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LTTP: Spirited Away

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R

roytheone

Member
Update # 2:

roytheone said:
So after all the advice about what to watch next, i made a list with roughly the order in which i plan to watch the rest of the Ghibli movies:

Spirited away
Howl's moving castle
Princess mononoke
Grave of the fireflies
My neighbor totoro
The Castle of Cagliostro
Porco rosso
Akira (Not a ghibli movie, but enough people recommended it)
Laputa: castle in the sky
Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind
Ponyo (I actually saw the nostalgia critic review of this movie, so I kinda know the story already)
Arrietty
Whisper of the Heart
Kiki's delivery service
The wind rises
Pom Poko
The Tale of Princess Kaguya
Tales from earthsea (this one is apparently not good? still worth a watch?)
From Up on Poppy Hill
Only Yesterday
My Neighbors the Yamadas
The Cat Returns

Am I missing a couple or is this list OK?
Also, I will not constantly update this thread with my opinion on every single movie, but maybe I will make a new thread after I finished watching them all.
Click to expand...

Update # 1:

roytheone said:
So it took way longer than initially planned, but i finally managed to make time to watch another Ghibli movie: howl's moving castle. Not surprisingly, I thought the movie was great.
While I found the setting and the overall story slightly less interesting than in Spirited Away (but still great), I did appreciate the more lighthearted tone the movie has. There are a lot more funny moments in howl's, and they are generally very well done. It gives a nice contrast to the dark background of the war. Also, the animation is simply spectacular, especially the vehicles, they are extremely dynamic with a lot of moving parts.

So while Howl's moving castle doesn't quite reach the extreme high that was Spirited Away for me, it was still a fantastic movie. Now to decide what I will watch next (hopefully with less time in between than last time).
Click to expand...

Original post:

So, about a month ago, I got way into watching classic movies I haven’t seen before. I made a list of movies I wanted to see and start watching them. After a couple of absolutely great movies (the godfather I and II, goodfellas, the shawshank redemption) I reached the very first animated movie on my list, Spirited Away (aka “de reis van Chihiro" in my native language, dutch):

111021_105018_spirited_away.jpg



When I started watching the movie, I wasn't really sure what to expect. I am not a huge anime fan and I had never seen a Miyazaki movie in my life. But boy, let me tell you GAF: This movie is fan-fucking-tastic. Normally I watch a movie from my list in two or three sessions, but this was one of the rare movies that I just couldn't walk away from.

So why do I think this movie is so good? Well, it is kinda hard to describe, the movie just feels magical. The world that Chihiro gets transported too is incredibly creative and interesting. There is just so much to see, and every scene there is something new to look at and admire. And yet, the movie doesn't make the mistake to focus too much on the world, that is just an (extremely well realized) backdrop for the much smaller, personal story of Chihiro and her search for a way home, a cure for her parents and her relationship with Haku. Also, the animation quality still holds up, and some of the scenes look like beautiful paintings. Finally, the movie handles it’s messages (don’t be greedy, respect nature, friendship and love can conquer everything) expertly, and they are never too much in your face.

So while I went in to this movie having no expectations, in the end it became my favorite animated movie ever made, and one of my favorite movies period. I can’t wait to check out the rest of Miyazaki’s work, if they are only half as good as this one, they still will be great to watch.

PS. If you told me a month ago that my very first thread on neogaf would be me praising an anime movie, I wouldn’t have believed you.

PS2. I can’t be the only one that sees the similarities between this movie and Alice in wonderland, right?
 
A

Arcipello

Member
yeah ive always said it felt like a japanese Alice in wonderland which is a good thing. Princess mononoke should be next on your list :)
 
P

Peru

Member
The most amazing expression of childhood wonder, genuine fantasy -- that Miyazaki openmindedness where prejudices and scary things turn out to be less frightening than they seem at first while still managing to thrill you and surprise you every step of the way. Beautiful, warm character portrayals, music like this : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MP6FTh9BTc4

Yeah, it's the best animated movie ever made. One of the best ever, period.
 
T

thenexus6

Member
I would like to get this on blu ray eventually its just a little expensive right now. Movie is fantastic, I really need to rewatch it.

Check out more Ghibli movies, they really are (in my opinion) the best animation studio in the world. So many great movies.
 
DJ_Lae

DJ_Lae

Member
Great movie - I'm not generally a fan of anime but I would say that Ghibli's stuff is unique - it doesn't feel like 'anime,' which is maybe a weird thing to say as I realize it technically is.

I can't wait for Kiki's Delivery Service to hit Blu-ray later this year. Also waiting on word, any word, of Porco Rosso.

WorldStar said:
Plz go watch every studio ghibli flick
Click to expand...

Holy shit, yes, do this. I'm jealous you get to experience them all for the first time.
 
M

mickcenary

Member
Weeeeeeeird, mang. I watched this just the other day and found it insufferably boring. Chihiro's motives re: Haku we're just so out-of-nowhere and baseless. I could not have cared less about their fates come the final stretch; all I could care about was it ending.

Having said that, it's a Ghibli film, so beautiful as always. And the soundtrack was often fantastic.
 
RoadHazard

RoadHazard

Gold Member
So wonderful. Still my favorite animated movie of all time, I think. Howl's Moving Castle is also brilliant, and many other Ghibli films are almost as great.
 
M

meppi

Member
I'll say watch My Neighbor Totoro next. That's my personal favourite.
Very light on story, but the atmosphere and imagination is hard to top.

Had no idea that title was used in the Benelux...
Never seen it as anything else but Spirited Away.

Also your image isn't working.
 
A

AdanVC

Member
Absolutely. That damn film is a mindblowing experience. Excels on pretty much everything. It's Miyazaki at his very best. Princess Mononoke was also Miyazaki at his very best and I consider it his absolute masterpiece. I HIGHLY recommend you watch that film as well, OP... I actually consider it better than Spirited Away, but Mononoke doesn't have that "universal" appeal that Spirited Away has starting by the fact that the story is easier to understand and there was more variety of characters for all tastes. Those two films are out of this world I tell you.
 
R

roytheone

Member
WorldStar said:
Plz go watch every studio ghibli flick
Click to expand...
thenexus6 said:
Check out more Ghibli movies, they really are (in my opinion) the best animation studio in the world. So many great movies.
Click to expand...
sub_o said:
Go watch all of them, each of their movies evokes different kind of emotion.
Click to expand...
TheExhaustedWalrus said:
Incredible film. Almost everything Ghibli has done is fantastic and you need to check it all out.
Click to expand...

Don't you guys worry, I will definitely check the other studio ghibli movies out. Probably will space their movies out a bit so I don't get fatigued with them. Maybe I will edit the OP after watching more of them and change it to a LTTP: studio Ghibli thread or something, could be interesting.

On a related note: I watched the English dub of Spirited Away and that was fine. Are the dubs of the other Ghibli movies of similar quality, or are there some I have to avoid?

meppi said:
Had no idea that title was used in the Benelux...
Never seen it as anything else but Spirited Away.
Click to expand...

Here in the Netherlands, 99 percent of movies just use their English name, but there are weird exceptions like this and The lord of the rings (called "in de ban van de ring" which roughly translates to "under the influence of the ring"). It's kinda stupid, because literally everyone just uses their original English names anyway.
 
S

Sparrowhawk

Member
This is the third Ghibli movie I ever saw, though I didn't know it at the time.

I used to watch Kiki's Delivery Service on Disney whenever it would come on. Great movie, but it probably won't impress you as much as Spirited Away. It's still very beautiful, though.

After that, I saw Princess Mononoke at a friend's house on HBO or something. I was still very young, so seeing a cartoon with blood and violence kind of blew my mind. Great flick. I actually have a cel hanging on my wall from this.

I'd say you should probably watch Howl's Moving Castle next. It's my favorite Ghibli movie, even though I kind of dislike Christian Bale as Howl. That being said, you should really watch all of them if you get the chance.
 
E

Eye for an Eye

Member
Disney has released most of the Ghibli movies in English in the US, but there are still a handful that are not. I recently bought Up On Poppy Hill that's a non-Disney Ghibli movie.

You should also watch Grave of the Fireflies. I don't believe it's a Ghibli movie, but it's emotional impact is hard to beat. I watched it once years ago, bought it about a year ago on Blu Ray and have never opened it.

And I do believe there is a Ghibli OT somewhere on here. I've seen it a few times.
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=475861
 
ChuyMasta

ChuyMasta

Member
thenexus6 said:
I would like to get this on blu ray eventually its just a little expensive right now. Movie is fantastic, I really need to rewatch it.

Check out more Ghibli movies, they really are (in my opinion) the best animation studio in the world. So many great movies.
Click to expand...


Why on earth is the blu ray $80.00?!
 
M

MauMau

Banned
Eye for an Eye said:
Disney has released most of the Ghibli movies in English in the US, but there are still a handful that are not. I recently bought Up On Poppy Hill that's a non-Disney Ghibli movie.

You should also watch Grave of the Fireflies. I don't believe it's a Ghibli movie, but it's emotional impact is hard to beat. I watched it once years ago, bought it about a year ago on Blu Ray and have never opened it.

And I do believe there is a Ghibli OT somewhere on here. I've seen it a few times.
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=475861
Click to expand...

Grave of the Fireflies was definitely a Ghibli movie. It's Takahata though, not Miyazaki.

I'm torn if the OP should watch Fireflies next, or Totoro. They're both completely different movies that will give you a completely different feeling. Both are great, but for different reasons. And strangely enough, both were in production at the same time. Totoro is more like Spirited Away. Fireflies is in a whole different universe, emotionally.

The animators themselves sometimes got confused on which movie they were animating.

I'd probably do Fireflies next to get a different experience, then Totoro.
 
S

smurfx

get some go again
spirited away was my gateway drug into anime. i had seen dragon ball z before but it never made me want to watch other animes.
 
Monocle

Monocle

Member
You're right, Spirited Away is exceptional. One of Studio Ghibli's best, and that's saying something. I should watch it again soon.
 
A

ArchAngel

Member
Spirited Away, Nausicaä and Mononoke are the only good Ghibli movies IMO. I really like anime, but the other Ghiblis are just boring to me.

Spirited Away is by far the best, loved every minute of it and I'm looking forward to the BluRay here :)



/minority
 
A

Alcotholic

Banned
My all time favorite movie. I loved everything about it. After watching it years ago, I was in a state of shock because of how good it was.
 
P

Pinkuss

Member
Travelled all the way to York to see this at the cinema when it came out, went with my mum and her boyfriend and both loved it. My mums boyfriend used to have garden parties too and have this on a projector above his shed/greenhouse.. looked ace.
 
D

Dali

Member
It's one of my favorite Miyazaki films for the reasons you listed and also why his newer films have been kind of meh to me (Japanese period pieces with no magical element).

Spirited away>princess mononoke = my neighbor totoro >howl's moving castle >laputa = porko rosso = kiki's delivery service
 
M

Mrs. Manky

Banned
Try to watch the sub of Laputa if you can. The English dub voices are good, but the dub makes some music choices that take away some of the feelings created by the original.
 
R

roytheone

Member
So it took way longer than initially planned, but i finally managed to make time to watch another Ghibli movie: howl's moving castle. Not surprisingly, I thought the movie was great.
While I found the setting and the overall story slightly less interesting than in Spirited Away (but still great), I did appreciate the more lighthearted tone the movie has. There are a lot more funny moments in howl's, and they are generally very well done. It gives a nice contrast to the dark background of the war. Also, the animation is simply spectacular, especially the vehicles, they are extremely dynamic with a lot of moving parts.

So while Howl's moving castle doesn't quite reach the extreme high that was Spirited Away for me, it was still a fantastic movie. Now to decide what I will watch next (hopefully with less time in between than last time).
 
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