I know there's a few of you who think I'm a bit strange. Well, yes, I am. Instead of growing up watching whatever was on tv at the time, be it some Disney cartoon or Alf or Family Ties or all those other relics of the 80s, I watched Miyazaki films. Over and over and over and over and over some more.

My gawd this guy is a genius. I recently went through the old storage space digging around for long lost gems, and stumbled upon my old Miyazaki VHS tapes. I popped them in, and just relived my childhood all over again. These tapes must be at least 18 years old. There's the odd flicker here and there, but man, the images... the themes and characters are just as strong, just as meaningful, to a 3 year old and a 21 year old alike.

You guys might know him from his recent international breakthrough effort in Spirited Away, but I know him best by 4 particular titles:


My Neighbour Totaro

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Winds

Laputa: Castle in the Sky

Kiki's Delivery Service

I'm not an anime fan. I've got next to no interest in all those futuristic intergalactic war mumbo jumbo which is the norm of anime. But Miyazaki- this guy knew how to tell a story. How to create these fascinating characters, and how to tell stories of hope, of innocence, of loyalty, of friendship, of the importance of the environment, of acceptance, and do so in a way that is the very antithesis of the corniness that underlie so many of today's Hollywood products.

Over the last few years there's been heightened interest in Pixar's animated projects like Toy Story, Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, etc. Do these stand up as technological breakthroughs in filmmaking? Sure. But that's about all these Pixar releases have over Miyazaki's films. Walk the streets of Japan, head into a comic book (manga) store, and mention the name Miyazaki, and they'll show you respect, even if you can't speak a word of Japanese. That's how powerful the name is over there.

Simply put, there's no one out there who can tell a story better.

Kiki's Delivery Service is one of my favorites. I can't wait to see Howl's Moving Castle.

I love Spirited Away.

I'm sorry to bump this post, but I don't want the cop on my ass

I just saw this movie last night and it just blew me away. The animation was just out of this world, the characters were imaginatively created and the story was heart-warming without being corny or overly sentimental. Existing superlatives really don't do it justice

Is Howl's Moving Castle as good as this film?

On first impressions, yes. Seeing it at a film festival closer, with a couple of thousand Miyazaki nuts, it was bloody awesome. Looking back, it does seem there's a few holes in the story, and so with the benefit of hindsight I would say Spirited Away is a bit better. This is on the basis of the original Japanese version with English subtitles. I haven't seen the English dubbed version, and don't intend to.

Still, Howl is better than anything Hollywood can come up with, by a long way.

I think Howl was Miyazaki's weakest in a long time. Not that it wasn't really good, just not on the level of most of his work. I actually think there were a few Hollywood films over the past year or so that beat it out.

one of my favorite anime movies of all time gotta be his princess mononoke film. i very much loved it.

I've seen Laputa. I liked it. I defenately need to check more Miyazaki out. Especially the one with the Tanukis with huges balls

I completely agree, the man is brilliant.

Since my stupid last post in this thread, I've seen many more of his films. Nausicaa and Howl are mind blowing.

Thanks for the info guys - I'll give them all a go at some stage

I just watched My Neighbor Totoro, and it is easily my favorite Miyazaki yet. Absolutely outstanding in every way.

Sitting here, I can remember back to the very first time when I saw it on laserdisc at the age of 5, sipping on some juice at home on the couch. I cried when Mei went missing, and prayed along with Satsuki while she ran around the place.

A story so simple. On repeated viewings as an adolescent and now, as an adult, there really isn't all that much happening, but somehow has this grip on my heart like no other film does. Why does it work? Don't know, despite years of analysis. It just does.

Oh dear. The supreme evil that is Disney.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0445994/

Fucking Disney. I know they've been bad recently, but dear god, this is unforgiveable.


In other news, I just got done watching Porco Rosso, and fucking christ, is Miyazaki infallible??? This one has now become my favorite! It never ends!