Blu-ray Review: Ponyo (2008)

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Hayao Miyazaki Photo Slideshow


Related Reviews:
Castle in the Sky
Kiki's Delivery Service
My Neighbor Totoro

Given just how much the films of Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli have inspired the animators working over the past few decades at Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios, it's a dream for both fans and animators alike to see the Japanese director's interpretation of Hans Christian Anderson's The Little Mermaid, which Disney had crafted in the late '80s.

One of Disney Animation's very best films that was nonetheless topped by the perfection that is Beauty and the Beast (arriving on Blu-ray high definition this Fall), for the House of Mouse's version of Mermaid, Disney took a romantic musical approach in its near soft rock opera about a beautiful mermaid who rescues a handsome human and then longs to be “part of their world.”

However and per usual for the Anime director, Miyazaki ditches the Disney princesses, pomp and paradigm. In opting for a more basic storyline, he utilizes a lush nature based palette of pastels and sea colors and dives back to his preferred age group of children for this heartfelt 2009 film.

Ponyo, which translates to “magic” and doubles for the name given to an unusual goldfish caught from the ocean-- is a precious tale of innocent love, friendship, loyalty, and accepting one's duty through a quest and a test we'd usually see assigned to a character much older than our precocious five-year-old protagonist Sosuke (Frankie Jonas).

Drawn to his new pet that he insists taking with him to the school that borders the senior retirement home where his mother Lisa (Tina Fey) works, Sosuke is amazed to discover Ponyo's true magic when she licks a cut on his finger and he discovers that it's healed.

It's only later that evening that he realizes just how magical his new friend really is when-- after somehow the talking fish managed to utter the phrase “Ponyo loves Sosuke"-- Ponyo arrives at their home during a ferocious storm, having transformed into a little girl (voiced by Noah Cyrus).

Perhaps because his sea captain father is once again away from home during the dangerous thunderstorm that finds their island strewn with fallen debris and out of power and partly because as a parent she's used to taking whatever happens in stride, Lisa gives shelter to the fish turned girl who swam away from home.

Knowing that they'll need her back at the retirement home now more than ever, after Ponyo whips the generator into shape and the kids are fed Ponyo's favorite ham in a bowl of Ramen noodles, Lisa reluctantly but bravely sets out among the treacherous terrain once again leaving her son in charge for the evening. Yet unbeknown to the humans, Ponyo's intimidating father (Liam Neeson) and her little-seen but breathtaking mother (Cate Blanchett) are conferring about just what to do to get their daughter back.

Providing her own unique stamp on the screenplay, E.T. and Indian in the Cupboard writer Melissa Mathison was tapped by producing team Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall (Indiana Jones, Who Framed Roger Rabbit) to pen the adaptation for American audiences.

Mathison's involvement is critically as the writing promises that not only do the adults have more of a watchful eye on the children than they've had in Miyazaki works like in the past but that also like some of those works, we're 100% charmed by the adorable main character and his new friend.

In fact, the dynamic shared between the young five year old boy and his goldfish turned gal pal initially echoes Disney's beautiful watercolor sea-filled animated work Lilo and Stitch and Mathison's own E.T.

However, there's a deep mythological subtext to its structure that may hit you either after it sinks in or on a second viewing, right alongside some of the covertly planet friendly messages that make this pre-Earth Day release date prior to DisneyNature's Oceans seem especially fitting.

Executive produced by Miyazaki as well as John Lasseter, this set which includes a plethora of extras for animation lovers also includes the film on DVD to prevent you having to buy it in two different formats.

Imaginatively animated in such a way that the swirling images reflect the ocean even when characters are on land, the waves nearly pour off the widescreen aspect ratio of the film enveloping you. Likewise, the sound comes through richly dynamic into not only the front three speakers and subwoofer but also reflects the idea of being caught in a storm as the sound rain, debris and waves fall just behind you in the usually neglected rear-speakers.

Ensuring you receive a stunning HD cinematic experience in your own home, Ponyo marks one of my favorite Miyazaki films of this era and is an exceptionally transferred Blu-ray. Likewise, it's ideal to watch in a short time period as part of a mini-marathon along with the other three titles from the director released from the Ghibli and Disney partnership including Kiki's Delivery Service, Castle in the Sky, and My Neighbor Totoro.


Text ©2010, Film Intuition, LLC; All Rights Reserved. http://www.filmintuition.com
Unauthorized Reproduction or Publication Elsewhere is Strictly Prohibited and in violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

FTC Disclosure: Per standard professional practice, I received a review copy of this title in order to evaluate it for my readers, which had no impact whatsoever on whether or not it received a favorable or unfavorable critique.

DVD Review: My Neighbor Totoro (1988) -- Special Edition

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Hayao Miyazaki Photo Slideshow


Related Reviews:
Castle in the Sky
Kiki's Delivery Service
Ponyo

AKA: My Friend Totoro

One of Hayao Mizayaki's greatest gifts as a filmmaker is his knack for crafting coming-of-age tales we haven't seen before. Aside from his famed fantasy element, Mizayaki's hero's journeys involve characters typically a few years younger than we're used to seeing in the coming-of-age genre who must simultaneously mature whilst holding steadfastly to their childlike sense of wonder.

Similar to the way that the two sisters in My Neighbor Totoro literally laugh or scream childishly before walking into a darkly foreboding room, frequently his young protagonists must navigate their way through terrain that would test most adults.

And instead of preparing themselves purely for the next phase of their life or the acceptance of a major change from someone taken away or someone added to their lives, Mizayaki's character's come to the ultimate realization that their stubborn youthful optimism, love, imagination, passion and joy will be their guide through it all.

Deceptively as simple as the idyllic country surroundings a professor and his two daughters move into at the start of the movie, My Neighbor Totoro turns out to be not only uniquely moving, emotionally rewarding and genuinely celebratory of the spirit of youth but also one of what I personally feel are the strongest animated coming-of-age works ever made.

While this may not come to your attention during your first screening of Totoro, when you begin contemplating how much careful restraint was made to avoid easy answers and shortcuts in the film by Miyazaki and his colleagues at Studio Ghibli, you realize you've just seen something not only extraordinarily rare but extraordinarily special as well.

When the girls come face to furry face with what their father calls the house's “soot gremlins” that scurry away as soon as the girls enter one of the rooms of their new home in the country, they begin imagining that they've landed in a haunted house.

Yet as it turns out, the sea of tiny creatures that leave black soot on the ground are only a dusty herring as soon, Mei (Elle Fanning) meets a large forest creature-- a woodland spirit that can only be seen by children whom they call Totoro.

Since Satsuki (Dakota Fanning) is at school most of the time and spends the rest of it growing up much too quickly by filling in as a mother figure for their own mother whom they've moved closer to be near as she convalesces in the hospital, it takes awhile for Satsuki to see her adoring sister's new friend.

However, as the girls cope with life in the farming community where their father makes a long commute to and from Tokyo University's archaeology department everyday, they discover that Totoro is just one facet of the extraordinary world just below the everyday surface. This awareness occurs when they hitch a ride on the “cat-bus” just when they need it most as their new friend helps bring the family closer.

With real life Fanning sisters playing the two animated ones, extra warmth comes through the voices alone and siblings-- whether you have a sister or a brother-- will no doubt enjoy the amount of effort that went into the illustration of their mannerisms from young Mei's mimicry of her sister both visually and orally as well as Satsuki's own mimicry of their mostly offscreen mother in a heartrending sequence when they walk with an extra umbrella in the rain to meet their father's late, late bus.

With exquisite animation that really taps right into nature complete with wind and the way that light goes through and bounces off elements along with effective use of shadows involving the girls, Totoro not only helped set the visual style of Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli's movies but also set the bar as the quintessential coming-of-age film, infused with love, imagination, and beauty.

Text ©2010, Film Intuition, LLC; All Rights Reserved. http://www.filmintuition.com
Unauthorized Reproduction or Publication Elsewhere is Strictly Prohibited and in violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

FTC Disclosure: Per standard professional practice, I received a review copy of this title in order to evaluate it for my readers, which had no impact whatsoever on whether or not it received a favorable or unfavorable critique.

DVD Review: Castle in the Sky (1986) -- Special Edition

Now Available to Own



Hayao Miyazaki Photo Slideshow

Related Reviews:
Kiki's Delivery Service
My Neighbor Totoro
Ponyo

AKA: Laputa: Castle in the SkyIn addition to its distinction as the only PG rated Hayao Miyazaki title releasing as a two-disc Disney/Studio Ghibli Special Edition to help celebrate the disc debut of Ponyo, 1986's Castle in the Sky is also the longest and most action packed Japanese Anime venture of the quartet.

Halfway through the movie, I wrote the words, “should be a video game,” in my notes only to discover that it was later adapted into a Sega game. However, unfortunately research revealed that the game was very loosely based on Miyazaki's extraordinarily complex and detailed adventure that also rivals most studio blockbusters in terms of effects, unexpected twists, and its adherence to the Joseph Campbell's Hero's Journey.

In Castle in the Sky, when Sheeta's airship is hijacked by pirates, she manages to escape with her precious heirloom-- a magical crystal pendant-- before she falls to the Earth.

Breaking her fall-- which by this time has become more of a peaceful float-- teen miner Pazu catches the young woman and discovers that she has no concrete memory of what happened way up in the sky.

And although others believe its existence is the stuff dreams are made of, the two fast friends realize that the answers both are looking for in their life can be found by seeking out the legendary Laputa, the eponymous castle in the sky, that received its name from Swift's Gulliver's Travels.

Meanwhile, the US version ditched references to classic Swift literature along with Robinson Crusoe, which obviously became a controversy for purists who understood that the film needed the intellectual influences to augment it and remain true to Miyazaki's vision.

However, one change that helps the film keep viewers riveted well into the overly long second half was the decision to give Castle a musical Disney makeover by expanding its sparse musical track into a score three times longer since children are unaccustomed to experiencing that much silence in an animated movie.

The first film ever produced and released by famed Studio Ghibli, Castle in the Sky (also known as Laputa) still makes your breath catch today due to its awe-inspiring visuals.

And of the four titles recently released in gorgeous gold and blue packaging by Disney-- complete with personal introductions with Pixar's John Lasseter and an extra disc to bring you into the many lands involved in the movies-- Castle is undoubtedly the one I'd recommend for the oldest children.

Despite our brave heroine Sheeta, it's largely targeted to boys post-Dragonball, for unlike the delightful toddler friendly lessons and adorable characters in Ponyo or My Neighbor Totoro, the deadly air pirates and intimidating robots make Castle a bit too intense for younger viewers.

Yet, more than that and given the literary references that have been removed, the plot is so intricate and follows the same type of logical hero's journey problem solving that would most appeal to them at that late elementary/middle school age in order to best appreciate Sheeta and Pazu's brave adventure to the Castle in the Sky.

Text ©2010, Film Intuition, LLC; All Rights Reserved. http://www.filmintuition.com
Unauthorized Reproduction or Publication Elsewhere is Strictly Prohibited and in violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

FTC Disclosure: Per standard professional practice, I received a review copy of this title in order to evaluate it for my readers, which had no impact whatsoever on whether or not it received a favorable or unfavorable critique.

DVD Review: Kiki's Delivery Service (1989) -- Special Edition

Now Available to Own


Hayao Miyazaki Photo Slideshow

Related Reviews:
Castle in the Sky
My Neighbor Totoro
Ponyo

AKA: Witch's Delivery Service

You have to hand it to Kiki. When Harry Potter left the cupboard under the stairs to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, powerful and protective adults supervised him.

As a thirteen-year-old witch who can barely ride a broom, can't mix potions, and is unsure just what exactly she possesses as her special gift, Kiki has a far more daunting task ahead of her.

Shortly into Hayao Miyazaki's delightful 1989 box office sensation, released in the late '90s as the first official partnership title for Studio Ghibli and Walt Disney Studios, we discover that tradition dictates that witches Kiki's age must fly away from home with their broom, their cat, and any belongings they're able to travel with in order to embark on witch's training for a whole year.

Excited that finally the ideal full moon has arrived to serve as Kiki's perfect send-off away from her rural village into the unknown world that waits, Kiki (voiced by Kirsten Dunst) packs up her feline best friend, Jiji the cat (Phil Hartman's last vocal performance) and unknowingly soars straight into a wicked thunderstorm.

Deciding to wait out the rain in a pile of hay filling a train car, it's only a matter of time before our feisty can-do heroine falls asleep, only to wake up in an unknown European destination which echoes Miyazaki's many picturesque influences of actual locations and architectural structures ranging from Scotland and Stockholm to Paris and Tokyo.

In such a cosmopolitan setting and without pretty clothing that other kids she encounters take for granted, it takes her awhile to get acclimated to her new surroundings. Making a wildly memorable first impression aboard her zippy broom that catches the attention of local authorities, Kiki is also startled to discover she's also earned an admirer in the form of an inquisitive boy named Tombo.

Pushing thoughts of cute boys aside to focus on the task at hand in trying to find her own place and purpose in the world, Kiki is fortunate enough to be taken in by a kind, very pregnant woman who's happy to share room, board and breakfast in exchange for a little extra help around the bakery she shares with her husband.

When a simple offer to fly something to another individual sparks an idea to create a delivery service, Kiki becomes more popular than a pizzeria and Netflix combined. And while living on her own was challenging enough, running a small business is even harder as we see her struggle to drum up business, shyly accept any money in lieu of setting strict prices to start, contemplating the expense of a dedicated business phone line and also watch her spending at the grocery store which translates to a whole lot of pancakes around Kiki's place.

Soon realizing that even though she ventured off alone, like Harry Potter, she doesn't have to conquer everything alone, Kiki finds a sister surrogate in Janeane Garofalo's free-spirited artist as well as a mother and grandmother figure.

A positive, girl power kids movie that should play best to grade schoolers, this beautiful 2-disc presentation introduced by John Lasseter and restored closer to the original Japanese version subtly invites young viewers to help Kiki in basic problem solving skills throughout based on our sheer interest in the plot and admiration for the characters.

Easily one of my favorite Miyazaki films, it's also hands down, the title that features my favorite heroine so far in a girl who shows ingenuity, optimism, and a willingness to try thinking outside the box again and again.

Kiki's Delivery Service, which is rumored to be in the running for a live-action version in the future makes a brilliant, feminist, and inventive change of pace for kids movies in the novelty of a title. Namely, the girl doesn't depend on a boy to rescue her, can figure out how to run a business, be independent, and still be a kid all at the same time.

And above all, she realizes that the best rewards in life are things we've worked hard to get instead of those we've been handed, whether it's making a good impression on a customer or making a new friend who becomes our second family.


Text ©2010, Film Intuition, LLC; All Rights Reserved. http://www.filmintuition.com
Unauthorized Reproduction or Publication Elsewhere is Strictly Prohibited and in violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

FTC Disclosure: Per standard professional practice, I received a review copy of this title in order to evaluate it for my readers, which had no impact whatsoever on whether or not it received a favorable or unfavorable critique.