Studio Ghibli

[Captain Schnemo]

You may have already looked it up, but the song's by Tsuji Ayano, a j-pop artist known for her work with the ukulele. (Yes, ukulele).

Yeah, I found the other version of the song when I Googled the girl (after finding out she was cute on the documentary included on The Cat Returns DVD...that documentary is actually better than the movie if you're a serious Ghibli fan).

To me it just sounds generically pop/late disco era catchy, especially in the non-Cat Returns version.

The last person I asked said it sounded like an Olivia Newton John song, but she couldn't say which one.

It might be such a simple song structure that it sounds a lot like a whole bunch of songs, but doesn't directly steal from any of them...but I don't think so. I can almost hear the other song in my head when I listen to it, but I can't quite figure out what it is.

Aaand now I have the song stuck in my head.

They should play that over and over at Guantanamo Bay. I have listen to old skool punk rock to purge it from my head.

Speaking of Ghibli music, was the music changed in the Disney release of Totoro? It sounded like they added more music and maybe even replaced some of the sparse electronic bits. I think in general the Fox dub was better, but the Disney version could have been worse.

[DisBeamer]

It might be such a simple song structure that it sounds a lot like a whole bunch of songs, but doesn't directly steal from any of them...but I don't think so. I can almost hear the other song in my head when I listen to it, but I can't quite figure out what it is.

If you figure it out, I'm curious to know. I keep getting a random tune stuck in my head and then realize it's that song again...

Speaking of Ghibli music, was the music changed in the Disney release of Totoro? It sounded like they added more music and maybe even replaced some of the sparse electronic bits. I think in general the Fox dub was better, but the Disney version could have been worse.

I don't -think- so, but I confess it's been a long time since I saw the non-Disney release so I may be misremembering that. I'll have to see if I can dredge up the old copy and give it another listen. I certainly wouldn't put it past them to fluff up the music tracks a little to make it more in keeping with the usual Disney fare, but some of the richer sound quality may be due to the fact that the Fox release's sound was a little wonky (at least, as I remember it...).

[Cheshire Cat]

I saw Howl's Moving Castle since my last post. Miyazaki has excellent ideas in this movie and is able to create inceredible worlds that are very different from the traditional fantasy worlds. I loved the design of the "castle" and style of the villages portrayed in the film. It was almost like Jules Verne meets Bavarian Village meets Victorian Era meets Industrial Revolution.

However, the story seemed to fall short. It seemed like the movie was supposed to be much longer and explain things in more detail, but instead it had too many plot lines and none of them went into much depth.

I remember the book being very different from the movie, but very enjoyable. (Although I read it way back in middle school, so my memory may be fuzzy). I'm currently rereading it to try and figure out why the movie fell short.

I would re-watch the movie just for the amazing animation. It's almost like a Disney attraction in film format: no matter how many times you see it, you'll find something new.

[Captain Schnemo]

I still haven't watched it a second time. It just didn't make much of an impression on me.

It could be that the source material was not a good match for Miyazaki and something was lost in converting that story. But then Kiki's Delivery Service was based on someone else's stories (and the resulting movie was quite different) and it is one of Miyazaki's best.

When you're dealing with what is basically a One Man Show like Miyazaki, it's tough to say what causes things to go wrong. Maybe he didn't have as much passion for the project or was simply tired or going through a bad time in his life. Or, more likely, maybe his personal tastes are just varied and diverse, and unless you're very much like Miyazaki himself, you're just not going to go wild for every last facet of his art.

I'm very curious to see the next movie, which seems to be going in a quite a different direction.

All that said, I'd rather watch it again than any Disney movie I haven't yet seen, so I obviously didn't think too little of it!

Some people just build up a reservoir of good will and I'll happily watch something from them that doesn't quite live up to their name...in fact, I went to see Harold & Kumar 2, even though I knew it was going to be a bit disappointing, just because I loved the first movie so much.

I can't ever remember laughing as much at the movies as I did at HK1. I knew the second was going to be disappointing, so it really wasn't much of a letdown. And I was happy to give them my cash in the hopes that they'll make a third one that's actually good.

OK, now I'm rambling...

[Captain Schnemo]

Here Miyazaki makes you nostalgic for a life you never knew, want to cry, and go buy noodles...in 15 seconds.

[Captain Schnemo]

I just saw Ponyo, or I guess I should say Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea since it was the Japanese version.

I am still processing what I have seen, but Miyazaki has surprised the poop out of me again. I had an idea of what this was going to be, and it wasn't that at all.

People said it was like Totoro, and by that I guess they meant that it was also a movie.

It was a helluva show, and there's no question that I will be thinking about this one for some time. I'll probably go see it at the movies, just to get angry at the English dub (Miyazaki seems to intentionally include stuff that has no chance of being translated properly for an American audience) and see it on the big screen.

It doesn't hurt that there's a Captain Nemo-style character in this one and there is tons of awesome marine life, including many excellent squid.

The way Miyazaki just refuses to follow typical film convention allows the audience to be consistently surprised by whatever weird-ass thing happens next.

It definitely gets a thumbs up from me, but I'm going to have to let it simmer in the brainpan for a while before I figure out how much I liked it. I didn't like Porco Rosso the first time I saw it, and now it's one of my favorite Miyazaki movies.

So, anyway, go check it out, bring the kids, and be prepared to think "WTF" about eleventy billion times. In a good way.

[acp]

I think it's time for me to chime in here

I don't normally watch Anime.. I don't know why, it's just not something I ever got in to (despite living with two people who are heavily into Anime when I was at university).

I watched Spirited Away for the first time a couple of nights ago.

I didn't know what to expect when I put it on. I'd heard nothing but praise for it, and seen it in a lot of people's "top 10" lists, so thought I'd give it a try. And I'm glad I did.

I actually really enjoyed it. I really got into the story and the art and music just fascinated me. The soundtrack really fits the mood and story perfectly. There were a few moments where I found myself thinking "How the heck did they come up with the idea for that", and that's a good thing. Pretty much everything in the film is all original (and the fact that it's not based on a book etc helps that)

If I had to pick one scene as a favourite, it'd have to be the train scene. The lack of dialogue and letting the music and atmosphere tell the story just worked very well and it just stood out in my mind after watching it.

I did watch the English version (which I was suprised to see in the credits at the end for the Executive Producer of the English version the name of none other than John Lasseter). I'll likely give the Japanese with Subtitles version a go at some point. But after watching it the other night, I'm thinking it's pushed its way right up my list of favourite films ever. I think I'll have to have a look at some of Hayao Miyazaki's other films at some point.

Andy.