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First Glimpse Of American SPIRITED AWAY Poster!! Plus Review of Japanese DVD!!
Hey, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab.
This is the first time I’ve seen this, a very simple and striking poster for the American release of the latest masterpiece by one of the true treasures of world cinema, Hayao Miyazaki.
This is playing LA soon, and I’ll be there with bells on. In the meantime, I’ll have to content myself with this review of the DVD that’s just been released overseas. Damn you, Knowles, and your new all-region player...
Hi Moriarty,
I just received Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi on
Standard Edition DVD in the mail from a very reliable
Internet retailer CD Japan (www.cdjapan.co.jp),
officially known as Spirited Away, and after having
finally seen the movie after waiting for a year, I
must say it's one of the most extraordinary and
visually stunning films ever committed to film,
animated or not. It's a a real work of art inasmuch
Disney's Pinocchio, The Iron Giant and Miyazaki's
previous feature Princess Mononoke.
I won't give away the details as you will most likely
be pleasantly surprised when you start watching
knowing only the basic premise of the plot and with
neutral or low expectation, and the movie turns out to
be astonishing in terms of visceral and emotional
experience (like it did for me when I saw The Seven
Samurai, Dancer in the Dark, A.I. and Japanese version
of The Ring). Afterwards you enjoy the movie so much
you recommend the movie to family and friends with the
enthusiasm and vigor of word of mouth just like The
Godfather, Star Wars, Jaws, The Ring (in Asian
countries at least), The Blair Witch Project and
countless others that rose from obscurity to
international success stories because of the
advertisement magic which Roger Ebert coined: "word of
mouth money can't buy."
If there's a description that fits the movie's
compelling but wonderfully strange plot, it would be
the Japanese variation of Lewis Carroll's Alice in
Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, Maurice
Sandick's Where the Wild Things Are, Dr. Seuss' Oh,
the Places You'll Go and the works of the Brothers
Grimm, Roald Dahl and Shel Silverstein mixed with
Japanese cultural traditions, folklore and mythology.
It never ends there. Spirited Away is subject to each
individual's interpretation, so it should be enjoyed
by those willing to accept the movie on the basis of
fantasy instead of dismissing the film with prejudice
just because you don't understand what the hell is
going on or you don't like Japanese animation for any
reason like the commonly complained-about "jerky
style".
The transfer is of top quality, although I noticed
"red tint" which I had to adjust tinting for the
satisfactory picture. Sen to Chihiro DVD comes with
the optional and adequately translated English and
French subtitling plus Japanese subtitles. The movie
has Dolby Digital 2.0 in Japanese and French audio
track. Japanese DTS-ES soundtrack rocked! The DVD
comes with Disc One containing the movie, audio
selection, chapter selection and Disc Two has
supplements such as storyboards, trailers & TV spots
and a trailer for Ghibli's new film Neko no Ongaeshi,
which looks like a spin-off of Miyazaki-scripted
Whisper of the Heart which I also immensely enjoyed,
and that film is an excellent companion to Spirited
Away as these films share the same premise of a young
girl in the quest for self-determination through the
imaginatory world. The Japanese DVD of Sen to Chihiro
is, as you already know, only plays in region 2 so it
should play fine on all-region DVD players (I played the R2 DVD on a
modified PlayStation 2 - take that, SXXY). There are
at least two additional editions - Collector's Edition
and DVD Player bundle - but they're damn hard to find
so they should pop up on eBay by now.
Miyazaki has made a masterpiece that stimulates your
imagination with the pretension of child-like wonder
in a sort of self-awareness. Reasonably intelligent
children (the ones who love active life with
vivid imagination), adolescents and adults without the
condition of prejudice against quality Japanese
animation will love the film for its array of
humanistic and bizarre character development,
surprising twists and fascinating vision of
dream-or-reality world like Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger,
Hidden Dragon before it. Jaded movie critics and
clueless/joyless/idiot moviegoers don't have to like
or care for the movie since they're too self-absorbed
to let go of their ignorance and prejudice. Unless you
have the fond memory of Disney's Alice in Wonderland
and have enjoyed children's literacy masterpieces
mentioned above, you might not enjoy the film because
it's too weird for your taste so don't bother unless
you're curious and open-minded with the enthusiasm for
anything entertaining and imaginative even if you may
not understand what's going on.
One thing though: watch out for Miyazaki's homage to
the world-renowned director of Toy Story 1 & 2 John
Lasseter's Luxo Jr. the hopping lamp. It's amazingly
sublime considering Lessenter and Miyazaki have known
each other since the mid-80's and Lessenter had
written a note of praise in the 12-disc Ghibli ga
Ippai compilation laserdisc box set which I own as an
admittedly die-hard Miyazaki fan.
The English dub of Spirited Away from Walt Disney
Pictures under the distributing subsidiary Buena Vista
Pictures (the company that brought you David Lynch's
G-rated masterpiece The Straight Story, this year's
underrated gem The Rookie, animated films and assorted
bad live-action kiddie garbage), with creative input
from Lessenter, will bow in North American theatres
this September 20 and is given a PG rating for "some
scary moments" from the MPAA. I hope it will come with
DTS-ES for DTS-equipped theatres - like I said, DTS
rock. The commercial appeal of Spirited Away in North
America is yet to be questioned whether it will be
minimally, moderately or wildly successful. Its
success depend on good marketing and enthusiastically
positive word of mouth. The success of Lilo & Stitch
makes traditional animation at Disney a clinch, so in
this case Spirited Away will be moderately successful
whereas Princess Mononoke barely made a dent in the
late 1999 North America release (until second life on
video, perhaps).
Princess Mononoke is still my favorite Miyazaki film,
with Spirited Away second. Spirited Away truly
deserves the Golden Bear award at Berlin Film
Festival. Hayao Miyazaki most definitely will be a
household name that ordinary movie fans and
movie-going parents who take their kids to animated
movies might recognize his name alongside Walt Disney,
the Fleischer brothers, William Hanna & Joseph
Barbera, Matt Groening, Tex Avery, Brad Bird and Chuck
Jones in North America by the time Miyazaki's ninth
and (hopefully) final animated feature film arrive in
2004 or '05.
Father Death ResurrectedVery nice review, FDR, especially considering English isn’t your first language. Heck, you seem to understand it more than Knowles. All I know is I’m dying to see this film now. YOU HEAR ME?! RIGHT NOW!!!
"Moriarty" out.
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Its not a fault its only subtle and is deliberatly done by ghibli during the remastering process to add a warmer,dreamlike look.
Theres nothing wrong with it.... -
Spirited Away is going to be playing at the Toronto Film Fest. Yay me! I'll get to see it in September.
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I love it.
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that's why i hope they don't do it for the west. it wasn't done to give a 'warmer' look for aesthetic reasons but for dubious technical reasons. it ISN'T subtle and it DOES look wrong
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....can't wait to see it.
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heck, the entire Anime industry has been outdoing Disney for years. slowly Americans are realizing that animation can have violence and horror along with true emotion and feeling, not canned emotion and Broadway musical style production numbers. i can't wait for this film. and, luckily, i'll be moving to Japan in a few months. this will be a nice send off film...
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I didn't know about the DVD release of that WONDERFUL movie. Please, be smart and see it! It's exceptional, it's perfect, it's one of the best!
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Jul 25, 2002 12:35:20 PM CDT
I think Sandra Bullock should be in the live action remake and H
by chaffro
"Ever leg-dropped a little girl, brother? Watch this..."
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...but I haven't yet seen Spirited Away so that all may change. Ye gods I'm looking forward to this movie. Good for Disney for giving this movie the broad release it deserves.
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Spirited Away was a good movie and very visually appealing. I also enjoyed My Neighbour Tortoro and Kiki's Delivery Service as great kids movies that out do anything Disney has churned out in the last decade. They inspire awe and a sense of wonder that I haven't seen Disney do in a long time.
For more anime not geared towards kids as much but with the same tone as those three I would recommend would be Nausicaa of the Valley of the wind (stay away from the American bastardized dubbed copy named "Wind Warriors" with 40 or so minutes cut out of it).
If you know anime all the movies I mentioned have come from Hayao Miyazaki... he is the Walt Disney among anime studios.
One movie that should see a broud U.S. release
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Spirited Away was scheduled to be shown at a 'Con I attended Memorial Day weekend(Marcon if anyone's heard of it.) However, stupid me gave in to the temptation of the flesh and missed the movie. D'oh!! Well, I'll be first in line for tickets when it hits theaters.
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Hands down my new favorite movie of all time. Words can't do it justice. As soon as I get a grasp on $40, that import is mine. And when it's released here, I'll buy it again. Spirited Away is the greatest movie I have ever seen. Imagine a cross between Labyrinth (or any of Henson's non-muppet works, for that matter), Princess Mononoke, Alice in Wonderland, The Wizard of Oz and any good 80's kids' fantasy flick, and you'll have an inkling of what this wonderful piece of cinema is about. I couldn't recommend it any higher if it were sold with nude pictures of Britney Spears.
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Jul 25, 2002 1:36:24 PM CDT
And for the record, that red tint actually ISN'T deliberate.
by shabba mcdoo
The official press release read something like this: "IMPORTANT NOTICE: Reddish tint may appear on the picture of this DVD, depending on the types and settings of your monitor. According to the publisher, this condition will not validate a return at this time. If you do encounter this problem, we will not be able to provide refund or replacement until determined otherwise by the publisher. Finalize your order for this item only if you are able to accept the possible reddish tint."
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Hey, I couldn't help but notice Moriarty's gripin' about all region dvd players. I just read today at gamepro.com that anyone with a PS2 and a Gameshark for it can buy an update that turns it into an all region player! Woohoo, bring on the foreign porn! ;)
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Miyazaki wasn't attached to Grave of the Fireflies. The fella' you're thinking of is Isao Takahata. Anyway, just thought I'd let ya' know in case you wanted to check out any of his other works like The Raccoon War or Panda, Little Panda.
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Actually, the official stance is that the red tint *is* deliberate--supposedly, it was done for optimal performance on liquid crystal and plasma displays. Check here for more info: http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/article.php?id=2344
No, Grave of the Fireflies isn't by Miyazaki, as you can see from nausicaa.net's filmography (http://www.nausicaa.net/miyazaki/films/). Neither is 'Raccoon Wars' ('Pom Poko,' I'm guessing), which is widely considered as one of Studio Ghibli's weaker films. Personally, my favorites are Kiki's Delivery Service, Laputa - Castle in the Sky, and Porco Rosso (The Crimson Pig), which is highly, highly underrated. -
I didn't mean it was a Ghibli flick. I meant if epyreal0 wanted to check out more of Isao Takahata's work, since he seemed to like Grave of the Fireflies so much. As far as those other works you mentioned, I personally think Kiki's Delivery Service borders on being total shit. I just couldn't bring myself to enjoy that film at all. Now, Porco Rosso is certainly one hell of a movie, and I've yet to see Castle in the Sky, but I might do that after Solaris finishes recording on IFC (gotta' watch it in my spare time). Anywho, I think it's awesome that the reviewer guy mentioned this: "watch out for Miyazaki's homage to the world-renowned director of Toy Story 1 & 2 John Lasseter's Luxo Jr. the hopping lamp. It's amazingly sublime considering Lessenter and Miyazaki have known each other since the mid-80's and Lessenter had written a note of praise in the 12-disc Ghibli ga Ippai compilation laserdisc box set which I own as an admittedly die-hard Miyazaki fan." - that reference is so subtle and well-done that...damn. I'm just gonna' go watch my VCD of the movie again.
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Jul 25, 2002 2:38:41 PM CDT
Why would any boy go see this film based on this poster? Boys d
by neil macauley
But I know. This is about "art." It's not about box-office for Disney. They're in it for the same reason you guys are -- the love of the craft as typified by a modern Master. Yeah. For me, though, it's about a nice nap. "Princess Mononoke," like Crouching Tiger, allowed me a nice 20 minute nap in the middle.
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This is going to tank at the box office, just like Princess Mononoke, America's not going to care,but as long as they release a nice Region 1 version with Japanese audio/English sub, I'll be a happy little elf. Yeah I know, I probably should get a Region-less DVD player.
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If you napped in the middle of Mononoke you *really* need to get yourself tested for ADD, dude.
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Jul 25, 2002 4:32:07 PM CDT
It's incredible and original films like these that force Dis
by monkey_king
Now if only Studio Ghibli would produce a Xi You Ji(Journey to the West) animated film, that would incredible. Best Monkey King animated film so far is 'The Lotus Lantern' and not that re-dubbed Frankie Avalon crap released as 'Alakazam the Great.' Since Vivendi pulled the plug on the ELFQUEST film, and it's in 'turnaround,' perhaps Wendy Pini and Marv Wolfman should shop it to Studio Ghibli. Can you imagine a Studio Ghibli ELFQUEST film? Old Monkey is salivating at the thought.
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If you haven't picked up a copy of the 6 disc, 11 movie, and 1 music video all region studio ghibli dvd set you're missing out. Ebay is aweseome, especially since i also got an all region spirited away dvd. I think Isao Takhata is crazy. I mean really, who thinks of making raccons make magic through the power of genitalia inflation? I think his best film has to be My Neighbors the Yamadas. It's definately a stray away from the Studio Ghibli style, and i think that's good for Takhata. Grave of the Fireflies is too depressing. Only Yesterday is beautiful, but at some points only good to look at. And Pom Poko, well, it's very unique. But if any of you have seen the On Your Mark video, please tell me that you think it is the most odd music video ever made. I love miyazaki, and the animation is wonderful, but what the hell is going on in that video? I can tell what's going on but why make a music video out of it, and why to that song???? Oh yeah, and if you want to see some real vintage miyazaki go see the tv series of Conan the Boy from the Future. It's classic Miyazaki.
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Jul 25, 2002 5:09:14 PM CDT
Greatest animation legend in the whole world..... and DI$NEY has
by bregalad_
Don't you just love irony? ------------------------------ You can tell with one glance at this early one-sheet that it's the biggest step in THE WRONG DIRECTION that the Disney marketers could possibly attempt. Nobody ever does a frickin' black background for a children's movie. Never....... ever........ ever use solid BLACK. Any idiot who is trying to sell a product to younger people will tell you this. Every little ad, billboard, poster etc for marketing animated films is white or brightly colored (see the old print ads for Atlantis, Lilo & Stitch, and Shrek). This is the SAME FRICKIN MISTAKE that Buena Vista made with the ads for Princess Mononoke. I mean, this poster is lovely but it looks like an "art house" French drama about espionage and painters falling in love with dancing courtesans. ---------------------------- It is a mystery why Disney is royally screwing this up (again).... they have the means to share Miyazaki's work with everyone here in the West: and make a mint off of him! His films transcend anything that the medium has ever achieved, yet Disney doesn't know how to SELL IT? How very ironic indeed.
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This was the best film of 2001 and I can only hope it will do as well as it deserves since Disney is doing a wide release for this. Simply a must see for any movie fan.
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In the past when Anime and Disney have been mentioned together on this site, I have said some unkind things about Disney: holding on to the DVDs, unable to market them, etc. I was misinformed. As Moriety explained to Ebert a couple of months ago, the problem in on the Japanese side -- they do not want the American's to release any DVDs prior to their own versions coming out. in other words, they are calling the shots and Disney is dancing the tune, if I can mix a metaphor here. Disney is actually being fully honorable in this and I regret saying otherwise. Write to Studio Ghibli instead -- burn 'em out about it. In the meantime, here's hoping something comes out someday.
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I've seen Sen to Chihiro at Brazilian's animation festival Anima Mundi and it deserves all the praise and hype. It's completely different from Mononoke but it's as good or better depending on your tastes, the storyline is one of the most imaginative since Alice and it avoids the "Good vs Evil" clich
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...just plain suck. Learn how to write English properly, man. Who is this idiot - deaf, a retard or what? On the other hand, Spirited Away sounds like a kick-ass movie. I'll definitely see the movie. Too bad Blood and Avalon sucked - gotta take Jim Cameron's quote with the grain of salt.
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Everybody can relate to Veggie Tales, whereas Miyazaki's movies usually rely on mythology that only the Japanese can relate to. I'll take Veggie Tales anyday.
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so don't expect a big advertising push. they are going with the tried and true arthouse circuit for sure. then bring out the DVD which will sell like mad. i think, of course, that they should push this like crazy, get your average american doofus into the theatre to see a REAL animated film. BUT, most Americans are incredibly stupid and, no doubt, Sen No Chiro / Spirited Away would go over many peoples heads. i talked to people who were actually confused my Monoke Hime / Princess Monoke! confused by it! can you imagine? one of these days, there will be a Japanese/American distribution company which will release films like this simultaneously, in both countries, with strong adverising, etc. just don't expect Disney to do this. look: disney has been turning out virtually indistinguishable, mind-numbingly boring pieces of shit animated movies for the past 20 years or so. they're not going to suddenly get with it until they get their asses spanked a few more times. it will happen eventually, not just yet. the Mouse will burn. it's a shame because Disney used to be amazing in it's Golden Age. it remains to be seen what sort of distro Millenium Actress will receive from Dreamworks. i have a feeling it will be more ambitious than Disney's plan. anyways, in somewhat unrelated news, the PowerPuff Girls Movie was great. perhaps not as sharp in the wit department as the television show, but still immensely enjoyable: "Freaky Bug Eyed Weirdo Girls Broke Everything" still makes me chuckle to myself when i think of it...
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That set is a bootleg, so are all the other region free Ghibli DVDs on Ebay. If you like Studio Ghibli's work don't rip them off by buying Hong Kong Bootlegs.
Anything from "Anime Cartoon International" (now known as "Manga International", not to be confused with "Manga Entertainment") is a bootleg.
http://www.nausicaa.net/miyazaki/video/answers.html
Tom. -
Jul 25, 2002 9:46:51 PM CDT
Waitaminute...either this poster is a fake or James Cameron is r
by guitarman555
So James Cameron supposedly says about SPIRITED AWAY that it has "Beauty, power, mystery, and above all, heart." That seems suspiciously like his blurb for METROPOLIS, which was ""Metropolis is the new milestone in anime, a spectacular fusion of CG background with traditional character animation. It has beauty, power, mystery, and above all...heart." Sound familiar? Don't take my word for it: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=james+cameron+power+mystery+heart&btnG=Google+Search
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I didn't notice a red tint on mine. Maybe it was only on export copies. Incidentaly I was very dissapointed with Neko no Ongaeshi. There's nothing wrong with it particularly but compared to ALL of Ghibli's other releases it just isn't very special. On the other hand the short 15 minute CG feature "The Ghibli's Episode 2" which runs before it is a work of art, and almost worth the admission price by itself (if Japanese cinema's weren't so bloody expensive...)
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That is too bad, Aoi Hiiragi's previous work Whisper of the Heart is my all time favorite anime film. I had high hopes for Neko no Ongaeshi since it was from her comics as well and included the Baron and the fat cat :( It will be awhile till I get to see it though since all I would have access to would be an eventual fansub of it.
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...Isao Takahata did. Give credit where credit is due.
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I'm holding out to see this movie in the theaters. His movies are so beautiful and I've only seen Mononoke on a big screen... sigh...
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I have seen
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Maybe my copy of SA is an exeption as the red tint is not noticable at all..proof of this is white is white...not pink!
Although I do have my set up through pure RGB on a projection tv.... -
But I won't be at all surprised if the film isn't a huge success stateside. The film is beautiful, imaginative, and unlike Mononoke, it's more of a children's story. A very mature children's story, more like a really good young adult's book than a kid's movie, and because it doesn't pander to a lowest common denominator I don't know if it'll catch on with our Happy Meal Clan American idea about kids' entertainment. I hope it does though, as I don't like thinking of American filmgoers as dumb, even though they often are that. The movie's numerous references to Japanese mythology might also cause some confusion, it did for me, but then I enjoy mythology and was glad to be exposed to something new. I saw this right before I read Moriarty's excited Peter Pan Script review, and I was filled with much the same sense of thrilled discovery as he was. It's how I felt when I gave in and read the first Harry Potter book to see what all the fuss was about. Honestly, you really don't know what to expect until you see it, and so that's why everyone says to go in knowing very little. It's part of the film's charm. I it can overcome the old "foreign film" stigma, but I'm not optimistic. Mononoke was fantastic, though a different sort of film, and it didn't get the attention or praise it deserved no matter what excuse you subscribe to. Laputa is still my favorite of all Miyazaki's films though, and I can't wait for it's release. I wonder if they'll EVER get it out. I'm tired of waiting. Miyazaki is up there with David Lean, Akira Kurosawa, Alfred Hitchcock, and John Ford as one of my all time favorite directors, but I no longer expect American audiences to agree.
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could it be that Disney is intentionally segregating their films from Ghibli's...?
Still, perhaps the other way to view that is to assume Disney expects the "real" fans to know the difference and follow up from Mononoke, and anyone else whose knowledge of animation goes no farther than, say, "Lilo & Stitch", will just get the wrong impression of a poster with a Disney stamp on it, word-of-mouth notwithstanding. And make no mistake in your statement, the average parent is spoon-fed their knowledge on family animation, and this film certainly pushes that boundary for spookiness and eeriness beyond standard Disney fare. Monsters, Inc has NOTHING on the scare-potential here. A "children's fairy tale" in Japan is very different from one in the U.S. Your suggestions are spot on except for average folks who just won't "get it", unfortunately... -
I've seen a good number of Ghibli's movies (mostly fan-subs) and they're all pretty fine films. The english dub of Kiki is a little strange, though. Phil Hartman was a bad choice for the voice of the cat. I would love to see any of these movies on the big screen.. they're very cinematic and the flying sequences are really beautiful.
A problem that a lot of regular joes in the rest of the world have with anime is that they get burned most of the time by renting some pretty feeble movies. I've seen quite a load of s**t in my day, with a few surprising gems now and again, but I'm kind of tired of weeding through it all. Can you guys recommend some really FINE anime for me to look for? I don't care much for the generic mech-vs-army-vs-preteens fare. My anime's gotta have at least a shred of intelligence and, if possible, be thought-provoking, or just plain awe-inspiring.
So far I've seen and enjoyed: MOST OF GHIBLI'S MOVIES, GHOST IN THE SHELL, PERFECT BLUE, AKIRA (a bit dated and somewhat overrated today I'd say.), umm... whoa, is that the end of the list?
I went to see METROPOLIS, but my friend and I walked out after 30 min. Highly uninteresting. I've heard a few things about JIN-ROH, and MILLENIUM ACTRESS is out soon(ish). Is there anything else?
I'd also recommend people try to get their hands on a anime flick that's made up of three short movies. It's called MEMORIES... I'm not sure, but Ghibli might be involved. You can download a high-quality version off file-sharing servers (I used kazaa I think). Worth checking out for sure. -
...I mean, I love Ghibli films (except for Ponpoko), and I would love for SPIRITED AWAY to open on as many screens as HARRY POTTER, but, the truth is, wide releases are very expensive and, unfortunately, the mainstream moviegoing public avoids serious animation like the plague (and we know they're not aiming it at kids, since it's being released in September, the ultimate dead zone for kids movies) so releasing it wide would be a money losing proposal that would make the losses Disney incurred with MONONOKE look like a bad 15 minutes at the slot machine in comparison, and if Disney loses big bucks again with this theatrical release, I wouldn't look forward to seeing any of the other films in the deal anytime soon. 200 to 300 screens means that it will be a public transit ride away at most for the vast majority of North Americans, just don't expect it at your local shopping mall multiplex.
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At least according to this site, though I'm not sure where he got the info:http://www.comicon.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=13&t=001288 It's not "wide", but Disney's still taking a pretty big risk.
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I just saw Spirited Away and loved it. I enjoyed it much better than Mononoke in fact. Laputa still remains my personal favorite though.
That said, I found FDR's review to be extremely condescending and self righteous. I'm not sure whetehr this is due to a lack of English skills, but to come off and say in essense that if anyone who happens not to like this film just isn't "open minded" enough is downright offensive. It's that sort of snobbish attitude that permeates anime fandom and keeps others away from films that might otherwise enjoy.
Hey, I didn't particulary like Mononoke...does that make me an "idiot" in your book? Who's being "open minded" here?
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Perhaps I'm being condescending in pimping Sen to Chihiro, but I'm not only the self righteous fan out there. See Nausicaa Mailing List for further proof of snobbish anime fandom. I'm not a big anime fan, I've only seen some movies like Akira, The Wings of Honneamise, Metropolis, Memories, Ninja Scroll, Vampire Hunter D Bloodlust and cult classics Fist of the North Star and Golgo 13: The Professional. My apology for offending you with a little condescending review but American adults will NEVER accept Miyazaki films because of stereotypical assocation with Japanese animation as subpar quality and they don't care about reason citing seemingly repetitive and lifeless animation, demon rape n' gush of blood and Pokemon. Miyazaki/Studio Ghjibli has a cult following in Asian countries outside of Japan, France and abroad, so it's only a cult like anime genre itself. As for leox and your questioning of my English skills, just ask Harry and countless test screening reviewers who cannot form proper sentences and spell shit. By the way, Princess Mononoke may not be easy to understand and is too derivative of Nausicaa, preachy, slow, boring and confusing so you're not the only one not to like the movie and I won't call you an idiot for that. The way I use the word idiot might not be proper, it's regrettable but it's my (albeit self important) opinion and I won't force anybody to watch movies because that's arrogance.
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So maybe Neil is just an asshole.
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Does anyone know how I can obtain a copy of 'My Neighbour Totorro' on region 2 DVD or 'Fantastic Planet' on the same format? Bearing in mind I live in the UK.
I think I'd find Disney's work more bearable if they were in Japanese and subtitled. I find 'Princess Monoke' unwatchable with American accents. I don't care how credible the actors were that lent their voices. -
Well, the plain lettering isn't. Come on, they can do better than that. The logo for princess mononoke sucked, too.
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Trevor, you can get the official Ghibli release of My Neighbour Totoro on Region 2 DVD from animaxis.com or from amotokyo.com. Both will ship to the UK though S&H is a bit cheaper from amotokyo (expect to pay about GBP25-30 all in all). Be warned, though, that the English dubbing is pretty irritating and that the English subtitles are actually dubtitles - which means that the text doesn't always correspond to what is actually being said in Japanese (eg, text on sceen when a scene is actually without speech). Not the end of the world, but a bit of a shame. Hope this helps.
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This movie is totally good.Fill with excitment and adventures in a different way.THe story is absolutly different with Princess Mononoke's which got some violence momment in it.Spirited Away is filled with beautiful fantasies n unpredictable storyline which is really fantastic.Great i tell ya!!!After u watch the movie,u wont b afraid of any ghost or monsters .Well...it really works for me.It is suitable for children.It's a gotta watch movie for fantasies lover.
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Nerdbird, I also read Moriarity's comment to Ebert about Studio Ghibli being the one holding up the DVD's U.S. release. That is the most infuriating load of crap I've ever read. Buena Vista Home Video is the one distributing these DVDs in Japan so Disney is calling the shots in both markets. Remember, the U.S. DVD was not even going to have a Japanese language track. This was to avoid the movie being exported to Japan until they were ready to release it there. They're manipulating the markets as they see fit, which entertainment companies feel have the right to do, but don't give us this line (Disney) about how it was at Studio Ghibli's request. Unlike Disney, Miyazaki seems to be a little more preoccupied with making great movies rather than timing DVD releases. As to the general topic here, I only hope that the film is actually released in the U.S. as opposed to the non-release that Mononoke was given. Here's a free tip for Disney: If Roger Ebert mentions your movie three times on his show, throwing words like "genius" and "masterpiece" around, try opening it in more than two hundred theaters.
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Who is doing the English voices?
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nevermind i see cast at imdb.com..
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Well, I only recently saw this movie in it's DVD format, and yes, I am ashamed of that. Actually, I'm not sure whether it was bootlegged or not because I happened to walk into my friends house when he firs started it. Anyways, I just have to say DAMN! Sure, I was expecting more of that Miyazaki goodness, but with the lack of quality anime and American Cartoons lately, this movie just blew me away. Damn I just sounded cliche. Well, I might be utterly ignorant here and "hardcore" japanamation fans (I love saying that to piss them off) but I have to ask when the release date for the R1 DVD is. I have a great place for it next to me Princess Mononoke (Mononoke Hime, just for you anime junkies out there).
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