December 6.35am Castle of Cagliostro - 28th December 6.20am Princess Mononoke - 31st December (New Year's Eve) 12.35pm Kiki's Delivery Service is also being shown on Film 4 on the 26th at 3.10pm and the 30th at 1.00pm. All these titles come highly recommended by both Trav and myself (I'm sure he'll correct me if he disagrees with that statement!), with Princess Mononoke in particular probably being the most 'newbie-friendly' title there - they're all adult- and child-friendly too. Whether they're dubbed in English or subtitled, I'm not sure, but I know Mononoke's dub in particular is good, so be sure to catch that one if nothing else! ;D Completely agree Neko. In fact in hindsight, I think that 'Kiki' is worth a 9/10 too.  Just a look at the IMDb confirms matters; in the list of the best ever animated films, Ghibli has the top spot (Spirited Away) another in the top 3 (Princess Mononoke) and in all 7 titles in the top 15!  uk.imdb.com/chart/animationOh, and by the way Neko, you missed one.... PORCO ROSSO Set in 1930's Italy, Porco Rosso is the name bestowed upon a bounty hunter pilot, the most respected in the skies, and one who just happens to be just that little bit distinctive. Once a dashing young man by the name of Marco, Porco lives under a curse that has given him the head of a pig and spends his days collecting money for hunting down air pirates, and visiting the bar of his sweetheart Gina. However, when a flash American pilot appears on the scene, intent on making a name for himself by shooting down Porco, he must enlist the help of a feisty young engineer to ready his plane for the battle. As well as being amongst Miyazaki's best work, it is also one of his most notable, for two reasons. It was the first Ghibli production not to have a 'human' lead - and Pom Poko, a film purely about raccoons, is the only other made since - and secondly, while Miyazaki's clear admiration for the female of the species runs through all his works, this is undoubtedly his most overtly feminist piece. Although the lead is male, he is a pig, and not only in terms of appearance; he's portrayed both as being a womaniser and a sexist, and the narrative at times implies that his personality and appearance may be linked. Secondly, all the female characters are very strong, especially in terms of the two leads. There is Gina, she owns, runs and performs in her bar, and is universally adored by all the men who visit, she can manipulate their behaviour in any way she desires, but is never seduced herself. The young engineer Fio, meanwhile is a young teenage girl who's has proved herself to be not only the equal, but superior to her brothers at her craft, and ultimately proves to be the driving force behind Porco in his final showdown. As always the story is terrifically animated, and it unfolds at a snappy pace as it builds to the showpiece climax. Again, thankfully Miyazaki forfeits the saccharine 'Disney' ending, instead plumping for something altogether more appropriate. 9/10 |
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Post by Neko Bazu on Dec 23, 2007 16:47:25 GMT -1
Completely agree Neko. In fact in hindsight, I think that 'Kiki' is worth a 9/10 too. Just a look at the IMDb confirms matters; in the list of the best ever animated films, Ghibli has the top spot (Spirited Away) another in the top 3 (Princess Mononoke) and in all 7 titles in the top 15! uk.imdb.com/chart/animationOh, and by the way Neko, you missed one.... PORCO ROSSO Set in 1930's Italy, Porco Rosso is the name bestowed upon a bounty hunter pilot, the most respected in the skies, and one who just happens to be just that little bit distinctive. Once a dashing young man by the name of Marco, Porco lives under a curse that has given him the head of a pig and spends his days collecting money for hunting down air pirates, and visiting the bar of his sweetheart Gina. However, when a flash American pilot appears on the scene, intent on making a name for himself by shooting down Porco, he must enlist the help of a feisty young engineer to ready his plane for the battle. As well as being amongst Miyazaki's best work, it is also one of his most notable, for two reasons. It was the first Ghibli production not to have a 'human' lead - and Pom Poko, a film purely about raccoons, is the only other made since - and secondly, while Miyazaki's clear admiration for the female of the species runs through all his works, this is undoubtedly his most overtly feminist piece. Although the lead is male, he is a pig, and not only in terms of appearance; he's portrayed both as being a womaniser and a sexist, and the narrative at times implies that his personality and appearance may be linked. Secondly, all the female characters are very strong, especially in terms of the two leads. There is Gina, she owns, runs and performs in her bar, and is universally adored by all the men who visit, she can manipulate their behaviour in any way she desires, but is never seduced herself. The young engineer Fio, meanwhile is a young teenage girl who's has proved herself to be not only the equal, but superior to her brothers at her craft, and ultimately proves to be the driving force behind Porco in his final showdown. As always the story is terrifically animated, and it unfolds at a snappy pace as it builds to the showpiece climax. Again, thankfully Miyazaki forfeits the saccharine 'Disney' ending, instead plumping for something altogether more appropriate. 9/10 I knew Ghibli was popular, but I didn't realise that globally, they featured that highly!  Kinda makes me wonder how popular they'd be if there weren't a sizable brigade of people who either automatically assume that because it's anime, it'll be god-awful, or that it's "a cartoon" and thus not worth watching. (God, the BBFC have a lot to answer for  ) I did search for Porco Rosso, 'cause I was certain you'd reviewed it, but the search engine didn't pull it up  Either way, there's another that comes highly recommended! ;D In fact, I think between us, all five of those films have garnered at least an 8/10, haven't they? (I'd certainly rate Mononoke up there!) Just a shame there's no Spirited Away or Laputa there to really top the selection off, but beggars can't be choosers I guess |
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Post by Travis on Dec 23, 2007 16:57:45 GMT -1
Completely agree Neko. In fact in hindsight, I think that 'Kiki' is worth a 9/10 too. Just a look at the IMDb confirms matters; in the list of the best ever animated films, Ghibli has the top spot (Spirited Away) another in the top 3 (Princess Mononoke) and in all 7 titles in the top 15! uk.imdb.com/chart/animationOh, and by the way Neko, you missed one.... I knew Ghibli was popular, but I didn't realise that globally, they featured that highly! Kinda makes me wonder how popular they'd be if there weren't a sizable brigade of people who either automatically assume that because it's anime, it'll be god-awful, or that it's "a cartoon" and thus not worth watching. (God, the BBFC have a lot to answer for ) I did search for Porco Rosso, 'cause I was certain you'd reviewed it, but the search engine didn't pull it up Either way, there's another that comes highly recommended! ;D In fact, I think between us, all five of those films have garnered at least an 8/10, haven't they? (I'd certainly rate Mononoke up there!) Just a shame there's no Spirited Away or Laputa there to really top the selection off, but beggars can't be choosers I guess I think the profile of the said movies is still not quite what they'd merit - Finding Nemo for example has received more than 20 times the number of ratings than Whisper Of The Heart - but those who do watch the films certainly tend to love them. Mononoke's definitely up there, I really enjoyed it on the first viewing, and now I'm more familiar with the themes and philosophies behind the Ghibli films, I appreciate it a lot more in retrospect, I can see how it was a natural progression for Miyazaki after Nausicaa. Yes, it would be nice to have one of those two....or Grave Of The Fireflies, or Whisper Of The Heart.... . Seems a wasted opportunity for Channel 4, they could have had Spirited Away on in primetime, then publicised the others during the commercials and ran them in a season over the following days. They appear to have the rights for the whole Ghibli output, so why not make more of it? |
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Post by Neko Bazu on Dec 23, 2007 17:06:27 GMT -1
I can only assume C4 just don't think it'll be popular enough, which frankly I find short-sighted to say the least. I think any anime series/film that's received even the slightest backing in the west has received large popularity in its target demographic (Yu-Gi-Oh!/Pokemon among children, Dragonball Z among teens, Spirited Away across the board), but no broadcasters seem willing to capitalise on it. Pick out the right one or two series, and they'll completely dominate the children's primetime viewing for starters! It is, again, I think linked back to when the BBFC was dead set in its anti-anime mindset, coupled with the efforts of Jack Thompson at the same time. Doesn't matter how well these shows do, or how favourable the message in the stories are, they're still labelled with the same stigma among the older generation. Sadly, I think it'll be at least another 10-20 years before any broadcasters really try to break through with decent anime scheduling  |
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Kinda makes me wonder how popular they'd be if there weren't a sizable brigade of people who either automatically assume that because it's anime, it'll be god-awful, or that it's "a cartoon" and thus not worth watching.
)
Either way, there's another that comes highly recommended! ;D