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That Trailer Trash Bastard VERN reviews some scribbly cartoon called SPIRITED AWAY by Miyazaki!

Gordy? by CowgirlBebop	Aug 2nd, 2002 09:32:44 PM
Jesus... He means Babe, right?
great by whiteboyrage	Aug 2nd, 2002 09:39:33 PM
Vern, Alexandra and Moriarty should start their own splinter faction and get out from under the considerable shadow of Knowles. Glad to see that my UserID wasn't revoked after that allison janney incident, sorry guys -- there was Wild Turkey involved.
for fuck's sake, harry by Vern	Aug 2nd, 2002 09:49:56 PM
I am not "trailer" and I am not "trash", in fact I am an award winning film Writer. But thanks for running my story, bud your friend Vern
Babe/Gordy by cyberskunk	Aug 2nd, 2002 09:59:05 PM
I had the impression he gave the Gordy answer as a joke, after planting the name "Babe" in people's minds by describing the film. But, who knows. I like My Neighbor Totoro. I felt like I'd taken a vacation after I saw it for the first time.
oh, and by the way by Vern	Aug 2nd, 2002 10:00:13 PM
I forgot to mention in that review that "anime" is what they call japanese cartoons. They used to call it "japanimation" here in the states until they realized that sounded dumb. So they started calling it "anime" as a way of not sounding like they like cartoons. However now people who like "anime" are generally looked down on more than people who like "cartoons" so they will eventually catch on and start calling it something else. But for now it is called anime. I hope this helps clarify things fellas, thanks for reading.
Gordy/Babe thing by CowgirlBebop	Aug 2nd, 2002 10:06:37 PM
Yeah, I figured it was a joke... But, consider my sense of humor permanently stilted after all those years of the grandparents reading me Family Circus and expecting to get something akin to laughter.
Bring on Nausicaa by holidill	Aug 2nd, 2002 10:23:40 PM
IT would be cool to see Nausicaa. Oh yeah, when will we get Castle in the Sky(or Laputa), Kiki, and Totoro on DVD! Soon! Now! Please!
That's pretty funny how Harry managed to piss Vern off in so by Shabba McDoo	Aug 2nd, 2002 10:56:02 PM
You must be a real bastard, Harry. I'm playing, I'm playing. But seriously, I very much agree with ol' Vern on this one. This movie will spirit the shit out of your ass, it's in the toilet, it's flushing itself, baby. Import this thing. Since seeing it, I feel I owe it to Miyazaki to make as many of my friends as possible buy this movie RIGHT AWAY. Yes, it's that good. Seriously.
Vern, and a bit about mononoke by macgrains	Aug 2nd, 2002 11:09:22 PM
Loved the review, vern is one funny guy (that 'shirt' bit was class). I too have a passion for miyazaki's style, he knocks the formulaic, computer assisted drivel of now-a-days disney (important to separate the new and the old there)into a cocked hat. Having watched the trailer for this movie it seems as though the spirits have been inspired by woodcuts of classical demons and monsters from japanese mythology. This would be one indication of the massive amount of depth behind any of miyazaki's work. My little sister (16 y o) loves Totoro and mononoke, and when asked by my father as to why she still watches 'cartoons' she replied "it's like an iceberg dad, with this guy you see the pretty top sticking out of the water...but there's a whole lot of other stuff going on underneath...and it can get quite dark down there"...couldn't have put it better myself. Oh..and hello by the way, im new here.
"that talking pig" by Meier	Aug 3rd, 2002 12:07:17 AM
It's ironically funny he mentioned a talking pig in his review, since Miyazaki also released another amazing film about just that. Kurenai no Buta/Porco Rosso featured none other than an Italian fighter pilot who was turned into a pig, named Porco. One of my favorites of Miyazaki's but quite different from his usual fare.
silly me! by Meier	Aug 3rd, 2002 12:09:34 AM
Haha, I hadn't read beyond the first few paragraphs yet last time I posted, so I didnt notice he mentioned Porco in his review. Either way, both are great movies.. cant wait to see Spirited Away in the theatre, dubbed or not.
Funniest review I've ever seen here by Buck Toofs	Aug 3rd, 2002 12:11:42 AM
I never talk back here, I just mainly read. But I just had to become a member to thank Vern for putting together one of the funniest reviews I've ever read. The part about the burning families was brilliant. Thanks Vern.
Ah, Vern's reviews are back on track. by Critical Bill	Aug 3rd, 2002 12:12:01 AM

oh yeah, and one more thing by Vern	Aug 3rd, 2002 01:32:06 AM
Thanks for the compliment critical bill, you know I only do it for you. But this review woulda been even more on track if I remembered to write the paragraph about the animation. You see the animation in this is another advancement for this studio. The drawing is more detailed, more three dimensional while still keeping the same great style of character design, monsters, etc. At the same time it is groundbreaking because the little girl is wearing shorts so they never have a part where her skirt flies up.
I'm waiting for Miyazaki's film of Sanrio's latest c by Christopher3	Aug 3rd, 2002 02:00:56 AM
I hear his favorite meal is tacos. BTW, Totoro is supposed to be a cross between a bear and a cat.
Ghibli DVDs by Jinnaboy	Aug 3rd, 2002 04:36:15 AM
Buena Vista has actually released Laputa on DVD in asia with brilliant subtitles.and i presume it 's not hard getting a copy off the net (presuming you can read chinese) one more thing , just got Cowboy Bebop : Knocking On Heaven's door on dvd and any self loving homosapien should check it out. Like VERN said, there are just some thing that everyone's gotta love or they're arsefucks and Cowboy Bebop is one of them. wait, we're talkin Miyazaki here, tell you what, i've also got an unaltered Nausicaa DVD tucked under my pillow and PORCO ROSSO, and TOTORO, HA, living in Asia is soo cool
Vern, write more often... by chimpandy	Aug 3rd, 2002 07:06:15 AM
That was hilarious! I laughed my shoes right off!
Better than a previous review... by FD Resurrected	Aug 3rd, 2002 07:11:45 AM
Considering my review of Sen to Chihiro DVD deserves to be derided as a badly-written piece of shit.
Heheheh--looked in the talkbacks just to see... by Anti-fanboy	Aug 3rd, 2002 08:10:16 AM
if Vern set Harry straight about the trailer trash/redneck monikers. Typically sloppy of Harry. He's an OUTLAW, like he says. And typically great and funny review by pretty much my favorite reviewer. Check out his site for more: http://www.geocities.com/outla wvern/ Keep 'em coming, Vern.
Laputa DVD by Tokyo Joe	Aug 3rd, 2002 08:24:20 AM
Laputa is out in japan with english subtitles at the end of next month. Or is it the beginning of October??? Whichever it is I'm sure there's plenty of sites you can import it from for huge ammounts of cash.
Actually, Sen does go on a literal journey(and RE that "Stink Go by Drath	Aug 3rd, 2002 10:35:47 AM
Not trying to be smug or a know it all, esp since I didn't know it when I saw the film either, you might have just been trying to keep a spoiler, but if not you might find it interesting that the "stink god" is actually supposed to be****Spoiler**a river god covered in polution. If we knew Japanese mythology we'd probably get that when we see him cleaned off, but as it is it's still a great part of the film. And about the journey, Sen(Chihiro) does go to find Yu Baaba's twin sister to remove a curse on her friend Haku. It's not the whole of the story, it happens only in the last act, not like Ashitaka leaving his home at the start of Mononoke, but there the action does go further than the premise of a little girl in a Bathhouse for the Gods--which all by itself is the kind of imaginative idea you just don't see very often in kids' entertainment over here in the States(ironically the worst Kids' craze to ever exist--Pokemon--also came from Japan). Actually, with Spirited Away, the whole movie IS the young heroine's journey because it starts with her and her family on their way to a new house before they wander into the "adventure." From there it becomes the figurative hero's journey for Chihiro(Sen) that Vern mentions. She has to rely on her wits and be brave, where before she had always been the spoiled, apathetic little girl who hids behind her mommy when things get too scarry. Again, it's not the epic fairy tale that Mononoke was, its definitely more Alice and Wonderland or even Peter and Wendy than it is Lord of the Rings, but it's still a big film in its own right. I read that the ending was originally going to be a magical showdown with the witch Yu Baaba to retrieve Sen's name(part of what keeps her trapped in the Gods' world is that her name was shortened from Chihiro to Sen, a bit like the characters in MIB becoming the first letter of their original names "Jay" and "Kay"). I guess they decided that was too over the top--although it sure wouldn't have been left out of an American production(heck, even I am not sure it would have been a bad thing to end it that way). ***** I'm surprised Vern knows people who are more comfortable saying they like Mononoke because of the violence. My experience has been the exact opposite, with people hating that film because it deviates from Miyazaki's usual, more intimate charm. I think it's a winner no matter what though, something different from a master storyteller who can't make ENOUGH movies for my liking. They all belong in American theaters, and it's a shame we don't live in that kind of a world. I have a feeling he won't be recognized by the American mainstream as the great filmmaker he is until he's dead. He's in that, "this was my last film" stage right now, so perhaps the library has reached its limit anyway(I hope not). No matter which you've decided is your favorite though, everyone of his films is a drop dead classic. The only reason I can understand people not liking his films is because they're being contrary or they just can't get over the stigma against animation(and foreign animation at that).
I loved the movie, I'm loving the DVD... by no-no	Aug 3rd, 2002 12:56:57 PM
...and I'm glad people are talking about that gem. I wished the reviewer was less interested in making an impression and more focused on the movie. It's both more profond and gorgeous than it's described. As usual it has beautiful watercoloured backgrounds and wonderful designed characters and the "love story" between Sen and her dragon/river/friend feels very natural and touching, especially when she remembers falling in him when she was little. Finally, I thought the faceless ghost was the most interesting character depicted in a movie for quite a while...
to drath by Vern	Aug 3rd, 2002 07:36:59 PM
Yes I did understand about the stink god (if you read it again, but I mean don't bother, but if you did you would see I did mention the polluted river god in another part of the review). But you're right, she does make a literal journey at the end of the movie. But it didn't feel like that was what the movie was about and I thought that was a good thing, made it different from what you usually would expect (if it was some other jackass and not Miyazaki). To no no: I disagree with whatever your point is although only because you didn't like my review too much, not because you are wrong in any way.
Another great Miyazaki film. by Tobizaru	Aug 4th, 2002 04:54:27 AM
I just got back from a business trip to Japan where I couldn't resist picking up the recently released video copy of Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi. (I would have picked up the 2-disc DVD, but my player can only play region 1. I know, it sucks.) Anyway, I watched it again today and even though it's on VHS and not DVD, it still looks great and is definitely a movie I can say with confidence that continues to improve and become more meaningful with multiple viewings. I have loved this movie since I first saw it last year in the theaters in Japan. Some of those scenes like where Chihiro (Sen) goes through the flowers outside the bathhouse, or the scene where she walks towards the horizon along the tracks just underneath the surface of the sea are just few of the many that are so indelible in my mind. The art, the music, the story and the sheer creativity leave me in awe. An absolutely great movie that makes me think that so called animated "children" movies here in the U.S. still have a ways to go to reach this level of being able to entertain both children and adults. It is this ability to appeal to a wide audience that perhaps made it the biggest grossing film in Japan's history. My only fear is that the eventual dubbing for the U.S. release will ruin this movie and that the large incorporation of Japanese culture, society, mythology (all the creature/nature gods, how the name Sen is derived from Chihiro's real name, etc.) will cause a general U.S. audience to be somewhat at a loss. However, undoubetdly, despite this, true Miyazaki fans will be in for a treat. If you are in this category, go see this movie.

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That Trailer Trash Bastard VERN reviews some scribbly cartoon called SPIRITED AWAY by Miyazaki!

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