As many of you already know I am a HUGE fan of the works and films of Studio Ghibli. That said, I wanted to let all you Dallas area film fans with a fondness for the works of Hayao Miyazaki, Isao Takahata and the gifted story tellers from Studio Ghibli know about a 2 day event sponsored by the USA Film Festival. This weekend on January 21st and 22nd, The Angelika Film Center will be hosting 11 of the studio’s most famous and popular films in all new 35MM prints. (FYI, all films will be show in English except for Castle in the Sky) The Angelika will be showing: My Neighbor Totoro,…
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Sweet Trailer…'The Secret World of Arrietty'
Calling all you Ghibli fans!! After nearly 2 years of waiting we’re going to finally get a US theatrical release of The Arrietty (originally The Borrowers) aka Kari-gurashi no Arietty. Inspired by Mary Norton’s children’s fantasy novels this was released by The Toho Company in Japan last summer and Walt Disney is bringing this, like the UK release before now, to our theaters next year. Hand picked by Miyazaki himself, this feature is directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi who is another in the series of Studio Ghibli artists/animators making his directorial debut. Have a look at the beauty, wonder and spectacle in what looks to be another gem from the world famous Studio…
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"Miyazaki Madness" Is Over!!
Well friends, “Miyazaki Madness” is officially over. We’ve had 4 weeks of match ups, voting, comments and best of all, appreciation for the films of Studio Ghibli! In total, the tournament brought in nearly 10,000 visitors, racked up nearly 300 votes and I have to say it was a tremendous turnout! Thank you all for stopping by to participate in this event (I bet you’ll be glad to see an end to my Twitter and Facebook updates, huh?). So who gets to wear the winner’s crown and strut their stuff all around the animation world?? Well click the image below (for a hi-rez version) and find out for yourself…
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"Miyazaki Madness" Championship Round [POLLS CLOSED]
Well Ghibli fans, it all comes down to this!! The last three weeks have seen some heartbreaking losses as the polls have yielded some surprising upsets. But more importantly we have a finals round that really gives a great cross section of diversity of the films from Studio Ghibli. I asked for a tournament to give us “The Greatest Miyazaki/Takahata/Ghibli Film” and I think we’re gonna get it. So funny that the two films vying for the title are one of Ghibli’s most fantastic and fun films pitted against one of their most realistic and emotional films. There’s really not a true loser in the entire tournament. Further, this was all done to celebtrate…
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Off the Shelf…'Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind'
In Hayao Miyazaki‘s 1984 epic Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind we find our titular heroine on a quest to save what’s left of a post-apocalyptic world from being destroyed as it was hundreds of years earlier. A true product of the 80’s (see: The Dark Crystal, Dune, Conan, etc) Nausicaä carves a nice place in the fantasy genre, but more importantly it is a bit of an anomaly in the Ghibli resume. Not only will you find giant monsters, bizarre plants and animals, prophecies and a host of fantastic elements but even Nausicaä herself is the type of character seldom seen in Ghibli films. You could argue that Nausicaä…
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"Miyazaki Madness" Third Round – The Final Four! [POLLS CLOSED]
Well friends, the second round of “Miyazaki Madness” has closed and we now have only 4 challengers left. In the Elite 8 round we had to say goodbye to fan favorite Princess Mononoke, the short but sweet The Cat Returns, the criminally overlooked Whisper of the Heart and one of my newfound favorites Castle in the Sky. Tis a sad day but you can’t have a tournament without breaking some eggs, err hearts, right? So with that we enter the semi-final round of the the tournament. That leaves us with the Final Four slugging it out in search of the title of Greatest Miyazaki/Takahata/Studio Ghibli film. Can’t say as I could have forseen this…
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Japanese Cinema Blogathon – Off the Shelf…'Howl's Moving Castle'
Following on the heels of the Oscar Winning Spirited Away, comes another breathtaking adventure from Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli. Miyazaki’s films are known for placing a female protagonist in a very out-of-her-element situation. Moreover it’s a story of a strong willed woman/girl finding their inner strength and what it takes to believe in herself. Howl’s Moving Castle doesn’t exactly fit within that template but this similar story is more about said protagonist, Sophie, inspiring those around her with her positive attitude and determination. That’s another common storyline in Ghibli films. Castle tells the story of Sophie, a plain as they come young woman finding contentment in a world filled…
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"Miyazaki Madness" Second Round – The Elite 8 [POLLS CLOSED]
Wow, what a bunch of heart breaks and blow outs this first round, huh? Hayao’s Spirited Away steamrolls over his son Goro’s first feature Tales From Eathsea. Princess Mononoke beat out the equally matched and favored Nausicaa. Pom Poko was no match for Ghibli poster boy Totoro and my dear lord did Porco Rosso get smoked like a pound of bacon by Castle in the Sky. Even my favorite Howl’s Moving Castle was knocked out by Grave of the Fireflies (you can see the rest of the results in the image below). But that’s how it goes…two men enter, one man leave right? So here I present the updated official “Miyazaki…
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Japanese Cinema Blogathon – Off the Shelf…’Tales From Earthsea’
Tales From Earthsea is not the work of the legendary Hayao Miyazaki or even Isao Takahata. This animated feature comes from Goro Miyazaki; Hayao’s son. Admittedly it’s so very hard to think about Goro’s work (who is not, I repeat not a professional animator) and not compare him to his father. Further, expecting a Princess Mononoke level of film right out of the gates is not only a lofty expectation, but an impossible one. It’s like trying to compare “Juno” to “Ghostbusters”; just because Jason Reitman is Ivan Reitman’s son doesn’t mean he’ll top his father’s peak films with his first effort. But even though Goro didn’t grow up in…
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"Miyazaki Madness" Starts TODAY!! First Round – The Sweet 16 [POLLS CLOSED]
These are the match-ups for the first round Sweet 16 Bracket in the “Miyazaki Madness“. Voting will stay open for 1 week. Cast your votes and don’t forget to comment at the bottom… Click the image above for a hi-rez version of the bracket and start voting after the jump…