Earlier this month, Hayao Miyazaki took the stage at the Venice Film
Festival after the screening of his latest film The Wind Rises(2013) to
announce his retirement. Miyazaki is no stranger to retirements; he was in a
semi-retirement after Princess Mononoke(1997) but then returned with
wonderful and his most successful film, Spirited Away(2001) then back
into retirement only to resurface in 2004. However this time he says he is
serious. Only time will tell us if he is but if at all he is, that is indeed a
sad news, especially for someone like me who has always been in love with his
films and Studio Ghibli for many years. Miyazaki is one of the most well-known
and respected directors in the world of animation and has left his unmistakable
print on the medium in more than three decades of his career as a director. I
am taking this opportunity to look back on his career, in the usual style of
these posts, with the help of every film he has directed. Let me make few
things clear first; this is a profile of a ‘Director’. So I am only looking at
the films he directed and I am looking at only his feature films. I would’ve
loved to include his shorts as well as they are just as wonderful but I just
couldn’t get hold of all of them. With that, let’s get right into it.
The Castle of Cagliostro(1979): Miyazaki
had been working in various departments of an animated studio for almost two
decades. He even had directed episodes of couple of TV serials but this marks
the first time he put on the director’s cap for a feature film. Coincidentally,
this was the last of his films I saw. As a film, there is nothing quite wrong
with it per say. This is actually quite a decent film; albeit a little
amateurish in both story as well as in animation. It’s just that it is such an
odd-man-out from Miyazaki’s filmography. Every film he did since then contains
many very specific things that everyone now kind of expects from any Miyazaki
film, or any Ghibli film in general, and Cagliostro is void of every single one
of them. These traits definitely make his films richer in context and more
layered and the lack of them doesn’t necessarily imply inferiority but it is
kind of distracting, especially when you know the director so well. Grade: B.
Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind(1984): Success of
this film made way for creation of Studio Ghibli next year. Even though this
wasn’t under studio’s banner, it fits perfectly into that cannon. We have
Nausicaa, a young, dynamic female protagonist that loves everything in the
world she lives in and as bad the things get, has a confidence that it can
still be saved and does everything she can to save it. We have Kushana, an
antagonist to start with but with redeeming qualities and Asbel, Nausicaa’s
male counterpart who helps her in getting the things right. Story is strongly influenced
by Japanese philosophy and motifs like commercial greed and their disastrous
effects on the environment play very important part in it. It can be very warm and
fuzzy when needed but also gets very dark as the things get worse. In a way, it
was a test case for everything we know Studio Ghibli for now as all these
features play very important part in every single film he directed and help
form their own identity. And it works so wonderfully well even after almost 30
years. Grade: A
Laputa: Castle in the Sky(1986): In 1985, along with fellow
animator Isao Takahata(who later went on to direct wonderful and heart
wrenching Grave of the Fireflies(1988)) and producer Yasuyoshi Tokuma,
he started his own animation production company, Studio Ghibli. Castle in the Sky became the first film produced under that banner. If you ask me to
pick a film to introduce someone to Miyazaki and Ghibli, I will pick this one.
It is very sweet, easy to get into and unlike some other films, is not too dark
or violent but still leaves you with a great message. There is something
wonderful about Sheeta and Pazu and their friendship that always warms my
heart. In a typical Miyazaki fashion, these are kids wise beyond their years
but they haven’t lost their innocence. And that iron robot at the end is just
the cherry on the top. As a matter of fact, this is my favourite film Miyazaki
directed. One of the motifs of his films has always been morally ambiguous
antagonist with various redeeming qualities. This is one of the only two films
of Miyazaki to have a clear villainous character; other being The Castle of Cagliostro. Grade: A
My Neighbour Totoro(1988): Many of his
other films might have been bigger critical or financial successes but I don’t
think you can find a more beloved or popular character than Totoro in this
film. Most of his characters are inspired by the Japanese philosophy. Totoro,
however, is created completely from his own imagination and is based on his own
childhood experiences. Miyazaki also created Cat bus for this movie which I am
quite sure is more popular than some of his movies. Another character that I
dearly love is Mei; she is just the cutest little thing you will ever see.
Unfortunately, I don’t have the highest opinion of the film in general as I
think it gets a little too sweet after a while but I am eagerly waiting for an
opportunity to introduce this film to my 4-year old niece. However I will agree
that the darkness of this film is deceptive, very well hidden under all the
cuteness and can point to more serious themes if you want to look at it that
way. Grade: B+
Kiki’s Delivery Service(1989): Another
film that can serve as a good entry point for Ghibli newbie’s is this
coming-of-age story of a young girl about developing her confidence but is
little lighter and less ambitious than Laputa. However let me tell you that of
his ‘lighter works’(Totoro, Kiki, Ponyo and maybe even Porco Rosso),
I like Kiki the most. In yet another typical Miyazaki way, plot of his film
itself is principle point of attraction – a 13-year-old girl has to leave her
house and spend one year away as a mandatory part of her witch training before
becoming a full-fledged witch. That just gets me instantly interested and I
haven’t even mentioned Jiji yet. If not for last 15-20 minutes of this movie;
where I think it loses its focus a little in an attempt to give Kiki one final,
big task before she can pass her test; I really like this film. Miyazaki’s
father was the director of Miyazaki Airplanes which produced rudders for the
fighter planes during World War II. Miyazaki seems to have developed quite a
fascination for aviation since his early years as it features quite prominently,
in some form or the other, in many of his films including Kiki flying on her
broom. Grade: B+
Porco Rosso(1992): Miyazaki also wrote every single one of the films
he directed and in many cases also created Manga strips for them. Porco Rosso is one such film. In many ways, even this is quite a deviation from
what we have come to expect from Miyazaki movies. Even though Fio can fit as a
typical Miyazaki heroine, protagonist of this film is not a young female – Fio -
but an adult male – Porco , a WWI pilot in 1930’s Italy transformed into an anthropomorphic
pig who now works as a bounty hunter. It also lacks the usual environmentalist
tone of his films and is more about the code of honour. Once again, it is the
final few minutes of this movie – the duel between Porco and Curtis – that diminish
my overall opinion of it. Grade: B-
Princess Mononoke(1997): This film
has a distinction of introducing Miyazaki to the western world. I don’t belong
to that world anymore but it was my introduction to him and to Ghibli as well;
a start of love affair that has lasted since. I haven’t even mentioned the best
thing about Miyazaki’s films that make them dearer to me than many other modern
animated movies and that is they are traditionally animated. Even though this
was the first film that Miyazaki used some kind of CGI for, he is believed to
have drawn 80,000 drawings for this film himself. There is something about
those drawings that makes them so much more relatable and personal and I love
that way more than CGI. Mononoke is no doubt a great film with amazing characters
and wonderful message; a natural double feature with Nausicaa but it is also
much darker, more violent(one aspect of anime films that I am not most fond of though I
will have more to say about it a little later). It also is the first animated
film to win the Japanese Academy Awards and was the highest grossing film ever
in Japan then. Grade: A-
Spirited Away(2001): I watched both Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away in pretty quick succession back in 2010 and that 1-2 punch quite
literally knocked me. I really hoped to re-watch both before this post as I
haven’t seen them since but unfortunately, couldn’t fit it in. To tell you the
truth, I don’t remember every single detail of either of the film but I
definitely remember liking this one better than the former. The fact that I can
remember this way more than Mononoke even after watching both in quick
succession also supports my claim. I am usually an advocate of making a little
denser, intelligent kids film and majority of Miyazaki’s films are perfect
example and off course, the hand-drawn animations in it make them more likable
to me. Phenomenal financial success of this film also indicated that even
people are ready to embrace them. Spirited Away not only promptly became
the highest grossing Japanese film then and is his most financially successful
film to date but went ahead and also became first anime film ever to win an
Oscar for the best animated film. Grade:
A
Howl’s Moving Castle(2004): Miyazaki came out of his second semi-retirement
after the original director of this film, Mamoru Hosoda, passed away suddenly to
make most violent movie from his filmography but also earned his second nomination for the Best Animated Film of the year. I have noticed it on various
occasions that, mainly in anime movies, I am turned off by excessively violence
because most of them tend to lose their focus once all the fighting ensues. Maybe
it’s my Ghibli-toned sensitivities that play major part in it but many people
consider Akira(1988) as one of the best anime movies ever and I really
couldn’t get into that movie. Same thing happened with Paprika(2006) when things
start getting stranger and stranger. I will say that Howl wasn’t that bad an
experience but I wasn’t much emamoured by all the destruction in it
either. Grade: B
Ponyo(2008): After Porco and Cagliostro, this is Miyazaki's third film with Male lead. This is my least favourite of all his films and
unfortunately not because one of them had to be. I actually found it to be
quite childish, something I never thought I will say about a Miyazaki film. I liked Sosuke enough and his house on the cliff was amazing but I really couldn't get into it once the effects of Ponyo's metamorphosis start materializing. It goes without saying that I am really excited for The Wind Rises(2013) but I am happy that he is directing it because I really don't want his last film to be my least favourite film. I really hope I like it too. Grade:
C
Woody Allen
A Lot of times, Studio Ghibli is referred to as 'Disney of Japan'. As I
delve more and more into this marvelous world of Studio Ghibli, more I find how
accurate this description is. And this has nothing to do with the ties of
Ghibli and Disney Productions and also the fact that they both happen to make
animated movies but has everything to do with the message that their stories
give us. If you have read Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code, you would remember the
discussion where they talk about Walt Disney, his work and his inspirations and
hidden messages in his stories. If there is someone who has similar
imagination, similar vision in today's world, I think that will be Hayao
Miyazaki and I bet if you pick up any movie that Studio Ghibli ever did and
keep your eyes open, you will understand what I am saying is right. Laputa: Castle in the Sky(1986), sixth Ghibli movie I saw, is no exception.
After the success of his film, Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind(1984),
Miyazaki along with Isao Takahata, director of Grave of the Fireflies(1988) and
producer Toshio Suzuki founded Studio Ghibli. Castle in the Sky(1986) was the
first movie made under the banner of Studio Ghibli. Just like any other Ghibli movie,
it has a strong female lead and just like any other movie, it looks like a very
innocent and sweet story for children. Sheeta, our protagonist, lives a quite
village life taking care of few animals her family owns. She is alone since
death of her parents. One day, for reasons completely unknown to her, she is
taken into custody by the people of military intelligence and is on the way to
a secret facility. However, apparently they are not the only one's that are
looking for her and it seems that they are all interested in a Crystal she is
wearing which is a family property passed from generation to generation. In the
very first scene, we see that the plane carrying Sheeta gets attacked by some
pirates. While trying to escape from the ship, she falls down and then we see
that crystal is no ordinary crystal as it carries her safely to the ground,
into the mines where our other protagonist, Pazu, works with his boss. He takes
her home, mostly because he is fascinated by glowing crystal. In the morning, they
again run into the pirates and secret agents looking for her and Pazu again
helps her run away from them hiding into one of the mines. In these mines, they meet Uncle Pomme who tells them a story about Ithirium which glows in the night and as it turns out, Sheeta's Crystal is purest form of Ithirium which is extremely rare.
As we move forward, we come to know that Sheeta is actually a rightful heir of the floating city of Laputa concealed in the big, violent thundercloud and crystal she possesses is the key to open this city which is been locked away for many years now. Secret Agents working under the orders of evil Colonel Muskaa, who has been doing his research for many years to find this crystal so that he can rule the world. Once they realize what the real deal is with the crystal, Pazu manages to help Sheeta escape from the clutches of Col. Muskaa and then they head out to solve the mystery of Laputa and also to prevent it from falling into the clutches of Col. Muskaa. I find it interesting, particularly after writing review of A Separation(2011) recently where I consciously avoided giving up any plot details, that I am discussing the plot so much in detail this time around. But that is where the power of Ghibli lies - these films have so much beauty, innocence and essence in them that they are sure to lure you in their world even after knowing almost the whole plot before watching them. I even believe that these movies are so great that even if you mute the volume and treat it as a silent movie, animations are so rich and beautiful that you will still enjoy them equally.
This movie is a complete package. It is sweet, innocent, funny, clever, it never becomes cheesy or stupid and it has a message in it too. This is one great thing about Ghibli movies that they usually always have a nice message to convey and even if you wish to ignore that message, they are still good films at heart. Characters will rarely be plain bad, like Dola who is actually a Pirate who is trying to steal Sheeta's crystal but ends up helping them. Even if this is first film under Ghibli banner, we can clearly see all the attributes which have become Ghibli trademark by now like traditional technique used for animations which makes them simple but elegant, their attention to the details, powerful storyline with a certain touch of fantasy, strong female protagonist and their emphasis on humanitarian values. Walt Disney known for his female heroines and hidden messages throughout his stories also had one more thing, something that Ghibli movies have distinctively as well - his heroines will never have everything laid out on platter, they will get in trouble and even though they will have someone to help them, they will usually find their way back home on their own re-establishing the faith on human ability to persevere and preserve the intrinsic benevolent nature. If at all I had a problem with it, it had nothing to do with movie but with DVD I watched on. First of all, it was dubbed version, I prefer Japanese audio with subtitles - I think it looks little pretentious in English and secondly, audio was lagging long enough to notice but short enough to be a complete turn-off.
I always say that a good animated movie is always a movie which can be enjoyed by anyone regardless of your age and Ghibli movies have time and again successfully passed that test, Laputa: Castle in the Sky(1986) is no exception. What makes it better is central characters of Pazu and Sheeta are innocent like the kids their age should be, but at the same time they have maturity and righteousness beyond their years which makes me want to go ahead and rank it as high as Grave of the Fireflies(1988) and Spirited Away(2001), two personal favorites. Go ahead and give it a try. You are almost guaranteed not to be disappointed.
Rating(out
of 5):
