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Miyazaki's Howl's Moving Castle Open in Japan

blamanj writes ""Howl's Moving Castle" (Howl no Ugoku Shiro), is the latest animated epic from Miyazaki's Studio Ghibli. In a departure from his usual sources, this time Miyazaki has adapted a story by British author Diana Wynne Jones. The reviews look good." CT: Apparently Howl's opened a few weeks ago.

222 comments

  1. The reviews look good by Ironsides · · Score: 0

    The reviews look good.

    It's by Miyazaki. It has to be good.

    --
    Fly me to the moon Let me sing among those stars Let me see what spring is like On jupiter and mars
    1. Re:The reviews look good by UWC · · Score: 1

      It's by Miyazaki. It has to be good.

      That reminded me of the slogan of Smucker's jellies, jams, and such:
      "With a name like Smucker's, it has to be good."

    2. Re:The reviews look good by bonch · · Score: 0

      Just one question, is it as good as "Spirited Away?"

    3. Re:The reviews look good by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Or Princess Mononokee?

      Miyazaki came out of retirement to make Spirited Away and again to make Howl's Moving Castle. I don't know if it will be as good as either but I have yet to see a Miyazaki film that I wouldn't rate as outstanding. He is truly the master of Japanese animation.

    4. Re:The reviews look good by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      s/master of Japanese animation/master of filmmaking/

    5. Re:The reviews look good by F34nor · · Score: 1

      Spirited Away was a pale gost next to Mononoke and Nausicaa. A child next to a master. What you should be asking is "is it better than La puta?" A movie about a moving castle.

    6. Re:The reviews look good by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Something that foreigners (not Japanese residents) miss is that all of these movies have appeared in a social context.

      Spirited Away was HUGE in Japan because it came at a time when youth appeared to be losing its way and innocence was already lost. The 10 year old girl, who had to relocate on grounds of, say, the selfishness of the parents, was thrown out of her role and context. Sullen and cynical, she watches her parents' gluttony ruin her life and theirs too. Hmmmm, sounds like the recession Japan has been in for the last 15 years. Grey-haired pensioners eating their young.

      What is a 10 year old to do? Work, find love, find friendship, and try to set it right. It is a great imaginative story ...

      The movie was brilliant. If you look closely at the contexts in which his movies have appeared, you will see that Miyazaki is a Japanese leader, social critic.... a shaman. His stuff is always weird on the outside, but he is not trying to tell us about headline news, he is trying to express and exorcise anxieties buried deeply in contemporary Japan.

      Every one of Miyazaki's movies is good. I can not name a crappy one. People have their favorites, but Sen to Chihiro (S.Away) was not a knock-off mail-it-in effort. Have you seen the RED PIG movie? Every balding engineer should be forced to watch that one. Anyway, I am not sure what this CASTLE one is about, but I am likely to see it in the next few days. I am guessing its themes would touch on anxieties about war, international relations, superannuation, intergenerational problems, or ??

      By the way, ask most Japanese people what their favorite Miyazaki movie was, and they won't say Laputa. They probably won't say Nausicaa either. Keep in mind that those were released by Disney to the US. Those are the movies that {{DISNEY THOUGHT YOU WOULD LIKE}} and you did. Er... congratulations, I think.

    7. Re:The reviews look good by hey! · · Score: 1

      Miyazaki came out of retirement to make Spirited Away and again to make Howl's Moving Castle.

      He's begun to look the the James Brown of animation.

      Oh, well, as long as he keeps coming back. He's still relatively young. May he live (and work) a hundred years.

      --
      Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
    8. Re:The reviews look good by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm curious - what would you say mast Japanese people would say their favorite Miyazaki movie was?

    9. Re:The reviews look good by F34nor · · Score: 1

      I've seen em all. I liked the soap opera ones the least I think they float in the direction of badness.

      Totoro is simple like a black and white lithograph, grease pen on stone bold lines and sublte back fill. Poco and Kiki are both very simple but one is yin and one is yang. I think Disney stole that Ballou air pirate show from Poco Roco just like they stole that stupid Atlantis movie. But hey give me a break, Sen to Chihiro wasn't that great a movie. It was good, hell it is far better than 99.9% of anime made today but it was childish. Intentionally childish but childish nonetheless. I am not a child. I appreciated the minutiae of the thing and the aesthetics but it was boring and transparent to me.

      Mononoke and Nauscaa on the other hand are the adult works of a master. They are able to compress uncertainty and nuance into a single fractal meme. They deal with race, class, gender, the enviroment, religion, fanactism, arrogence, hate, evolution, love, and most of all the unreality and change inherinate in the universe. Nothing in Chihro rose the masterwork level. I would give Miyazaki a Ph.D. for Mononoke but Cihiro is only undergraduate quality (granted an undergraduate genius.) Don't cut people slack becasue they are good at what they do, hold them to a higher standard.

      Fuck Disney. I watch em in Japanese with subtitles. Eisner can drown in his own shit for all I care, and if the stock holders have their way he might. God I hope shove the entire reel of "The Alamo" up his ass for wasting my money like that.

      I mentioned Laputa because it invokes Howl in no small part. It seems redundant. I love Laupta btw the best part is the yin yang island. Half wet, biological, and free and half brittle, technical, and domineering. I also love it for being so damn Welsh. It's fantastic.

    10. Re:The reviews look good by Elkboy · · Score: 1

      And may we then have the technology to keep his head alive in a jar, for another hundred years of Miyazaki films.

    11. Re:The reviews look good by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Just one question, where's your plagiarized review of it?

  2. That's all well and good but by Omicron32 · · Score: 4, Funny

    I'm not watching it if it's not digitally signed.

    1. Re:That's all well and good but by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I don't know if the movie is, but the .torrent file is.

    2. Re:That's all well and good but by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You better not be using that them Line X thing, that them's for fah'reners. Real 'mericans use Intarweb Explorer, yep.

    3. Re:That's all well and good but by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm only watching it if it's digitally signed.

    4. Re:That's all well and good but by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The .torrent file is the movie, if don't know

    5. Re:That's all well and good but by Mad_Rain · · Score: 1

      In Korea, only old people worry about digital signatures...

      Damn, that meme died out quickly. What about "In Soviet Russia, Memes repeat YOU!"

      hot grits?

      hello?

      --
      "What do you think?" "I think 'What, do you think?!'"
    6. Re:That's all well and good but by timster · · Score: 1

      Maybe "In Soviet Russia, unless you are digitally signed, no one trusts YOU!"

      Uh, maybe not.

      --
      I have seen the future, and it is inconvenient.
    7. Re:That's all well and good but by McNally · · Score: 1
      In Korea, only old people worry about digital signatures...

      Damn, that meme died out quickly. What about "In Soviet Russia, Memes repeat YOU!"

      hot grits?

      hello?
      Hah. All your cliches are belong to us.
  3. Re:Well by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    In Korea, only old people have slow news days.

  4. Re:News for ... who? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    I thought this was "News For Nerds", not "News For Adults who still watch children's cartoons"? Go on, mod me down if you're 30 years old and still watch kid's TV ...
    Most people would call "Adult who still watch children's cartoon" nerds.

    (By the way Miyazaki's movies are not childrens movies)
  5. Wow, his "Lastest" Movie. by Wandering+Wombat · · Score: 2, Funny

    For reals this time!

    --
    I like to place meaningful quotes in my sig, so people will know that I know what meaningful quotes are.
    1. Re:Wow, his "Lastest" Movie. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Like "Final" Fantasy.

    2. Re:Wow, his "Lastest" Movie. by ChibiOne · · Score: 1

      The summary said "latest", not last.

    3. Re:Wow, his "Lastest" Movie. by Wandering+Wombat · · Score: 1

      The summary on the Front Page said "lastest", not "latest", and certainly not "last"

      --
      I like to place meaningful quotes in my sig, so people will know that I know what meaningful quotes are.
  6. The biggest concern... by JossiRossi · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I didn't see anything on it, but have they done any dubbing? I personally prefer subtitles, but they may try to pull a "Must appeal to a wider audience" when they pull it over to the states. Will the English speaking version suck? Who knows.

    --
    Just a boy doing unproffesional IT work that's way above his head.
    1. Re:The biggest concern... by genner · · Score: 1

      The real question is will the fan sub be released on the net this week.

    2. Re:The biggest concern... by aardvarkjoe · · Score: 3, Informative
      I didn't see anything on it, but have they done any dubbing? I personally prefer subtitles, but they may try to pull a "Must appeal to a wider audience" when they pull it over to the states.
      Howl will almost certainly be released in the same way that Miyazaki's other movies have been here in the states: the DVDs have both english and japanese audio tracks, and English subtitles as well. As for whether the dub will suck or not -- so far, most of the dubs have been very good. The only exception, in my opinion, was Castle in the Sky, which had a pretty poor dub.
      --

      How can we continue to believe in a just universe and freedom to eat crackers if we have no ale?
    3. Re:The biggest concern... by nkh · · Score: 1

      It's not my concern: I refuse anything that has been dubbed (or as I like to call it, interpreted by someone else's brain and spoon-fed to me). And learning new languages is always a good thing for your brain.

    4. Re:The biggest concern... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      Pardon me while I fake bowing to your pretentiousness.

    5. Re:The biggest concern... by iabervon · · Score: 1

      Considering that it just openned in Japan, they probably haven't done any work on an English version yet. American distributors are annoyingly slow about signing anime, even Miyazaki's work, and it would be too much of a risk to actually do English voices without any particular plans to release it in an English version. On the other hand, I bet the English script will be relatively true to the original this time.

    6. Re:The biggest concern... by UWC · · Score: 1

      I applaud your mastery of sarcasm. I wanted badly to post a similar reply, but could not muster the requisite composure to move beyond my open-mouthed amazement at such unabashed and completely laughable pretension. Its complete perfection (note the "or as I like to call it") makes it seem like an intentional troll, but the lack of AC status makes me fear that the comment is indeed genuine.

    7. Re:The biggest concern... by UWC · · Score: 4, Informative

      Disney has exclusive US distribution rights to all Ghibli work (note that the Miramax label, under which Princess Mononoke was released, is owned by Disney), so there shouldn't be a problem with signing. I think Spirited Away was in US theaters within a year of its Japanese release, wasn't it? I hope this sees a similarly speedy release. Spirited Away's critical success bodes well for a fairly wide release.

    8. Re:The biggest concern... by Elkboy · · Score: 1

      I doubt Studio Ghibli do any dubbing, since the film is already scheduled for release in the West and Disney surely have something big planned already.

      However, I bought the Spirited Away DVD directly from Japan, and it had english subtitles. It might be the same for the Howl DVD.

    9. Re:The biggest concern... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That's neat. I mean only takes the Japanese about 12 years of schooling (to read kanji) before they can read a newspaper. If a movie is good enough, I should spend the time, right? Lets see, I have movies in Japanese (learning), Spanish (know), German (know), French, English (know poorly--I learned it as an American ;) ), Italian, Chinese, Russian, and Arabic. Not going to be watching movies for a while I guess.

    10. Re:The biggest concern... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ooh, forgot to add Klingon and Romulan! Not to mention the languages of Mordor, the Dwarves, and the Elves in Tolkien's works. What else?

    11. Re:The biggest concern... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      At least he didn't break out a "for those in the know." Man, that phrase makes me want to shoot people. In the face. With a gun.

    12. Re:The biggest concern... by Elkboy · · Score: 1

      Almost a year. It premiered on July 20th, 2001 and in the US September 20th, 2002. There's no official US date for Howl, but Nausicaa.net's FAQ has these dates for other countries:

      * Japan - November 20, 2004
      * Korea - December 24, 2004
      * France - January 12, 2005
      * Switzerland (French) - January 12, 2005
      * Sweden - September 2005
      * Belgium - 2005
      * Hong Kong - 2005
      * Israel - 2005
      * Germany - 2005
      * Taiwan - 2005

      January 12th in France? Those bastards! It should be renamed Howl's Freedom Castle in protest!

    13. Re:The biggest concern... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well, for those in the know, when you shoot someone it's usually with a gun. That part doesn't need to be explicitly stated.

      Obviously, posters on slashdot have not noticed the paradigm shift. Useful catchphrases make your words mean more!

    14. Re:The biggest concern... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      On Dec 24, 2004, in Corea, only old people will go to see this movie :)

    15. Re:The biggest concern... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The English subtitles on the Japanese edition are different than the words in the English dubbed version.

    16. Re:The biggest concern... by colmore · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I prefer dubbing in the theaters and subtitles at home.

      Reading text on a big screen takes my eyes off the visuals for a moment, and in a Ghibli movie, that's unforgivable.

      --
      In Capitalist America, bank robs you!
    17. Re:The biggest concern... by initialE · · Score: 1

      Here we see another difference between the Japanese and American mindset. I'll bet you that if any dubbing is done, they will hire expensive actors to do the voices. Whereas there is really no requirement for that kind of thing, you're really not going to sell more tickets just because Justin Timberlake is doing a voice or something.

      --
      Starbucks, Harbuckle of Breath.
    18. Re:The biggest concern... by fbjon · · Score: 1

      But that's not enough. The English subs need to be translated from the Japanese original audio, not just the English dubbed script converted to subtitles. Thus, two separate translations are required for optimal results (since text != voice).

      --
      True confidence comes not from realising you are as good as your peers, but that your peers are as bad as you are.
    19. Re:The biggest concern... by briareus · · Score: 1

      Oh please -- it's not like subtitles insure that you get an accurate translation. I tend to to prefer dubs but it's mainly because:

      1.) I generally don't care for American voice acting (being used to Japanese voice actors). I'm not saying that one is inherently better than the other which is partly what this discussion always devolves into.

      2.) You can't always match a naturally sounding and accurate line in English to mouth movements on screen that were intended for the Japanese language.

      This "spoon fed" reason is highly pretentious. If my concerns above could be resolved, I'd definitely be happy with dubs. That said, Disney has done a pretty good job so far. I'm really happy that they have been putting English and Japanese audio tracks on their discs.

  7. Re:Well by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    In korea, only old people watch japanese movies.

  8. Miyazaki's films always have a moral by BillsPetMonkey · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The moral in Sen to Chihiro no kamikaukushi ("Spirited Away") is basically "Don't destroy the environment" and "Children should learn manners".

    Sounds very simple, but how many Hollywood films teach kids this stuff? It's subtle. I wonder what the moral is for this one.

    --
    "It's not your information. It's information about you" - John Ford, Vice President, Equifax
    1. Re:Miyazaki's films always have a moral by 0racle · · Score: 1

      I hate movies with a moral, I watch to be entertained, not talked down to with a tone that the director needs to educate me. If you want children to grow up with some morals, talk to their parents, not Hollywood.

      --
      "I use a Mac because I'm just better than you are."
    2. Re:Miyazaki's films always have a moral by aardvarkjoe · · Score: 1
      The moral in Sen to Chihiro no kamikaukushi ("Spirited Away") is basically "Don't destroy the environment" and "Children should learn manners".

      ... I wonder what the moral is for this one.

      If you'd seen any of his other movies, you'd know it's a pretty safe bet that "don't destroy the environment" is part of this one as well.
      --

      How can we continue to believe in a just universe and freedom to eat crackers if we have no ale?
    3. Re:Miyazaki's films always have a moral by Scrameustache · · Score: 2, Interesting

      The moral in Sen to Chihiro no kamikaukushi ("Spirited Away") is basically "Don't destroy the environment" and "Children should learn manners".

      Er, the moral is always "good little japanese girls work hard and don't complain".

      Every, single, time.

      He'll tack on additional morals, if need be, but "work hard" is the moral of everything I've seen with Miyazaki's name attached.

      --

      You can't take the sky from me...

    4. Re:Miyazaki's films always have a moral by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ummm remember these are kids films - anime fan geekboys like yourself might think they're "reeeally kewl" but actually you're an incidental audience.

      Oh, and I can tell you're not a parent.

    5. Re:Miyazaki's films always have a moral by bonch · · Score: 0

      As I understood it, and according to those involved with the film, the movie's core message is about the transition from childhood to adulthood, and not losing your nature along the way.

    6. Re:Miyazaki's films always have a moral by MightyMartian · · Score: 3, Interesting

      > I hate movies with a moral, I watch to be entertained, not talked
      > down to with a tone that the director needs to educate me. If you want
      > children to grow up with some morals, talk to their parents, not
      > Hollywood.

      Good grief. Most children's stories throughout history, heck most stories in general, have morals to them. That's rather the point, to entertain and educate.

      I agree that the idiocy of American cartoons, where there are 22 minutes of violence (without bloodshed, of course), 7 minutes of commercials many of which advocate violence, and then a 1 minute value lesson:

      "Grimy the Psychotic Robot helped his arch-enemy Bullwipe the Satanic Frog of Doom, so we should always help people."

      However, Spirited Away's lessons were subtle and did not come off as preachy. I think it's much better to have films such as this then to have them watching endless volumes of violence on TV and in theaters. Nothing wrong with violence, but let's face it, Hollywood doesn't do a good job of showing the other side of it.

      --
      The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
    7. Re:Miyazaki's films always have a moral by pete-classic · · Score: 1

      Any work of fiction worth watching (or reading) has a point of some sort. If the author presents it subtly enough people will call it a "theme." If he makes it more plain they will call it a moral. If he crams it down the audience's throat he's being didactic or even condescending.

      You can have a moral without moralizing.

      -Peter

    8. Re:Miyazaki's films always have a moral by aiabx · · Score: 1

      What was the moral in Totoro? Travel by catbus when you visit your seriously ill mother? Don't plant seeds without doing a dance? If there is a moral there, it's so subtly hidden that I can't spot it; it just seemed like a charming children's adventure to me.
      -aiabx

      --
      Just this guy, you know?
    9. Re:Miyazaki's films always have a moral by kaalamaadan · · Score: 1
      How true. However, I have not been astute enough to observe this in Miyazaki's movies.

      But in the darker and famous Grave of the Fireflies, the DVD special features contains an interview of the other Studio Ghibli director, Isao Takahata mentions that the moral he wanted to convey was that you could survive in postwar Japan if you worked hard, but the boy-girl couple in the movie did not bother, and died. The movie-watching public took it just as an immensely touching story of sibling love.

      Thank God for that. I do not appreciate the darker message.

    10. Re:Miyazaki's films always have a moral by tuffy · · Score: 1
      What was the moral in Totoro? Travel by catbus when you visit your seriously ill mother? Don't plant seeds without doing a dance? If there is a moral there, it's so subtly hidden that I can't spot it; it just seemed like a charming children's adventure to me.

      Totoro doesn't have a moral. It does have a theme about mystery in the natural world and their sick mother provides the conflict/plot. But it's not a lesson-teaching story like some sort of Aesop's fable ("a delivery of corn makes everything better", etc.).

      --

      Ita erat quando hic adveni.

    11. Re:Miyazaki's films always have a moral by Lemmy+Caution · · Score: 4, Interesting

      That's not the "moral," that's the background of Japanese culture from which it's created. It may be shocking to you, but working hard and not complaining are actual values (for both genders) that are very much embodied in Japanese child-rearing.

      From the Japanese perspective, the moral of American media is "slack off and whine a lot."

    12. Re:Miyazaki's films always have a moral by Scrameustache · · Score: 3, Funny

      What was the moral in Totoro?

      I believe it was "two little girls and a grown man naked in the same tub is not creepy"...

      Or, if you want to be serious, for a change ;-)
      The moral was that the japanese country side is a wonderfull place and that there is still room for spirituality and a child's innocence in this world.

      Also: Work hard. They sure had to, to clean up that old house. Didn't they?

      --

      You can't take the sky from me...

    13. Re:Miyazaki's films always have a moral by david.given · · Score: 4, Insightful
      The moral in Sen to Chihiro no kamikaukushi ("Spirited Away") is basically "Don't destroy the environment" and "Children should learn manners".

      There's more to it than that. Other themes I spotted:

      • Evil is a matter of perception. (The shadow-creature, Yubaba, and Yubaba's sister are all initially portrayed as evil until Chihiro learns more about them; and then they're not, they're just people.)
      • Law is fundamental to society. (There are laws and rules everywhere, and they can't be broken: if you don't cross the river before sunset, you're trapped. Yubaba must give you a job if you ask for it. Chihiro's boyfriend whose name I forget stole the charm, therefore it must be returned.)
      • Everything has its place. (The shadow creature doesn't belong in the bath-house; it's evil there. But it's not when it's outside. Chihiro doesn't belong in that world, where she's considered disgusting and dangerous; she belongs in the mundane world.)
      • Work is important. (There is no free ride. You have an obligation to society --- and, therefore, society has an obligation to you.)

      Hollywood tends to push the blatantly false and downright dangerous True love conquers all (and don't put up with anything less) and You can do anything if only you want it hard enough. Frankly, I find Miyazaki's themes of social responsibility and the benefits of hard work far more suitable for children.

      I love Howl's Moving Castle (and it's sequel Castle in the Air, which I think is even better). I'm eagerly awaiting seeing what he's done with it.

    14. Re:Miyazaki's films always have a moral by flyingsquid · · Score: 1
      "I hate movies with a moral, I watch to be entertained, not talked down to with a tone that the director needs to educate me. If you want children to grow up with some morals, talk to their parents, not Hollywood."

      And the cynical little boy who said this was eaten up by a wolf, but all the little children who liked movies with morals lived happily ever after.

    15. Re:Miyazaki's films always have a moral by shawb · · Score: 1

      What do you mean? I mean with such fine movies as... umm... Clerks.

      Oh yeah.

      --
      I'll never make that mistake again, reading the experts' opinions. - Feynman
    16. Re:Miyazaki's films always have a moral by Scrameustache · · Score: 2, Interesting

      There's more to it than that. Other themes I spotted: Evil is a matter of perception.

      You betcha!
      Aku, the "name" of the character who at first says he will help her escape, but later turns out to be (deceptively) cold and mean, is a japanese homophone that can mean "to become free", or "evil" (as in Samurai Jack's intro's last line "The evil that IS... Aku!").
      : )

      --

      You can't take the sky from me...

    17. Re:Miyazaki's films always have a moral by Neop2Lemus · · Score: 2, Insightful
      Your post is a little unclear on his motivation for why he would concentrate on "working hard".

      IIRC Miyazaki feels that japanese women are undervalued in modern Japanese society. Hence he always develops 'strong' female leads in his films, leads who go places because they work hard, which is the only way you'll ever go places.

      He's not perpetuating a system of exploitation for women but giving them a lesson in how to live successfully. It's also why his films are better than hollywood dreck, working hard is an alien concept to hollywood movies, but in the end, it's all that counts.

      --
      Needle Nardle Noo
    18. Re:Miyazaki's films always have a moral by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

      If he crams it down the audience's throat he's being didactic or even condescending.

      Why did I immediately think of Terry Goodkind? I've got nothing against compositions having a message, or even against his particular message. But delivery is important. If the delivery of your message makes your piece un-entertaining, no one is going to read/watch it, and so no one will hear the message. Unfortunately, Goodkind's mind is closed to this kind of constructive criticism.

    19. Re:Miyazaki's films always have a moral by pete-classic · · Score: 1

      Never heard of him. Does he really hit you over the head with his Sword of Truth?

      -Peter

      PS: Tolkien never said his stories were "not intended to be didactic or even metaphorical," he said they weren't allegorical.

      -P

    20. Re:Miyazaki's films always have a moral by docanime · · Score: 1

      "Laputa: Castle in the Air" came out in 1986 and is already a Miyazaki classic. It's a mix of the Atlantis myth with a floating castle. It's already on DVD from Disney.

    21. Re:Miyazaki's films always have a moral by Bagels · · Score: 1

      He's talking about the *book* sequel called Castle in the Air, which has nothing to do with Miyazaki's "Laputa" except for the name, IIRC.

      --
      --- Bwah?
    22. Re:Miyazaki's films always have a moral by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Interesting.

      Anyway I always though it was the moral and escapist quality of the anime that drew the audiences to watch anime like that?

    23. Re:Miyazaki's films always have a moral by Elkboy · · Score: 1

      I first read that as "a japanese homophobe" - which wouldn't have been completely misplaced since homophobes do percieve evil where sensible people periceve none. Oh well.

    24. Re:Miyazaki's films always have a moral by david.given · · Score: 1
      He's talking about the *book* sequel called Castle in the Air, which has nothing to do with Miyazaki's "Laputa" except for the name, IIRC.

      ...which is going to make it really awkward should Miyazaki ever decide to film it!

    25. Re:Miyazaki's films always have a moral by 0racle · · Score: 1

      Escapist and entertaining, not moral. The point of entertainment is to be entertaining, not a morality teacher, thats for parents to do. I can't be that different then everyone else.

      --
      "I use a Mac because I'm just better than you are."
    26. Re:Miyazaki's films always have a moral by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Here's a few you probably didn't notice:

      - The car her parents drive is an expensive import car (Chihiro's parents are wealthy)
      - Chihiro's parents have very few manners (eating like pigs and "It's alright we have credit cards")
      - Chihiro's parents are not very caring towards Chihiro (the mother tells Chihiro not to cling in the dark tunnel)

      I take this to mean that Chihiro's lack of manners was firmly blamed on her parents.

    27. Re:Miyazaki's films always have a moral by moggie_xev · · Score: 1
      Miyazaki's film's are always beautiful, Totoro is a film that is perfect for very small children. Mine still ask to see it at 4 and 6 years ( I havn't got them to ask for the subtitled version but give them time .... ). Does it have a moral ? , I am not sure it is one of my favorite films though.

      I am also please to see Diana Wynne Jones recieving some attention as she is a great author who I have read for many years.

    28. Re:Miyazaki's films always have a moral by McNally · · Score: 1
      And the cynical little boy who said this was eaten up by a wolf, but all the little children who liked movies with morals lived happily ever after.
      You're sure to like Saki's (H.H. Munro's) classic short story The Story Teller
    29. Re:Miyazaki's films always have a moral by leuffi · · Score: 2, Informative

      Actually, the main character boy's name is Haku, which has nothing to do with the word "aku". Maybe you're refering to someone else, but I can't remember anyone who fits your description.

    30. Re:Miyazaki's films always have a moral by refactored · · Score: 1
      Everything has its place. (The shadow creature doesn't belong in the bath-house; it's evil there. But it's not when it's outside.

      Apparently the shadow creature was autobiographical. When Miyazaki became successful he became like the shadow creature. Everyone deferring to the man with gold, and the man with gold consuming so much it made him physically and spiritually ill.

      Evil is a matter of perception.
      Apparently that is a feature of Shinto. People are neither Good xor Evil, but Good and Evil.

    31. Re:Miyazaki's films always have a moral by ediron2 · · Score: 1
      The point of entertainment is to be entertaining

      I had this argument with a lit teacher in high school. And again with a college prof. 'Why can't a good story be just that and nothing more? How do we know Tolkein meant all this stuff, and didn't just tell a nice story?' Eventually, I've come around to their view.

      Call the underlying stuff morals, call 'em themes. Whatever. But everything has underlying meanings or messages. Good artists sometimes hide the meaning just enough to evoke many interpretations. Some artists push the envelope until most people don't see anything coherent, let alone an underlying message. In fact, if you strip out all meaning, you're left with babble reminiscent of a 3-year-old trying to tell a story: chances are, your mind will reject it as not entertaining.

      That also means that you and I are in agreement: I want to be entertained. I don't want the story to stop short, completely swerve into a bizarre realm (like Stephenson's novels, for example), or hand me something that lacks a message.

      And no, that isn't a way for professors (I'm not one, btw) to sound highfalutin', seduce students or get tenure. Aesop had morals, jesus' parables had a message, O'Henry and Nietsche and Dickens and Stephen King and... (insert a litany)... and even Surviving Christmas, with it's 7-out-of-100 tomato-meter score, has a message.

      OK, maybe I'm wrong about Surviving Christmas. Best I can tell, that's just a vehicle for Affleck to utterly submarine his movie career so people will leave him alone when he goes to poker tournaments. Applegate is maybe just thrilled to take J-Lo's place on-screen. And I've got no idea what Gandolfino is doing in it.

    32. Re:Miyazaki's films always have a moral by Scrameustache · · Score: 1

      name is Haku

      Huh... must have gotten away with the Samurai Jack similarity.

      --

      You can't take the sky from me...

    33. Re:Miyazaki's films always have a moral by BJH · · Score: 1

      There's actually a more far-reaching explanation of Spirited Away that I've seen on some Japanese sites - the bathhouse run by Yubaba represents capitalism/industrialist society, whereas her sister Zenibaba represents integration with nature/socialism.
      Unfortunately Miyazakiapparently didn't have enough time in the movie to fully explore the contrast between the two viewpoints, but it's interesting to rewatch it with this in mind.

      ObOnTopic: I saw Howl's Moving Castle the other day, and while it's not up to the standard of his best work, it's still a fun ride.

    34. Re:Miyazaki's films always have a moral by 0racle · · Score: 1

      A theme and a moral are very different things. A theme is simply what the story is about, the underlying reason for why things are occurring in the story. A moral is a teaching, either by directly saying this or attempting to influence a persons character by acting they way this moral is supposed to make you act. Everything has a theme, otherwise it is just a disjointed series of words, not everything has a moral. Futurama has no moral, so according to you, i should not find it entertaining because it has no meaning. Guess again.

      Lord of the Rings was compiled from stories Tolkein told his children, and he had said that it was not written to convey any morals or any meaning, it was supposed to be simply an entertaining story. So I know he didn't mean all that stuff, english 'professors' manufacture meaning to appear intelligent and get paid. If you see meaning and morality in LOTR or the Matrix or some other film, you might want to look and see whats missing in your life and stop trying to fill it with movies.

      --
      "I use a Mac because I'm just better than you are."
    35. Re:Miyazaki's films always have a moral by dasunt · · Score: 1

      Er, the moral is always "good little japanese girls work hard and don't complain".

      I'm trying to apply that thought to Mononoke Hime.

      We have the lady Eboshi and her ex-whores. They work hard, but don't complain. Of course, they are manufacturing firearms to fend off the emperor's army, designed to be light enough to be used by women. (The male lepers also don't complain.)

      We have San, who is still a girl who ends up attacking the forces of Eboshi alot, but doesn't otherwise complain. The war she's in takes a lot of hard work.

      We have Ashitaka, who is male, but also doesn't complain. He seems to be a hard worker though.

      Hmmmm, I'm seeing a theme here, and it isn't gender specific. The theme appears to be "don't bitch, just do it" and shows up in a lot of Miyazaki's work.

    36. Re:Miyazaki's films always have a moral by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Do you *really* believe that the moral was "two little girls and a grown man naked in the same tub is not creepy" ?

      What's creepy is that people like you see innocent and quite normal behaviours as acts of paedophilia. Do you have children? Do you think of sexually abusing them or fantasize about them sexually when you see them naked? It may have escaped your attention but most fathers don't.

      You're probably the kind of person who thinks that seeing a naked body is shameful and yet you secretly horde pornography.

      I suggest that you examine your own cultural values to see how they have affected your perceptions. If you think nakedness, or caring and love within a family is dirty, wrong or "sinful" then you are probably the victim of an overtly repressive and conservative regimen.

      In many of the more progressive societies, nakedness is celebrated and it is those who shun it, consider it wrong or sinful that are rightly labeled 'perverts'. After all, underneath all the layers of 'protective' clothing, our bodies and our psyches are naked; there for all to see, without hiding, revealed, clear, unambiguous.

      Please spare us your pathetic, childish humour and for the benefit of society come to terms with the fact that we are all naked and that the rest of us are not as warped as you.

    37. Re:Miyazaki's films always have a moral by Scrameustache · · Score: 1

      I'm seeing a theme here, and it isn't gender specific.

      I said "girls" because he usually has a girl as the main character. Of course "don't bitch, just do it" applies to everyone, not just girls, not just kids.

      --

      You can't take the sky from me...

  9. Re:Well by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It's only a slow news day if it's been digitally signed.

  10. I'll skip it by tepples · · Score: 1

    I probably won't watch it anyway, given that our arch-enemy in copyright lobbying has the exclusive U.S. distribution rights for Miyazaki's movies. I've decided that Disney gets little to none of my money until 2024, when Mickey and Pooh finally enter the public domain in the United States.

    1. Re:I'll skip it by MightyMartian · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I despise Disney, but I'll still watch it. Miyazaki is just too good for minor things like principles to get in the way. I finally got to watch Spirited Away last year, and as far as I'm concerned, it blows Pixar away (and I think Pixar's pretty awesome , too).

      --
      The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
    2. Re:I'll skip it by UWC · · Score: 1

      It's worth noting that Pixar similarly idolizes Ghibli films. Didn't Pixar's John Lasseter do the voice directing for Spirited Away's English dub?

    3. Re:I'll skip it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

      Except that before 2024, they will have successfully lobbied to have their copyrights, trademarks, etc., extended again.

    4. Re:I'll skip it by echocharlie · · Score: 1

      I believe he's listed as Executive Producer for the English Language version. I'm not sure if his duties included voice direction, as there is no Voice Director listed in the credits.

    5. Re:I'll skip it by tdelaney · · Score: 2, Informative

      Buy it from Australia when Madman releases it here.

      Madman does a superb job on their discs, at very reasonable prices. They're currently in the process of releasing 10 Studio Ghibli shows. The first four - Kiki, Laputa, Mononoke and Spirited Away - have been out for a couple of months now. Actually, Spirited Away was released about the same time it was released in the US, but it was re-released with the other three.

    6. Re:I'll skip it by AhBeeDoi · · Score: 1

      You may have to wait longer than 2024 because the likelihood that Disney doesn't appeal to congress for an extention of copyright is nil. The probability that Disney Inc. get$ it i$ very high.

    7. Re:I'll skip it by tepples · · Score: 1

      The probability that Disney Inc. get$ it i$ very high.

      I disagree. The Court held in Eldred that "[n]othing before this Court warrants construction of the CTEA's 20-year term extension as a congressional attempt to evade or override the 'limited Times' constraint." Notice that it says "the CTEA's 20-year term extension" not *"any copyright term extension". This shows that the Supreme Court may have left the door wide open to find a second successive term extension (i.e. the CTEA) constitutional but to overturn a third strike as a clearer evasion of "limited Times".

    8. Re:I'll skip it by AhBeeDoi · · Score: 1

      I think you underestimate the economic and political clout of the house of mouse.

  11. The book was fantastic by lrwx · · Score: 1

    I'm sure the movie will just as good.

    --
    KNEEL BEFORE ZOD!!
  12. Opens today? by delirium_9 · · Score: 4, Informative

    You're kidding right? This thing has been out for a month. Before it came out there was a lot of hype but from the people I know who've seen it the movie wasn't very good.

    But it did do well in the box office:
    http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5 ?nn20041124b1.htm

    --
    Since your UID is smaller than mine, I can only conclude that you're trolling. -s20451 (410424)
    1. Re:Opens today? by FortKnox · · Score: 1

      You'd think that a guy so into anime he feels it belongs on the front page (I keep lobbying for an anime section so we can push it off the front page) would know his stuff when it comes to anime.

      Really, though... is this really slashworthy (even if its on the front page)? I think its slashworthy for slashdot.co.jp or whatever. Maybe when its released in the US... but this? eh....

      --
      Good quote, too many chars. Seriously, the slashdot 120 char limit sucks!
    2. Re:Opens today? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So basically, you're pissed off because something made the front page that you don't think is important.

      Do you feel the same way about case mods? I don't think those are particularly important, myself. How about Microsoft patches? One could argue that those aren't really important to Slashdot, either, since most /. readers are already Linux afficionados.

      Basically, you seem to have forgotten that you live in a society where people have interests and priorities that don't necessarily match your own. You give a little, you take a little. Better get used to it!

    3. Re:Opens today? by timster · · Score: 1

      This is really a big story. Miyazaki is the idol of much of the animation world (especially Pixar for instance). His films will always be on the front page, and they always generate lots of interest on this site.

      The sorts of things that would be dumped into an anime section would be minor movies and TV series and things like that -- not from one of the most famous animation directors in history.

      --
      I have seen the future, and it is inconvenient.
  13. Re:News for ... who? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    In any case, it's definitely not "News for Seventeen-Year-Olds who don't know the difference between Mickey Mouse and violent historical fiction like Princess Mononoke."

  14. Funny, I thought it opened on Nov 20th... by relayer · · Score: 5, Informative

    http://www.nausicaa.net/miyazaki/newspro/latest_ne ws.shtml#newsitemEEpEEFukyFuAXaDnpx

    November 22, 2004 "Howl" Breaks Japanese Weekend Box Office Record
    From Kyodo Press Flash24:
    Toho announced :
    'Howl' earned 1,400 million yen (~$13.5 million USD) at the box office in the first day of release and its next day (Nov 20, 21). This is the highest new record at a Japanese movie.

    1. Re:Funny, I thought it opened on Nov 20th... by Picass0 · · Score: 1

      Mod parent up.

    2. Re:Funny, I thought it opened on Nov 20th... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Off by one error! Off by one error!

    3. Re:Funny, I thought it opened on Nov 20th... by Monsieur_F · · Score: 1

      IMDB gives the release dates for the movie in several countries. Perhaps the submitter is from South Korea ?

      In France, the movie will be released very soon (January 12th), and there even was a special preview in Paris with Miyazaki a few weeks ago.

      --
      McCartney fans pay bus tickets. [...] Lennon fans too, with discretion.
  15. Looking forward to it! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Sure am looking forward to it. We know what a hit anime is in the US. I'll be flooding the theatre along with America's 15 other anime fans. Just like when we made "Princess Mononoke" the year's top box office smash.

  16. Awesome, will DL by OverlordQ · · Score: 4, Funny

    I'll just hop over to suprnova and . . oh wait . . . NoooooOoooo! ;)

    --
    Your hair look like poop, Bob! - Wanker.
    1. Re:Awesome, will DL by tepples · · Score: 1

      Liked Suprnova? Try Demonoid.

  17. Re:News for ... who? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful
    They're cartoons, and therefore for kids.
    Quite a strange opinion IMHO
  18. It opened in November by Glog · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I was in Japan in November and the movie was in theaters! How did you come up with "yesterday was the opening date"?

  19. Americans... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    don't have the same tolerance to animated pornography that Japan does. In order for animated porno to be popular there, it has to be toned down.

    1. Re:Americans... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Miyazaki doesn't do porn. Most of his movies are children's movies with a few noteable exceptions (like Princess Mononokee). And those would probably be rated PG-13 at worst. People don't watch his movies for action or violence, but the beautifully illustrated story. His films are incredibly immersive and allow the audience to forget they are watching a movie in the same way that Stanley Kubricks film's did or the Lord of the Rings Trilogy did.

  20. Re:je l'ai by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Non, peut être une prochaine fois...

  21. Re:News for ... who? by nkh · · Score: 1

    In japanese culture, cartoons are for everyone. If cartoon are for kids, everthing drawn is for kids, so art is for kids (Dali, Picasso...) And remember the propaganda cartoons featuring Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck during the WW2.

  22. Trailers by Andorion · · Score: 4, Informative
    1. Re:Trailers by Jucius+Maximus · · Score: 1

      You have to spoof your referrer or actually visit the page to download those files.

    2. Re:Trailers by ll1234 · · Score: 1

      Or just visit the Nausicaa.net page that lists the links to the "original" files. Original in quotes as they're sourced from various TV commercials and NN makes no ownership claim.

  23. Re:News for ... who? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Wow. That's just stunningly retarded. You don't belong on this web site.

  24. Re:Well by Scrameustache · · Score: 1

    Hey, moderators, how's about you DON'T mod the trolls up, for a change?

    --

    You can't take the sky from me...

  25. DO NOT by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    and I repeat: do not under any circumstances declare war

  26. Wow... by fizban · · Score: 1

    You mean slashdot posts are *that* far behind???

    --

    +1 Insightful, -1 Troll. What can I say, I'm an Insightful Troll.

  27. Re:Well by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    yeah these silly fcking jokes are getting quite lame

  28. TFA? by mzwaterski · · Score: 1
    Did anyone bother to look at the links...the very first link includes: Feature Film: November 20, 2004 / 119 minutes

    Seems to clue in to the fact that blamanj doesn't have a clue what he is talking about!

  29. The film opened on Nov. 22nd, not yesterday by bonch · · Score: 0

    Article from Nov. 24th in Japan Times.

  30. Editors... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Do you know how long it takes for a submission to go through if you're not a personal friend of an editor?

  31. Sneak preview in select cities by tepples · · Score: 0

    I don't know about Japan, but in the United States, residents of select big cities may get a "sneak preview" before the nationwide release date. It costs money to replicate a feature film onto 35mm film media for projection, and it's cheaper to allocate reels when and where they're needed. Showing the movie for a brief period in big cities first lets "early adopters" in areas of high population density and high affluence see the movie without inconveniencing casual theater goers nationwide, as the studio can use fewer reels in big city theaters and more reels in small town theaters on the official opening weekend.

  32. Re:News for ... who? by Jucius+Maximus · · Score: 1
    "They're cartoons, and therefore for kids. That's a pretty definite correlation. If he wants the Japanese movie industry to be taken seriously like the American one, try making films with *real* actors and scenes. Oh, no, that would require a budget. Take a look at the movie listings at your local picture house ... see any Japanese films? Nope ... or maybe just one. Compare and contrast to the vast number of American films that make it out there."

    An obvious troll. It's either that or he's just an ignorant fool.

  33. Historical Fiction? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Exactly what part of Princess Mononoke was historical?

    1. Re:Historical Fiction? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The demons!

  34. anime nerd by biryokumaru · · Score: 1, Flamebait
    as a friendless loser, i watch a lot of anime, and i must say i find studio ghibli films to be somewhat lacking. i mean, the art is okay (a lot of anime has really good art, flcl for example), but the application of the story lines is sub par.

    everyone seems to like'em, but personally ive been pretty dissappointed by everything they've done.

    --
    When you're afraid to download music illegally in your own home, then the terrorists have won!
    1. Re:anime nerd by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      As a friendless loser, its going to be pretty easy for you to overlook the human aspect that makes Miyazaki's films so charming.

    2. Re:anime nerd by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      maybe your just an anime snob and don't care for anything that isn't guns, giant tits, or robots. your just blinded by your own standards of what "good" is if you can't appreciate these stories.

    3. Re:anime nerd by MasterOfMagic · · Score: 1

      The thing that you miss about Miyazaki is that he is not "just" anime. His animation style is different than anime, and his goals for telling the story are different than what most people refer to as anime. Technically, his films are anime because they are from from Japan, but trying to shoehorn such a wonderful animator into the anime category is really doing him a disservice.

      If you want to see "good anime artwork", then watch something else. Miyazaki isn't going to give you that. If you want to see beautiful artwork that is more than "just" anime, then Miyazaki will deliver.

      (Note: Most animators that I know HATE anime yet love Miyazaki for the reasons above.)

    4. Re:anime nerd by ConcreteClam · · Score: 1

      FLCL was made by GAINAX, not Ghibli.

    5. Re:anime nerd by biryokumaru · · Score: 1

      i meant flcl as an example of good anime artwork

      --
      When you're afraid to download music illegally in your own home, then the terrorists have won!
  35. Re:News for ... who? by BenjyD · · Score: 1

    Erm, ever heard of this program called the Simpsons? It's quite a popular cartoon I've heard.

  36. Same girl? by Woogiemonger · · Score: 2, Funny

    Is this Sophie going to be the same girl that appears in his other movies? (Nausicaa, Spirited Away, Kiki's Delivery Service, etc.)

    1. Re:Same girl? by Elkboy · · Score: 1

      Eh, he's just one genius. His films are allowed to have similar themes, but even with that in mind I wouldn't say the girls are all that similar.

      If you were refering to a visual similarity, it's partly because Miyazaki's personal style, but also because it's easier to identify with a stylized character. There's a certain measure of generic japanese girl in his characters because they are meant to reflect millions of japanese girls (and boys, presumably).

      It's interesting to look at Disney in comparison - a big studio that still has a very limited repertoire of female characters. Hunchback's Esmeralda is the only one that sticks out in my mind because of her tough of sexuality. (yes, I'm male).

    2. Re:Same girl? by r3m0t · · Score: 1

      The character in the original book ("Howl's Moving Castle" by Diane Wynne Jones) was also named Sophie.

    3. Re:Same girl? by meringuoid · · Score: 1

      Well, I'm pleased to be able to tell you that we'll finally be seeing a new design for a female protagonist in a Miyazaki film. Hey, it's only been about 25 years... This one's aged ninety or so throughout most of the film, so it'll be difficult for her to be yet another Nausicaa lookalike.

      --
      Real Daleks don't climb stairs - they level the building.
  37. No, that's barely scratching the surface. by DeadVulcan · · Score: 4, Interesting

    The moral in Sen to Chihiro no kamikaukushi ("Spirited Away") is basically "Don't destroy the environment" and "Children should learn manners".

    Chihiro, at the beginning of the film, seems somewhat spoiled and incessantly whiney.

    By the end, she has had to set her own goals, make her own decisions, accept responsibility, and carry through on a long-term plan. All without the guidance of her parents. It's the process of growing up and leaving the nest. Sorry, but "children should learn manners" just doesn't cover all that.

    --
    Accountability on the heads of the powerful.
    Power in the hands of the accountable.
    1. Re:No, that's barely scratching the surface. by badasscat · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Chihiro, at the beginning of the film, seems somewhat spoiled and incessantly whiney.

      By the end, she has had to set her own goals, make her own decisions, accept responsibility, and carry through on a long-term plan. All without the guidance of her parents. It's the process of growing up and leaving the nest. Sorry, but "children should learn manners" just doesn't cover all that.


      Well, you're a bit closer than the post you're replying to, but still not quite right.

      Spirited Away is about greed and gluttony. Now, learning to be humble and respectful and responsible and all that is part of that lesson about greed and gluttony, so you're not wrong. Spirited Away suggests a return to a more traditional way of thinking as part of the solution, but the main issue in the film is greed.

      This does not quite come through in the English translation as well as it does in the original Japanese. Still, it's fairly obvious, I think, right from the beginning of the film (when her parents literally turn into pigs through their gluttony) until the end (when Sen's purity returns them to humanity).

      The only Miyazaki film I'd say even specifically deals with the environment is Princess Mononoke. (I'm calling these films by their English names because I'm speaking English, btw - I don't really see the point in mixing languages up when there is a proper, official English title available.) Lots of his films are misunderstood in this country - Spirited Away has nothing to do with the environment at all, and even Nausicaa (another film people think has an environmental lesson) is an allegory for the real-life Cold War that was going on at the time, and what would happen if it turned hot. The environment is used in these films as a vehicle to make a point.

      Obviously nature and the environment are common Miyazaki themes, but don't confuse his common themes with the message in any particular film. He uses things like nature, tradition, history, etc. to make his points - but they are rarely, if ever, the point in themselves.

    2. Re:No, that's barely scratching the surface. by DeadVulcan · · Score: 1

      Spirited Away is about greed and gluttony.

      Interesting. I'm not sure I completely agree with you, but then, any good film will have multiple valid interpretations. I don't think it's useful to try and argue which one is "correct." So I don't disagree with you, anyways.

      even Nausicaa ... is an allegory for the real-life Cold War that was going on at the time, and what would happen if it turned hot. The environment is used in these films as a vehicle to make a point.

      Now, this is really interesting, I looked at it the other way around: it seemed to me that the political machinations of human beings ended up being trivial compared to the "anger of mother earth" that was brought to life at the end of the film in the swarming ohmu. I thought the deeper point - the point Nausicaa was trying to make all the time - was that human affairs are nothing compared to our responsibilities in sharing the earth's resources, and not just with each other, but with all the species on planet.

      --
      Accountability on the heads of the powerful.
      Power in the hands of the accountable.
    3. Re:No, that's barely scratching the surface. by catenos · · Score: 1

      I'm calling these films by their English names because I'm speaking English, btw - I don't really see the point in mixing languages up when there is a proper, official English title available.

      While I agree with you on using English titles if available, if the Japanese one means nothing to you, there is a point in using the original title.

      I don't speak Japanese, nevertheless, once I learned what Mononoke means (vengeful ghost, here probably better "spirit"), I prefer the Japanese title.

      I cannot know for sure if it has the same sound for an Japanese speaker, but for me - while it is typical in Japanese stories for names to have related meaning - here the name seems to describe the role and the role to be the name. Completely ignoring the role in the English title of the movie lacks a lot, IMHO.

      For me its like translating "The Last of the Mohicans" in a way that it sounds like "The Last of Johns" in another tongue.

      Well, enough of that rant... :-)

      I don't mean to say that you shouldn't use English titles, but I don't agree that there isn't a point with sticking closer to the original. But maybe that's just me (I am also one who prefers to watch a movie/TV show in the original language, if I am able to).

      --
      Keep an eye on which arguments are silently dropped in replies. Not always, but often times it's very telling.
  38. Environmental Manners by fm6 · · Score: 1
    I got the manners part, but where was there a moral about the environment?

    (Somehow I heard that Miyazaki came out of retirement to make Spirited Away after meeting a particularly spoiled child. But I suspect he'll never retire. Not that I want him to!)

    You're right about Miyazaki always having a moral. But that might suggest to people who've never seen his work that he's preachy. Anything but. His stories are always simple, charming, and easy to enjoy.

    1. Re:Environmental Manners by mOdQuArK! · · Score: 1

      There were two main scenarios relating to the environment: the really huge, powerful, stinky slime monster she had to bathe (and released all kinds of human junk from), plus the boy/dragon she befriended (who used to be a river spirit before his river got filled in for development).

      I think there were some incidental comments (by Yubaba?) about how humans don't treat the environment very kindly.

    2. Re:Environmental Manners by jackbird · · Score: 1

      I took the slime monster as more an allegory of a certain type of person who simply takes and takes from everyone around them, without regard even for whether they want it or not.

    3. Re:Environmental Manners by fm6 · · Score: 1
      I think the Stink Demon is a standard feature of Japanese folklore. I could be mistaken.

      Good point about the river spirit, but I don't think that rates as a central moral of the movie. In any case, I think Miyazaki's views on the environment are more complicated than "don't mess it up". At least that's impression I take away from Princess Mononoke.

    4. Re:Environmental Manners by mOdQuArK! · · Score: 1

      It wasn't really a stink demon, though (although the bathhouse tenants though it was at first) - it was supposedly a very powerful and important spirit of some kind, but it had gotten "infected" by human trash. The girl was able to loosen the trash which was jammed up in the spirit, and then it freed itself from the rest.

      I don't think the central tenet of the movie was environmental, but there did seem to be a fairly regular pattern of appreciation of nature & criticism of human excesses.

    5. Re:Environmental Manners by fm6 · · Score: 1
      I don't think the central tenet of the movie was environmental, but there did seem to be a fairly regular pattern of appreciation of nature & criticism of human excesses.
      There, I agree with you. And that was also a theme in Princess Mononoke, Castle in the Sky, and My Neighbor Tortoro. (Which are all the movies I've seen that are original Miyazaki stories.) But only one of these (PM) is explicitly about the environment. And even there, there's a sort of fatalistic attitude -- people will muck things up, and you can't hope to save everything.

      I think the bottom line is that Miyazaki cares deeply about the environment, and this shows in the stories he tells. But that's very different from making a movie with "Protect the environment!" as a moral. I don't think he's ever done that, with the prossible exception of PM

  39. Foreign Films by MightyMartian · · Score: 4, Interesting

    > They're cartoons, and therefore for kids. That's a pretty definite correlation.
    > If he wants the Japanese movie industry to be taken seriously like the
    > American one, try making films with *real* actors and scenes. Oh, no, that
    > would require a budget. Take a look at the movie listings at your local
    > picture house ... see any Japanese films? Nope ... or maybe just one. Compare
    > and contrast to the vast number of American films that make it out there.

    Well, the US only has a relatively small fraction of the world's population, and believe it or not, these sorts of movies become huge successes making their producers and backers big bucks, even if some Yankee who's looking for the latest blow-em-up-real-good Hollywood splashganza doesn't even know they exist.

    Miyazaki is an artist, and his animated films tell compelling stories in a manner that I doubt most Hollywood junkies could appreciate.

    As to movie theatres in North America, they are pretty much dominated by the Hollywood system, and unless you live in a bigger community with theatres that can afford to run relatively unpopular films (foreign films, silent films and black and white films), the average movie-goer is sadly out of luck.

    I've been watching a lot more older and foreign films lately. I watched Renoir's The Rules of the Game a month ago, borrowed it from my local library. What a brilliant film, but I doubt that most of my fellow Canadians and most Americans know it even exists. There's a whole ocean of great films out there, but the only way most North Americans ever know they exist is if Hollywood remakes it.

    I'm not bashing American film making. I mean, Hollywood is perfectly capable of making great films still, but it's just very sad that someone like Miyazaki is condemned because he doesn't use live actors. What exactly does that mean nowadays in CGI filmmaking anyways. I mean, I consider movies like the Star Wars prequels to be basically cartoons. At some point in the not-so-distant future CGI will have evolved to the point that real-looking people on the silver screen will be completely constructed.

    Whether it's animated, black and white, foreign and dubbed or subtitled into English, or a Hollywood film, I want a good story told well.

    --
    The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
    1. Re:Foreign Films by tuxpixie · · Score: 1

      They're cartoons, and therefore for kids. That's a pretty definite correlation. > If he wants the Japanese movie industry to be taken seriously like the > American one, try making films with *real* actors and scenes. Oh, no, that > would require a budget. Take a look at the movie listings at your local > picture house ... see any Japanese films? Nope ... or maybe just one. Compare > and contrast to the vast number of American films that make it out there. ever caught a little thing called akira ? http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094625/ incidentally did anyone else think the cg in spiderman 2 was close to the worst yet?

    2. Re:Foreign Films by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      yhbt

  40. Hurrah by kaalamaadan · · Score: 1

    Yay. That's the best news I have heard in a while. There's some home left in the world.

  41. I'm looking forward to seeing it, but as a pedant: by pjt33 · · Score: 1

    The book's good too, but it has been known for great directors to turn great books into awful films.

  42. Sorry, gotta say more by DeadVulcan · · Score: 1

    By the end of the film, Chihiro has come to an understanding that the world doesn't revolve around her; everyone basically acts in self-interest, and therein is the value of true friends who will act on your behalf even if it's not in their interest.

    She also learns independence. See, it would be one thing if Chihiro merely latched onto the Yubaba as a surrogate mother. But she doesn't. At the end of the film, she confronts even her, in order to free her parents. This is an astounding level of independence if you consider her character at the beginning of the film.

    It's a level of maturity that many adults don't achieve. I can't say I'm sure that I have.

    --
    Accountability on the heads of the powerful.
    Power in the hands of the accountable.
  43. A Moving Castle? by nxtr · · Score: 1

    Like a medieval RV?

    1. Re:A Moving Castle? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ehehehehe
      that's funny
      +50000 :D

  44. Am Looking forward to it. by tuxpixie · · Score: 1

    although fuck knows when it'l hit the uk. suppose i'd better start looking for a torrent

  45. Will the Supremes allow such an installment plan? by tepples · · Score: 1

    before 2024, they will have successfully lobbied to have their copyrights, trademarks, etc., extended again.

    That's the point. If they extend the copyright, many of us will extend the boycott. Besides, the Supreme Court hinted in its opinion in Eldred v. Ashcroft that even though it would uphold a second successive copyright term extension (1976 and 1998), it's likely to find an unconstitutional "pattern of behavior" should Congress extend copyrights for a third time in a row.

  46. Similarities... by gandell · · Score: 1
    I find it strange that he used the EXACT same animation technique for the "floating woman comes towards camera" shot as he did in Spirited Away.

    I assume similarities in style, but that shot was an EXACT replica of the shot in Spirited Away.

    One thing I do like about this one is that it seems to feature older people. I'm sick of this "teenager goes on a journey, becomes a man" or "child goes on a journey, grows up" anime. I'd like to see some issues for older characters. Very interested in seeing this.

    --
    Mercy was given to me by Christ...I must give the same to others.
    1. Re:Similarities... by Elkboy · · Score: 1

      Before you find it, make sure you're free of all tentacle phobia.

      Seriously though, try Princess Mononoke for a more adult Miyazaki film. There's plenty of more mature anime by other studios out there, but it easily drowns in the anime aimed at the early teen segment.

      My recommendation is the Ghost in the Shell: Standalone Complex TV series.

    2. Re:Similarities... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Second that. Ghost in the Shell, and its TV series' Stand Alone Complex and SAC 2nd Gig are suprisingly mature sci-fi. Sort of like how the Matrix was mature sci-fi (the original Ghost in the Shell was one of the inspirations) compared to the much simpler Star Trek and Star Wars (with easy good and evil themes).

  47. Spirited Away was overrated by DSLAMngu · · Score: 1
    Did anyone else think Spirited Away was overrated?

    Let's start with the box and the liners. Miyazaki praises himself for introducing a plot with no good or evil. Supposedly, this is some kind of revolutionary step in anime development, or at least that's how it's portrayed. It isn't.

    Also, though most anime I've been introduced to has themes appealing to a broad range of age groups, Spirited Away is clearly made only for children. I sat there, searching for absolutely anything that would appeal to people over the age of twelve, but I found nothing besides some blood. A little girl grows up and falls in love with this dragon river spirit thing. Does love that young/cross-species even make any sense? Contrast this with most Disney and Pixar films, which not only contain fanciful settings and characters for the kids, but highly emotional and challenging moral situations that manage to appeal to adult audiences. I doubt whether any academic exegesis of this film (besides artistic/historical) will be worth writing, because of the appearent simplicity of the plot. Contrast this with the fantastic Princess Mononoke, and again, most Disney and Pixar films.

    1. Re:Spirited Away was overrated by UWC · · Score: 2, Insightful
      From a 2002 interview with Roger Ebert (emphasis mine):

      When I went to talk with Miyazaki, who is 62, I reminded him that in 1999 he said he was going to retire. Now here was another film. "I wanted to retire," he said, "but life isn't that easy. I wanted to make a movie especially for the daughters of my friends. I opened all the drawers in my head they were all empty. So I realized I had to make a movie just for 10 year olds, and 'Spirited Away' is my answer."
    2. Re:Spirited Away was overrated by cheeseSource · · Score: 1

      Maybe you have to look at it on a deeper level. I think the ambiguity is what gives the move its value. Blood might make a movie unwatchable by children but it doesn't necessarily make it any good for adults. Blurring the lines between good and evil although simple in itself seems more and more unusual in entertainment... I've only seen a couple of his movies and so far this seems to be the strongest.

      --
      (Sponsored by cheeseSource for President 2012)
    3. Re:Spirited Away was overrated by shawb · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Did anyone else think Spirited Away was overrated?

      I dunno. whenever I heard about Spirited Away, people basically said "It's a neat children's movie. Looks really pretty." Sounds like an apt description to me.

      Let's start with the box and the liners...

      Yeah. That's called hype. Or maybe "advertising." That's become expected in the industry. It's expected in EVERY industry. Not a good thing, but nothing that Miazaki should be called on without caling the whole industry.

      I sat there, searching for absolutely anything that would appeal to people over the age of twelve

      Now I see why you didn't like it. It _IS_ a children's movie. To enjoy it you don't go in searching for deep meaning or whatever. You just watch the pretty pictures and maybe follow the characters and worry about what will happen to them next. Trust me... that will make the movie watching experience so much better in a lot of instances.

      Does love that young/cross-species even make any sense?

      Wrong kind of love, dude.

      I doubt whether any academic exegesis

      As I've been saying, this _IS_ a children's film. I actually think it's refreshing to see a film made for children, not some demographically researched piece of work that tries to appeal to every market segment possible AND make a big stir in academia. No, this guy just wanted to tell some kids a story that will keep their eyes held wide open with amazement. And I think he did that.

      Although, yeah. Pixar has some really great films too. But I really doubt that any of them are are worthy of an "academic exegesis."

      I mean, we all know the kind of people that would try to blow this films up into the proportions that you are talking about. Capital "A" Art students who try to attach all sorts of meaning to things that just isn't there. They're trying to snow job people into thinking that their painting is worth $50 Million dollars or whatever. They're just practicing on this particular movie.

      --
      I'll never make that mistake again, reading the experts' opinions. - Feynman
    4. Re:Spirited Away was overrated by MemoryDragon · · Score: 1

      Yes I did not likt spirited away to much, (although I like most other stuff done by Myiazaki) The problem I had with spirited away was the somewhat chaotic nature of the story given the money and time constraints this movie had in production. It felt very unfinished and sort of chaotic. From all the Myiazaki movies I have seen so far Spirited away was one of the worst.

    5. Re:Spirited Away was overrated by RatBastard · · Score: 1
      Did anyone else think Spirited Away was overrated?
      Not at all. I enjoyed it immensly.

      Spirited Away is clearly made only for children.
      That's odd. While not every child that I've introduced it to has liked it, every adult has. Maybe that's because most of them are parents or grandparents. I don't know. I do think that there might not be much for young adults to see in this movie as I don't think it would have appealed to me when I was in my early twenties.

      --
      Boobies never hurt anyone. - Sherry Glaser.
  48. Re:Well by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    MOD DOWN parent - Scrameustache is a KNOWN TROLL

  49. Re:News for ... who? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Spirited away was the highest grossing japanese film ever. Akira had one of the biggest budgets of its time. Also, since when is the american movie industry taken seriously?

  50. Re:Will the Supremes allow such an installment pla by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The same Republican Supreme Court in 4 years after several members retire? Riiiight.

  51. US Director Chosen by unfortunateson · · Score: 1

    Aint-It-Cool news reported on the 11th that Nausicaa.net had a news item on 11/23 that Pete Docter, the director of Monsters, Inc., would be directing the US release.

    The Nausicaa site points back to a Japanese language press release from the 20th of November.

    So this is hardly news.

    --
    Design for Use, not Construction!
  52. Engrish by DrXym · · Score: 0

    Is this a literal translation of the title? I just wonder why Japanese titles are so weird. If they need a title instead of Howl's Moving Castle, my suggestions include:

    Waddle Quack Duck
    Mystic Hell Moose
    Happy Fun Shine
    Monster Plastic Ball
    Creamy Tinned Goodness
    Sparkle Good House
    Slappy Fork Chrome
    AC Not To Fuse Insert!
    Babble Green Mountain

    1. Re:Engrish by tuffy · · Score: 1
      Is this a literal translation of the title?

      It's not a transaltion of the title, it is the title. "Howl's Moving Castle" is based on an english book written by Diana Wynne Jones. If you don't like it, talk to her about it.

      --

      Ita erat quando hic adveni.

    2. Re:Engrish by ureshii_akuma · · Score: 1

      Yep, it is the literal translation, from English straight to English, of an English title for an English book by an English speaking author. Those wacky Japanese.

    3. Re:Engrish by discord5 · · Score: 1
      Is this a literal translation of the title?

      Nope, it's english.

      Mystic Hell Moose

      Sounds like something from Invader Zim

    4. Re:Engrish by meringuoid · · Score: 1
      Hmm, how to put this?...

      / \" /-,!

      (sorry... l33t doesn't really work in Japanese, does it?)

      It's actually the original English title. In Japanese it's Hauru no Ugoku Shiro. Howl is the name of the evil wizard.

      --
      Real Daleks don't climb stairs - they level the building.
  53. translation by cheeseSource · · Score: 1

    It will be interesting to see how the English translation of Japanese translation of the original story translates to the screen, and to see how it compares to the original English version...

    --
    (Sponsored by cheeseSource for President 2012)
  54. How the... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ...fuck does this end up on the front page?

    1. Re:How the... by gamgee5273 · · Score: 1
      To ask a question as ignorant as this is to not know how to filter the news on your front page.

      You have failed the nerd test, lad. Try again.

  55. Go buy a dictionary by Scrameustache · · Score: 1

    That's not the "moral," that's the background of Japanese culture from which it's created. It may be shocking to you, but working hard and not complaining are actual values (for both genders) that are very much embodied in Japanese child-rearing.
    From the Japanese perspective, the moral of American media is "slack off and whine a lot."


    The moral of that family-oriented japanese movie is (gasp!) in synch with the culture that spawned it? Unfuckingbelievable!

    Main Entry1: moral
    Pronunciation: 'mor-&l, 'mär-
    Function: adjective
    Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French, from Latin moralis, from mor-, mos custom
    1 a : of or relating to principles of right and wrong in behavior

    Main Entry2: moral
    Pronunciation: 'mor-&l, 'mär-; 3 is m&-'ral
    Function: noun
    1 a : the moral significance or practical lesson (as of a story) b : a passage pointing out usually in conclusion the lesson to be drawn from a story
    2 plural a : moral practices or teachings : modes of conduct b : ETHICS

    You might as well have said "That's not a duck! It's a swimming bird (family Anatidae) in which the neck and legs are short, the body more or less depressed, and the bill broad and flat".

    --

    You can't take the sky from me...

    1. Re:Go buy a dictionary by catenos · · Score: 1

      1 a : the moral significance or practical lesson (as of a story) b : a passage pointing out usually in conclusion the lesson to be drawn from a story

      That's exactly the point! While you certainly can draw that lesson from Japanese movies, it's not the lesson to be drawn from the author's point of view.

      Since in their culture these values are nothing unusual, from their point of view, there are other, more important lessons to be drawn from the stories. So, as the grandparent said, that's not the "moral," [of the stories], that's the background of [the] culture from which it's created. At least most of the time.

      --
      Keep an eye on which arguments are silently dropped in replies. Not always, but often times it's very telling.
    2. Re:Go buy a dictionary by Scrameustache · · Score: 1

      it's not the lesson to be drawn

      Why would there be a legal limit of ONE moral per movie?

      Since in their culture these values are nothing unusual, from their point of view, there are other, more important lessons to be drawn from the stories.

      How do you think these lessons get assimilitaded? By osmosis? No! By repeating them, in stories, in life, by example.

      Miyazaki is insisting on this PRECISELY because it was an important part of japanese culture when he was growing up, and he sees the kids nowadays slacking off and whining, so he makes kick ass cartoons that drive home the traditional values he finds most important: Work ethics, ecology, spirituality...

      --

      You can't take the sky from me...

    3. Re:Go buy a dictionary by Lemmy+Caution · · Score: 1

      No, he does not see kids slacking off and whining.

      Have you ever been to Japan? In a Japanese household? I suspect you haven't. You'll be shocked, but children do not behave identically around the world. In my experience, as early as the age 4, there are stark differences in the way that children from different cultures behave. The hard-working, not-complaining Japanese child is typical, not some sort of paragon set out as an example to emulate.

  56. If you can't wait for the latest Miyazaki movie by flyingsquid · · Score: 2, Informative

    ...pick up the four volumes of _Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind_. It's the graphic novel's answer to _Lord of the Rings_. Miyazaki creates technologies, ecologies, empires, religions... and really, really cool villains: there's the vixen princess who lives on hatred, a bored, psychotic immortal king, and a three hundred foot tall cyborg. And I'm not a big fan of most Japanese comic art, but Miyazaki has a very organic drawing style heavily influenced by Moebius, and his art is incredible.

    1. Re:If you can't wait for the latest Miyazaki movie by ll1234 · · Score: 1

      I recommend the newer 7-volume reprint. The books are larger (good) and unflipped (great). A box set was planned for release in November but Viz (the US publisher) dropped it without explanation.

  57. Tonari-no Totoro by InThane · · Score: 2, Informative

    My ex-girlfriend (who was Japanese) told me that he made the film to show that there are wonderful things in nature that need to be preserved - and apparently, a good chunk of the proceeds from the film went to buy up some forests near Tokyo, or something like that. It's been around 10 years, so I'm not real clear on it, but I kinda sorta remember that much...

    Once again, "don't damage the environment" is the message.

    --
    InThane
    1. Re:Tonari-no Totoro by aiabx · · Score: 1

      That's a pretty lukewarm moral then. Without any clues to guide us in the plot (the conflict between nature and technology in Mononoke, for instance), we have no way of knowing whether Miyazaki is telling us to preserve the forest, rural communities, families under stress, or late night bus service. For a story to present a moral, there needs to be a choice made, with visible consequences. Otherwise, you end up like film students - reading all kinds of crap into a story that the creator never intended.

      Do you like that little dangling worm there?
      -aiabx

      --
      Just this guy, you know?
  58. Finally! by Mr.+Bad+Example · · Score: 2, Funny

    It's good to see Ginsberg's work getting some recognition, although I'm not sure where the moving castle comes in, and the Japanese schoolgirls will prove problematic.

    "I saw the schoolgirls of my generation
    Assaulted by tentacles, hentai and otherwise..."

  59. Desperate to reject childish things, are ye? by Scrameustache · · Score: 1

    Spirited Away is clearly made only for children. I sat there, searching for absolutely anything that would appeal to people over the age of twelve, but I found nothing besides some blood.

    When you reach a mental age above that of a 15 year old, you'll find other things are interresting to people above the age of 12 than "blood".

    --

    You can't take the sky from me...

    1. Re:Desperate to reject childish things, are ye? by Savatte · · Score: 1

      yeah, BOOBS!

  60. Howl's Moving Castle Official Website by echocharlie · · Score: 2, Informative

    You forgot to link to the Official Japanese Website for Howl's Moving Castle For those who are Japanese-impaired, the first 4 links along the bottom edge of the letter read thusly: Info | Story | Character | Staff&Cast | ...

  61. Re:News for ... who? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Wow. That's just stunningly retarded. You don't belong on this web site.

    I am almost speechless at the irony of this...

  62. Musical Score Provided By.... by JohnPerkins · · Score: 1

    Rossini! Or not. I'd even settle for Paisiello or Isouard...

  63. Re:News for ... who? by cannon+fodder+0109 · · Score: 1

    Wow. That's just stunningly retarded. You don't belong on this web site.

    I am almost speechless at the irony of this...


    You must be new here

    --
    Pick up the bread knife and carve your way into forensic history
  64. Good Work /. by camooT · · Score: 0, Troll

    Nice to see you keeping on top of things as usual.

  65. Re:News for ... who? by Japong · · Score: 1

    You.

    Watch Grave of the Fireflies .

    I challenge you or anyone else to say that because that movie is animated, it is in any way "for children". Here, I'll even get you started. It's an older movie, but the same studio.

  66. Didn't say it made sense... by InThane · · Score: 1

    ...just reporting second-hand information. :)

    Besides, I swear that Miyazaki must've been on LSD when he came up with the cat-bus sequence.

    --
    InThane
  67. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  68. Totoro? by interactive_civilian · · Score: 2, Interesting
    so far, most of the dubs have been very good. The only exception, in my opinion, was Castle in the Sky, which had a pretty poor dub.
    I'm guessing that either a.) you haven't seen My Neighbor Totoro (Tonari No Totoro) or 2.) you don't understand Japanese, because that was one of the worst dubs of any anime that I have ever seen.

    The quality of the English voice-acting was terrible, and the things they were saying were nowhere near the original Japanese dialogue. I guess I can understand a little bit because a lot of things in that movie are VERY difficult to translate to English and a lot of things don't make much sense if you don't know anything about Japanese culture.

    Don't get me wrong. I loved the movie. Totoro is one of my favorites. Howl's Moving Castle, on the other hand, was IMHO the worst Miyazaki Hayao movie ever made. It wasn't a bad movie at all, but his other movies are just so excellent and it doesn't even compare (saw it in the theater in Shinagawa last week).

    --
    "Empathise with stupidity, and you're halfway to thinking like an idiot." - Iain M. Banks
  69. Saw it. My own personal review. by interactive_civilian · · Score: 1
    Before it came out there was a lot of hype but from the people I know who've seen it the movie wasn't very good.
    I saw the move about a week and a half ago at the Shinagawa Prince Cinema, which is actually a pretty nice theater. I'm sad to say that Howl's Moving Castle was probably the worst Miyazaki Hayao movie I have ever seen (and I have seen a lot of them). That is a long way from saying it is a bad movie (it isn't), but it really doesn't stand up to any of his others.

    The scenery was breathtaking, the animation was very nice, the characters were well drawn, and the voice acting was quite good (Kimura Takuya did a very excellent job as Howl). It is Miyazaki's execution of the story where the movie falls down.

    Before seeing the movie, I read the book written by Dianna Wynne Jones, and I thought it was good. It also seemed like just the sort of story that Miyazaki could make into a good movie.

    Unfortunately, it seems like some things may have been lost in the translation and also Miyazaki tried to put in a message about the horrors of war which didn't really match the original story and its themes at all. A lot of things were changed from the book or added to the story with almost no rhyme or reason. It kind of seemed that Miyazaki wasn't quite sure what he wanted to do with this movie and it kind of has a thrown together feeling to it (well, as much as something as carefully planned as an animated movie can have that feeling).

    A few years ago when I saw Spirited Away (Sen To Chihiro No Kamikakushi) about a month after I arrived in Japan, I was left the feeling of seeing something quite amazing. After seeing Howl's Moving Castle, the feeling was pretty much, "meh...so I saw it."

    Not a bad movie, and good on a lot of standards, but definitely near the bottom of the Miyazaki Hayao movies.

    --
    "Empathise with stupidity, and you're halfway to thinking like an idiot." - Iain M. Banks
    1. Re:Saw it. My own personal review. by BJH · · Score: 1

      I saw it a couple of weeks ago at Roppongi Hills; however, I hadn't read the book (I've read others by DWJ, but not that one), so obviously I didn't notice the changes Miyazaki made.

      It seemed like a fun ride, but I agree that it wasn't up the level of most of his other movies. In particular, it seemed to lose steam (no pun intended) for a little while in the latter half of the movie.

  70. Environmental themes in SA by Compact+Dick · · Score: 1

    ... Spirited Away has nothing to do with the environment at all ...

    It certainly does. Remember the "stink spirit" that turned out to be a river god? Note the contents that spewed out when they pulled out the "thorn" in its side.

    Another one: the Kohaku river disappeared as a result of new buildings that rose around it.

  71. Miyazaki by ananegg · · Score: 1

    I 3 Miyazaki. His movies rock.

    --
    Insert Pithy Quote here.
  72. edonkey.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ed2k://|file|howl.moving.castle.2004.SVCDRip.avi|7 37367224|F05E6705CFB3BB82E02D37F8FA6881A4|/

    Surely you won't mind the lack of sub.

  73. Old news by Orinthe · · Score: 1

    How is this news? The movie's been out for over a month, and I saw it myself 3.5 weeks ago. Miyazaki (though I love him) did pervert the original quite thoroughly in order to make a political commentary on war...

    --
    SELECT quote.text AS sig FROM quote NATURAL JOIN attribute WHERE attribute.description = 'witty';
    0 rows returned
  74. Mod Parent Up by sbszine · · Score: 1

    You've got his number... I bet he won't let himself play Zelda either : )

    --

    Vino, gyno, and techno -Bruce Sterling

    1. Re:Mod Parent Up by Scrameustache · · Score: 1

      You've got his number

      I check his previous posts, I was off by 2 years actually... but I said "mental" age ;-)

      --

      You can't take the sky from me...

  75. I saw it, didn't like it by amake · · Score: 1

    I saw it a couple weeks ago. The animation was beautiful, as is to be expected from a Miyazaki movie. However, the plot made absolutely no sense, and after talking with a friend who's read the book, the only conclusion I can reach is that Miyazaki's off his rocker and should have retired after Spirited Away. I wrote a longer tirade here.

  76. departure by mshurpik · · Score: 1

    And in a departure from nothing, Disney has adapted Miyazaki for a new feature titled Lion King III: Simba-san's Romantic Adventure.

  77. Both options available? by jarsyl · · Score: 1

    Whenever this eventually makes it out in the US, isn't it likely they will follow the same model as with Spirited Away? When that came out in Boston I didn't have any trouble finding a theater that was running the subtitled version.

    On another note, I hope to see this here in Tokyo this weekend. Not sure how much longer it will remain in theaters. </boast>