Little Quickies: Miyazaki/Studio Ghibli- 'Spirited Away,' 'Howl's Moving Castle,' 'Princess Mononoke,' and 'Ponyo'

Some of the most internationally known anime films come from the genius mind of Hayao Miyazaki. Even those who are not die-hard anime fanatics may have at least come across one or two of his films in some way.

2001's 'Spirited Away' won Best Animated Film in the Academy Awards. It is also the highest-grossing film in Japanese history (it even beat out 'Titanic' for the Japanese box-office).

Still don't know? How about in 'Toy Story 3?' We see Totoro of Miyazaki's 'My Neighbor Totoro' as a cameo appearance in the little girl, Bonnie's, room.Totoro is the big, gray hamster-like toy on the left.

These films are anything but obscure for those in the movie business and they are definately worth mentioning. I have not seen all of Miyazaki's films (yet), but I would love to. The movies I'm talking about are the ones I have seen.

Note: If you want to rent these, they are all on Netflix, so if you have an account with them, there you go.

'Spirited Away' Really Did Take My Breath Away

I was about 11 years old when I first saw it. I thought it was kind of weird at that age as the animation of the old woman, Yubaba, freaked me out. Keep in mind this is the first Miyazaki film I've ever viewed.

I watched it once more about 1 or 2 years later and became more intrigued by it. Now it is one of my absolute favorites and I do not exaggerate one bit. I have seen 'Spirited Away' countless times and I'm still not tired of it.

A 10-year-old girl, Chihiro, is moving to a new place along with her parents. A "shortcut" takes the family van by a mysterious tunnel, which Chihiro's parents want to investigate.

On the other side of this tunnel, a beautiful, open field awaits them and even further is a small, seemingly abandoned theme park.

However, the theme park has delicious smells enticing Chihiro's parents, who eventually find a stall filled with food. They decide to gorge themselves and wait until someone comes by so they can pay. Chihiro is reluctant to eat and decides to explore. There is not much else other than a towering bath house.

Night falls and the abandoned theme park is suddenly filled with spirits. Chihiro runs to get her parents, only to find out they've turned into pigs. Chihiro tries to run away from the theme park, but sees that the large field that was once there has turned into a large body of water.

We find out that she is stuck in the Spirit's world and must find a way out and return her parents back to normal before they become dinner.

'Spirited Away' has many Japanese cultural aspects in the film, so some people may find it "weird." In actuality, if you let go of your misconceptions and prejudices, you may find yourself captivated by Chihiro's journey. The music is beautiful and fits well with the film, thanks to Joe Hisaishi's amazing talent.

5/5

Rent worthy? Mochiron! Of course!

DVD/Blu-ray worthy? I only have it on a DVD-R actually. I need to buy an actual copy because I love this movie so much.

'Princess Mononoke' Is A Royal Treasure On Its Own

A young warrior, Ashitaka, is stricken with a horrible curse when he successfully defends his village from a wrathful boar-god.

To save his own life, he must journey across to find a cure. In his journey, Ashitaka finds that a woman, Lady Eboshi, and her followers are waging battles against the forest and its gods, for the good of her mining colony.

There is also a young woman, Princess Mononoke, who is giving Lady Eboshi trouble.

Ashitaka sees good in both sides of the battle and has to find a way to bring a sense of peace between man's industry and the god's nature, all while battling his own curse.

'Princess Mononoke' is darker-toned than 'Spirited Away' and children may or may not understand the environmental message of the film. It is also more violent, so keep that in mind if you are thinking about letting the kiddies watch this.

I thought it was good, but I still like 'Spirited Away' better. What I find interesting is how Miyazaki always has such a compelling story and while the main subject of the film (man vs. nature; environment) is common (see 'Avatar,' 'Pocahontas,' 'Dances With Wolves,' 'Hoot,' and 'Happy Feet'), Miyazaki can make it interesting.

4/5

Rent worthy? Yes, it's worth seeing at least once.

DVD/Blu-ray worthy? I liked it, but I'm still not sure if I want to own it. I'll watch it one more time and see if I change my mind though. I can watch it again, at least. It's certainly not a terrible movie.

'Howl's Moving Castle' Had Me Howling With Laughter and Moved Me

When I say, "howling with laughter" I mean it in the good sense, plus I couldn't think of another corny title as I like to do for my reviews.

I really liked this one. I'd say it's second to 'Spirited Away' for me. I thought the story was lovely. 'Howl's Moving Castle' is based on a British book of the same name.

A young woman, Sophie Hatter, is cursed by the Witch of the Waste to be stuck in an old woman's body. One would naturally ask for help, but the witch has made it so Sophie can tell no one of her dreadful dilemma.

Ashamed of her looks, she runs away from her mother's shop and into the hills surrounding the town. It is there that she comes across a moving castle, belonging to a handsome wizard named Howl (Hauru in Japanese).

Sophie enters the castle and meets a fire demon, Calcifer. She realizes that he can see past her curse and see who she really is. Calcifer promises her that she will become young again if she can free him from Howl, but Calcifer cannot tell Sophie how because of the contract he is under.

Sophie eventually meets Howl and finds that she must help him confront his former teacher and the Witch of the Waste.

Like I said, I enjoyed this movie a lot. I found Howl's narcissim hilarious ("I give up. What's the point of living if I can't be beautiful?") and how he puts image and looks on a high pedestal.

And, once again, the music is very pretty. I love the theme of the movie and the way it carries along the film with it.

5/5

Rent worthy? To be blunt: yes.

DVD/Blu-ray worthy? Oh, yeah. I definately need to get this movie. Howl's character is so funny (voiced by Christian Bale in the Eng. dub, but don't worry, he doesn't yell obscenities at you in the film)

'Ponyo (On the Cliff By the Sea)' Made Me Ponder

And wow, did I ponder about this movie. I watched it alone the first time and with my little sisters the second time...

And I still didn't like it. I wanted to like it, but I just could not grasp the love story surrounding the two main characters.

'Ponyo' is loosely based on 'The Little Mermaid.'

A young goldfish is the daughter of a wizard and the sea goddess. She lives with her sisters and longs to explore the world.

She escapes and through a series of events, she become stuck in a bottle. A boy named Sosuke rescues her and names her Ponyo. He takes a liking to Ponyo and she takes a stronger liking for him.

Meanwhile, her wizard father, Fujimoto, finds her and takes Ponyo back home. Once there, they argue and Ponyo tells him that she loves Sosuke. Fujimoto is not happy and does not want another word about it.

Ponyo manages to escape and uses her father's magic to turn her human, which creates an imbalance in the world.

She eventually finds Sosuke and his mother, Lisa, and stays with them and enjoys human comforts while her father worries around looking for her.

I don't know what it was about this movie. It is cute and I like the characters, but I just did not enjoy it as much as I wanted.

I think it was the "love" aspect of 'Ponyo.' It was not genuine enough for me.

It might be the age factor of the characters (Sosuke says that he truely loves Ponyo at age 5) but I don't think that's it. In 'Spirited Away' there is a love story for Chihiro, who is 10. At least with her story, there is more character development and a foundation for her relationship to be built upon.

With Ponyo, she just sees Sosuke, loves him, and selfishly uses her father's magic to turn her human, regardless of the consequences. So I guess, I hate the story of 'The Little Mermaid' as a whole then since it is basically the same thing.

I wanted to like it, but I just could not get myself into it. I was really bummed that I didn't like it since I liked all the other Miyazaki films.

2.5/5

Rent worthy? It's not his best, but if you like Miyazaki, maybe you will like it and maybe you won't.

DVD/Blu-ray worthy? I'm not getting it. Ponyo, you're a cute fish, but you're like a real fish: Nice to look at, but you get bored of it quickly.

Keep on watchin'

The Little Critic