Feature-length animated films have never been shown at movie night. The closest one is Austin's Cat Soup, a 34-minute OVA from Japan (which i like a lot). So that is one of the reason why I picked My Neighbor Totoro.
Hayao Miyazaki is one the of the most (if not THE most) important and acclaimed animated filmmaker in the world. His films are often built on humanistic and ecological themes with creative and unique imageries. In Miyazaki films, there are no smart-ass cute kids, there are no good vs. evil, there are no girls awaiting to be rescued, there are no sugar-coated fantasies. His films are about honest portrayal of children and relationships, the alarm of human weaknesses but also the importance of hope and redemption. His storytelling ability transcends the boundaries of the perceived limits of animation. Miyazaki is the first and ever filmmaker to win a Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival with an animated feature (Spirited Away).
Except his first directional effort, I've seen all of his films. In fact, my first experience in a cinema is watching Miyazaki's "Nausicca of The Valley of The Wind". I love all his films. So it was hard for me to pick. Spirited Away is an easy choice, but Rory has seen it already (even so I highly recommend it because it has all the best qualities of all his films). I decided to pick My Neighbor Totoro for a few reasons. First, the film is set in post war Japan. It is able to illustrate the culture of Japan at that time without providing any exotic elements for western audience to focus on. Second, though it may be billed as a family/children's movie, it is not a typical children's film. To quote from allmovie.com, "some scenes portray the very real-life fears of being alone at night at a bus stop and being separated from an ill loved one. There are also some humorous bits that reveal a careful observation of children, as well as some genuinely inspiring moments in keeping with the ecological themes Miyazaki frequently returns to." And third, I love the movie.
There are a lot of assumptions and stereotypes when it comes to animation. And I hope this film will show that a animated film can be very good without being dragged by kiddie cliches or have to be obscure to be cool.
3 comments:
i wasn't informed that we lifted the animation ban...
just kidding.. i look forward to it.. i like spirited away quite a bit
Francisco, did you ever see Mind Game? It's not Miyazaki, but it's hands-down the best animated feature length film I've ever seen.
Are we at Joe's tonight? I'd call him and ask, but we all know how that goes.
I was impressed with My Neighbor Totoro, I have to say. I was afraid it was going to alienate me by being too kid-friendly and dumbed-down. I found myself liking it, though. I've enjoyed every single Miyazaki film I've seen (Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle) and this was no exception. As I mentioned last night, for those of you who haven't seen it, I would highly recommend the 1988 film Grave of the Fireflies. It's not directed by Miyazaki but it is one of the best feature-length anime films I've ever seen.
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