Ponyo

Ponyo, the most Disney-fied of the films we've seen this semester, is clearly directed at a young audience. On first viewing their is little depth and the films message can be taken at face value-true love conquers all. Given the previous films we've viewed and a past knowledge of Miyazaki I now see this film in a new way. Miyazaki never just makes a film for entertainment sake. Before playing the movie, Alex mentioned that Miyazaki may have been influenced by Japan's current aging population crises. In Ponyo there is a clear difference bvetween the young and old shown. The preschool and Senior center are shown side by side seperated only by bushes. The elders are shown often interacting with Sousuke and the connection between the old and young is highlighted frequently. Because of the high death to birth ratio, Japan's population is decreasing rapidly. While watching Ponyo I couldn't help but make the connection to Sousuke and Ponyo's relationship to the relationship Japan has with foreigners. Japan currently has strict laws against granting foreigners citizenship and extended acceptance into its culture although changing this could greatly help their population numbers. Ponyo is from the sea, an outside world but wishes to be human and part of that world. Her father doesn't allows her freedom to travel so she must use her own powers to get to the human world. Sousuke sees Ponyo for who she really is and loves her in both human and fish form. Their two worlds find peace because of their relationship... Is this a plea from Miyazaki to Japan to open their borders? To be more accepting of other people and cultures in their own country? I really have no idea but I couldn't help noticing the connections...

Howl's Moving Castle

Howl, similar to Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke, presents a darker story with very detailed, intense imagery. I enjoyed its look into what makes someone who they really are and the differences between appearance and reality. Mirroring the changing door of the castle was Howl's shifting looks and temperaments. Also changing was Sophie's appearance in age. When connected to Howl and experiencing life with him, she appears to regain her youth yet when she doubts herself or is left with fear she reverts to her old age. The character of Calcifer was interesting to me. He is good and bad at the same time, is thepartial cause of Howl's "curse", yet we place no blame on him or on Howl. Most characters in the film seem to exhibit both good and bad behaviors...even Sophie lets her emotions get the best of her and makes mistakes. I also thought it was interesting that once the witch of the waste's real age is revealed, she ironically takes on a childlike persona.

Carnival

Whew! Spirited Away. Amazing. Visually stunning, nostalgic, epic, baroque, thematically heavy, and all in all Miyazaki. His voice comes through as loud and clear as ever without the didactic undertones or obvious devices. No Face is my favorite character ever...He is simultaneously threatening, terrifying, cute and gentle. He is a character that you despise yet pity. Humanity at its worst and most vulnerable, balancing the scale of selfishness and greed and loneliness and desire. In the end Miyazaki shows that there is hope as Grammy takes him in to give him a second chance at being a good little god. Lin's character was a bit typical of Miyazaki's strong helpful women characters(ie ursula) but seemed to lack the idyllic-ness for Chihiro to aspire to. She succumbs to No Face's sand-gold and while kind and caring of Chihiro, never seems to truly help her in her quest or get to know her. Baby as a mouse is adorable, as a baby is horrid. There is lot about identity...knowing who one is, recognizing others, changing ones name or appearance, covering or hiding ones appearance either by choice or not...it's all a lot to talk about. Hope to get into more later...when it's not so late....

Can the people without a "leave a comment" option please change their setting? A lot of the blogs I wanted to leave comments for had this turned off...Thanks:) I only wanted to leave a comment because I liked what you had to say...

Princess Mononoke

So many parallels to Nausicaa! I think it would be interesting to see these back to back...Miyazaki took his story and themes of Nausicaa and morphed it into a new version with more depth and richness. The opening scene of the demonized boar reminded be so much of the opening scene of Nausicaa, but with more violence and a less simplistic conclusion. Where in Nausicaa, the ohmu is enraged and is simply calmed by Nausicaa's words and sound maker, Ashitaka's life is pitted against the boar and he must take its life to stop the onslaught. We are never worried of Nausicaa's possible death or injury while Ashitaka is injured severely and told that he will die because of it. The same basic structure of Nature versus humanities mistakes ie technology and natural destruction are seen in both films. Again, Princess Mononoke's version is far less black and white and played out with a much more extremist point of view. The clash between Eboshi's group and Mononoke's tribe is similar to the Tolmekians and the Pejites. The tolmekians were militaristic, had little empathy and shown as faceless warroirs. The ironworkers however are shown as realistic people with faces and families. Eboshi herself is shown to be compassionate towards her own people. Princess Mononoke although on the side of Nature is shown as a blood thirsty warrior, just as eager to kill humanity as Eboshi is to destroy the forest. The character of Nausicaa has been split between Ahsitaka, San and the deer god.All three possess uniqueness that heightens the films differences yet Nausicaa's attributes can be seen in all three. Ashitaka is compassionate for both nature and humanity, San is deeply connected with nature and adept at fighting, and the deer god is a savior and all knowing creature.

Porco Rosso

When Pigs Fly(to be posted)

Kiki's Delivery Service

Kiki's Delivery Service has never been a favorite movie of mine. I always found the simple story to be rather girlish and silly, the characters flatter than typical of Miyazaki and the conflict/relationship between Kiki and Tombo a bit forced. So, watching it again, I still think I will rank this at the bottom of my list of Miyazaki films. Yes, the story is nice, yes the animation is distinct and cute, yes there is a feeling of simultaneous completeness and never-ending, there is overall likability. However, in Kiki I never feel the same epic quality of Nausicaa or Castle in the Sky, I never feel the same contemplative gentleness as Totoro or the same quirky, mind bending fantasy as Spirited Away. It seems to be a story heard before, about a girl and her cat I've seen before in a town I've visited(only in imagination) before.
In the beginning we see Kiki, bright eyed, naive and enthusiastic. By the end we see Kiki, more mature, perhaps more street wise and accepting of the things she can't control. But how does she get there? That is what the movie focuses on yet fails to explain in a way I can accept.
The only way Kiki can make it in her new town is by the sheer good will of a pregnant baker(Osono) and the luck that this woman also has a spare bedroom and a never-ending generosity. Kiki soon decides to start a business which Osono is delighted by and allows Kiki to setup shop from her room and even provides her with customers. How lucky this young entrepreneurial girl is to get hand outs at every turn.
A young boy(Tombo) who is obsessed with flying quickly becomes infatuated with the witch and so begins the budding relationship of adolescence-for no apparent reason other than that Kiki can fly. Kiki, at first disgusted in Tombo's overt wooing, falls for him because, well, he seems to be the only one of her age interested in her(Something young people are often attracted to). By the end, Tombo conveniently becomes victim to some high flying escapades, rescued by the only woman in town with the ability to fly, cementing their friendship and potential love.
Ongoing through all this is a side thread barely yet obliquely touched on by Miyazaki. Kiki is a thirteen year old girl. While she is a witch in training and this movie is about that, as most Miyazaki films, it isnt really about that. It is about her growth as a young person into an adult. She is honest and curious yet like other pubescent people she is interested in such superficial things as looking pretty-as mentioned by her complaints to her mother about having to wear a black robe-and being accepted by other teenagers. While Kiki walks down the street after shopping, she sees a group of teen girls all tall and thin with the latest fashions on giggling about things only teen girls would know of. Kiki clearly takes note of them and her normal good mood is visibly lowered after this brief encounter as she notes to herself her own boring appearance. Later she delivers a herring pie to a party for an elderly womans grandchild. The grandchild, of Kiki's age, yet rich and chic, accepts the delivery with disdain and ungratefulness. Jiji is appalled, reinforcing Kiki's seperateness from this world. Later we see that this same ungrateful grandchild is friends with Tombo. If Tombo doesn't mind hanging out with someone like this what does that say about Tombo's character? That this girl's abhorring behavior is never addressed after this also seems to be curious. At first Kiki refuses to hang out with Tombo because of his choice in friends, yet later, when she is accepted by them, seems to accept them as well. It is in keeping with Miyazaki to leave thing open ended instead of tied up in pretty ribbon like many american animated fillms, yet this seemed to me a large conflict in Kiki's character.
While Kiki's Delivery Service is not my personal favorite and one may find many things to criticize, I did find many things I enjoyed as well. The character of Jiji was a cute comic character yet also can be seen as a "parenting" equalizer. While Kiki is sent out alone, she is not entirely alone as she has a cat friend. While her cat can't physically help her, he can emotionally keep her grounded and give her advice every now and then. It is interesting that whgen Kiki regains her magic abilities, it is never shown whether she can speak with Jiji again. It seems that she has grown and he has grown perhaps to a point where adulthood has ended their magical ties to one another and while they stay bonded, Kiki can no longer understand Jiji. This is reminiscent of My Neighbor Totoro's loss of an adults connection to nature and magic. While the person gains maturity and confidence, they must lose something as well.

My Neighbor Totoro

My Neighbor Totoro is a seemingly simple movie about childhood imaginations that when further explored reveals many complex ideas of the challenges of growing up. The psychology presented takes into account the many levels of a child's life from the private imaginations to the longing for a parent to cultural influences. This depth of presentation separates My Neighbor Totoro from most other childrens' films. While not much occurs plot wise in a conventional sense, the viewer is drawn into this world created by Miyazaki. It is 1950's Japan, but it is also the world of two young girls(Mei and Satsuki) dealing with a hospitalized mother. In the latter, a world of fantasy is created, allowing Mei and Satsuki to feel safe and fulfilled in an otherwise emotionally unsatisfactory position. While the "real" world struggles with difficult truths such as the potential death of their mother and a house that is falling apart, the fantasy world gives Mei and Satsuki unbelievable creatures(Totoros) who allow them to achieve the impossible such as flying and growing a tree overnight.

(To be completed)