A Guide to Studio Ghibli

spoodie · Post by **spoodie** » October 28th, 2006, 14:06

Woo Elephant Yeah wrote:What films would you recommend from them, as I only watched 2 (can't remember the second one) and the trailers for the Film 4 stuff looked really really good.

I've watched most of the Studio Ghibli films so I'll give you my impression:

Castle in the Sky (1986):

Not as good as later works but plenty of action and the usual amazing animation you come to expect. If you've watched the newer ones and want more watch this, it's worth it for the enigmatic ancient robots alone.

Grave of the Fireflies (1988):

Zzzzzzz ... Maybe I'm being unfair but don't expect the roller coaster ride you get in other Ghibli films, this one is a tragic story of something or other. I probably need to watch it again.

My Neighbor Totoro (1988):

Another fairytale story, a little slow in parts but also some real stand out moments, the Cat Bus for instance. Worth watching.

Kiki's Delivery Service (1989):

Pretty good. A nice balance of fantasy and reality, more high quality output from the studio.

Only Yesterday (1991):

Not seen it. Looks a bit dull, no magics.

Porco Rosso (1992):

Hmm. Not sure about this one. Nice use of 1920s period atmosphere but slow in parts. Again, watch this if you've seen the better ones and want more.

Ocean Waves (1993):

Not heard of this one before today, looks like another non-magic one.

Pom Poko (1994):

Pffft! Those raccoons have transforming gonads! This is one of the better pre-Mononoke efforts. Funny, bizarre, touching in parts and an insight into Japanese culture and mythology.

Whisper of the Heart (1995):

Not bad but very little of the fantasy you come to expect from Ghibli. I preferred the sequel but you should probably watch this one before the The Cat Returns.

Princess Mononoke (1997):

Just watch it, it's excellent.

My Neighbors the Yamadas (1999):

This one has stylised animation the whole way through and this put me off to start with but once I got used to it I found it to be an absorbing and entertaining story. Top stuff.

Spirited Away (2001):

Not quite as good as Mononoke but still amazing, just watch it.

The Cat Returns (2002) (a sequel of sorts to Whisper of the Heart):

Pretty good, worth watching. A lot more fantasy than the prequel and probably more entertaining because of it, if you like that kind of thing.

Howl's Moving Castle (2004):

Very good, probably the 3rd best film after Howl's and Mononoke. Loads of action and magic, great animation.

Tales from Earthsea (2006):

WOO! Not available in English yet, as far as I know.

Post by **FatherJack** » October 28th, 2006, 22:16

They are all worth a look Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind and Lupin III: Caslte of Cogliostro being another two worthy of note. They have generally simple stories often told from the child protagonist's perspective which kind of explains people's comparision of Miyazaki to Disney (although Pom Poko or Grave of the Fireflies might lead to uncomfortable questions from kids). I'd say Kiki's Delivery Service is the closest to a Disney film, and her cat is a prototype for Salem from Sabrina the Teenage Witch if ever I saw one.

They use what is to my eyes a more western, almost old-fashioned art style - more noticeable after you've seen a few recent action-orientated titles which use CG a lot more. The characters have a very similar look from film to film, even the ones where Miyazaki has left his successors in charge.

What I like most about them is the rich worlds created for the stories to take place in, from the almost-but-not-quite German village in Kiki to the utterly bizarre world of Spirited Away, but also way the characters sometimes change seamlessly too - like the tanuki's different forms in Pom Poko and Sophie in Howl's Moving Castle.

My only issue is that the Japanese soundtrack on some of the pre-2000 releases is missing dialogue. The subtitles are usually of a high standard, though - and I understand the english dubbing is supposed to be quite good, although they removed any reference to bollocks in Pom Poko and changed a few other bits here and there I won't complain about that as it doesn't affect me.

Rather than say these were a good introduction to animé, I'd just say that they are some rather good films, which happen to be animated.

Woo Elephant Yeah · Post by **Woo Elephant Yeah** » October 29th, 2006, 20:04

Thanks for this, my Azureus client is going to be very very busy over the next few days

Really, top notch stuff

spoodie · Post by **spoodie** » October 29th, 2006, 22:52

Woo Elephant Yeah wrote:Thanks for this, my Azureus client is going to be very very busy over the next few days

Really, top notch stuff

Glad you liked. I plan to expand upon it a bit, with not-strictly Ghibli stuff (only that the team wasn't called Ghibli at the time) like Jack mentioned above.

BTW: All my opinions are based on the English language version. I've nothing against subtitles but there's so much to look at in these films it's difficult to find time to read them.

Post by **Roman Totale** » October 29th, 2006, 23:55

spoodie wrote: BTW: All my opinions are based on the English language version. I've nothing against subtitles but there's so much to look at in these films it's difficult to find time to read them.

It's funny, but I always prefer my foreign films subtitled - except when it comes to anime. I was disgusted with myself when I had to watch the dubbed version of Princess monmjokle (elbows), but when it comes to animation I find subs to be lost against the background. It may also be something to do with the fact that you don't have to match the face and the voice in animation.

Post by **FatherJack** » October 30th, 2006, 1:17

I prefer to watch stuff in the language the director made it in, as it always seems closer to how they intended it be seen. Maybe it's because I can read dead quick, but I've never found it a problem, except with a few fansubs that splash explanations up all over the place.

Even with animated titles, you see in a lot of the bonus features the director auditioning and sitting watching the voice actor do their work, and my favourite animé bonus features are the skits and interviews with the original voice casts. It's a bit weird seeing the english voice cast on the extras for me - I'm like: "who are you?"

The introduction of DVDs is the best thing evar, though - as people like me who won't ever listen to the english version are catered for, yet anyone who finds the subtitles a barrier can buy the same version and get to see the same great films.

Probably half my original VHS animé collection is dubbed, because that's all there was at the time, mostly it's all American voices too - I have a couple of examples of UK voiceovers, which while refreshing, were a bit hit-and-miss.

Post by **Grimmie** » October 30th, 2006, 8:24

I prefer English dubbing, maybe I'm a peasant, but I don't really care.
I always find that the young teenage male hero is voiced by some stern male in his 30's in the Japanese' soundtrack. That's kinda offputting for me.
Plus I feel that not having to read subs all the time gives me a little extra time to look around at the scene, I often get drawn to the bottom of the screen when subs are on, and miss things elsewhere.

spoodie · Post by **spoodie** » October 30th, 2006, 10:16

Considering what a good job the English translators and voice actors do of dubbing these films it makes them a lot more accessible for me, a slow reader. I appreciate that these version may not represent the exact vision of what the director intended I'm sure it's pretty close.

On the other hand there's a non-Ghibli film called Steamboy which has Captain Jean Luc Picard and Dr. Otto Octavius doing the lead characters and in my opinion has totally unconvincing dialogue. Which is a shame because it's a very nice looking film with a good plot and background.

mrbobbins · Post by **mrbobbins** » October 30th, 2006, 10:39

spoodie wrote:Considering what a good job the English translators and voice actors do of dubbing these films it makes them a lot more accessible for me, a slow reader. I appreciate that these version may not represent the exact vision of what the director intended I'm sure it's pretty close.

On the other hand there's a non-Ghibli film called Steamboy which has Captain Jean Luc Picard and Dr. Otto Octavius doing the lead characters and in my opinion has totally unconvincing dialogue. Which is a shame because it's a very nice looking film with a good plot and background.

I saw the subbed Steam Boy at the cinema, I was a bit dissapointed, it wasn't very good, which is a shame considering it's made by Katsuhiro Otomo, Mr. Akira

Post by **Grimmie** » October 30th, 2006, 11:23

IMDB wrote:Trivia: Early in the first Manchester sequence a pub is seen. It's name is clearly seen as "The Rovers Return", which is the name of "the" pub in the popular Manchester based TV soap opera "Coronation Street"

Sheriff Fatman · Post by **Sheriff Fatman** » February 20th, 2007, 11:53

Quick note: Channel 4 are showing these around 9:30 each morning this week. I'm not really an anime fan as such, but I have really enjoyed them so far. I was gobsmacked to find Kiki's Delivery Service was made in '89. The animation is awesome.

Post by **Grimmie** » February 20th, 2007, 12:02

Yeah, someone told me about that - They're putting "The Magic Toaster" on the wednesday, apparently.
I'll be at work, and I think I prefer the DVD's to my crackly VHS

spoodie · Post by **spoodie** » February 20th, 2007, 12:29

Grimmie wrote:Yeah, someone told me about that - They're putting "The Magic Toaster" on the wednesday, apparently.
I'll be at work, and I think I prefer the DVD's to my crackly VHS

What is this Magic Toaster, something I've missed?

Sheriff Fatman wrote:Quick note: Channel 4 are showing these around 9:30 each morning this week. I'm not really an anime fan as such, but I have really enjoyed them so far. I was gobsmacked to find Kiki's Delivery Service was made in '89. The animation is awesome.

If you think Kiki is surprising you should check out The Little Norse Prince. Made in '68 and looks almost as good as more recent Ghibli efforts, apart from the freeze frame scenes with lots of action happening.

Woo Elephant Yeah · Post by **Woo Elephant Yeah** » October 26th, 2007, 23:06

Spoodie I want to bum kiss you for posting this.
I have recently downloaded the entire Studio Ghibli collection, and some of the films are possibly the best I have ever seen.

I suddenly remembered this post, and I loved watching Kiki's Delivery Service, Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away & Howl's Moving Castle.

Castle Of Cagliostro is already a favourite of mine, but I am planning on watching the rest soon, as I think I'm hooked now

Post by **FatherJack** » October 26th, 2007, 23:44

Grave of the Fireflies and My Neighbour Totoro were originally a double bill, and I'd recommend that anyone plans a bit of extra time to replicate the experience.

Fireflies is just so heartbreaking, that you need a bit of Totoro's happy vibes to pick you up after it.

Playing Eternal Sonata and Blue Dragon in Japanese recently, it struck me that the mouth movements corresponded perfectly and wondered if those playing in English were missing some of the atmosphere or believability, but on creations like the later Ghibli movies, production values are so high and the voice talent so good at matching to the mouths, that even the creator concedes that the dubbed versions are acceptable. While I'll stick with the original voice cast for most anime, I might have to break my own rule for the (non Ghibli) Afro Samurai series - voiced by Samuel L Jackson, no less.

nunoncastors · Post by **nunoncastors** » January 23rd, 2009, 17:03

I've just finished watching Laputa in Japanese (partially because I'm having a crack at the language and partially becase I don't like the dubs) and have to agree with Jack's observation that the English dubs suffer from a slight lack of atmosphere. Mononoke next.

cubedweller · Post by **cubedweller** » March 10th, 2009, 22:31

My wife and I are HUGE Ghibli fans, absolutely adore them. Prefer Miyazaki's flicks but we saw My Neighbours the Yamadas recently and really enjoyed that too.

Favorite has to be My Neighbor Totoro (Japanese language of course!)

spoodie · Post by **spoodie** » March 10th, 2009, 22:37

I should update the OP. Adding that the Earthsea one is guff.

Post by **FatherJack** » March 11th, 2009, 0:41

spoodie wrote:Adding that the Earthsea one is guff.

Yeah, real shame that - totally forgettable. Hope that Ponyo is more of a return to form. There are a smattering of other titles that perhaps deserve a grouping with these classics, too.

I've noticed a recent phenomenon in myself that that I can watch a subtitled film and not even notice that it's subtitled. I do tend to wait until I'm in a very relaxed mood before watching films at all, but I found it kind of jarring when I realised the the words on screen were going straight to my brain, while I thought I was following the spoken dialogue.

Post by **HereComesPete** » March 11th, 2009, 0:50

I've watched crappy golden harvest things for years and I only got anyone interested with that spate of wushu/wuxia films that appeared starting with Crouching Tiger.

I only realised Hero was subtitled when I walked out the cinema with my mate saying 'I didn't realise Chow Yun Fat spoke such excellent English', he just looked at me funny and pointed out the film had been in mandarin.

I know I do it now but it doesn't affect it, which is nice because I appear to have made the voices up in my head as I read the words.