From Up on Poppy Hill (2011)

From Up on Poppy Hill (2011)

Director: Goro Miyazaki

Writer: Hayao Miyazaki

Hayao Miyazaki will always be a legend in the world of animation; he helped establish Studio Ghibli, one of the best animation studios in the world and is responsible for directing and animating many of their wonderful films. Some of my favorites are Spirited Away (2001), Nausicaa of theValley of the Wind (1984) and Ponyo (2008), but it’s unfair to name only three of his films, because he’s made so many good ones! I’d say that they are all my favorites. Sadly Hayao Miyazaki is working less and less these days, probably due to his old age. His last directorial effort was The Wind Rises (2013). The good thing about Miyazaki is that he is one of those directors who keeps making excellent films no matter his age, unlike some directors who kind of  “lose it” in their last days. But it looks like he’s working less and less all the time. Thankfully, his son Goro Miyazaki has taken the reins of studio Ghibli and has already produced two animated features: Tales from Earth Sea (2006) and the film I’ll be reviewing today From Up on Poppy Hill (2011). Does Goro Miyazaki have the same ability as his father to create worlds of wonderment and endearing tales that touch the heart?

From Up on Poppy Hill is a story that takes place within a school in Yokohama, Japan. On one side of the school it’s the girls and on the other side, the boys. On the boys’ side, the school is threatening to close down a building which serves as a club house for the boys. This building means a lot to the students because it’s like a mini university within the school; it’s their own private little world. It’s where all the little geniuses get together to explore their favorite school courses. Even the school newspaper is written and printed there. This desire to save the club house brings the school together; boys and girls join forces in order to save this ancient building. In the midst of all this, we have a romance brewing between a boy and a girl who come together in an effort to discover their roots and uncover who they really are.

There are certain elements that distinguish Miyazaki’s films from all others; one of them is the importance that he gives to the environments. The setting and the world in which the story unfolds is as important as everything else. Miyazaki creates worlds that I want to live in. For example in Ponyo (2008) the main characters live on this cozy little house, on top of a hill, right next to the ocean. The home looks so warm and inviting that it’ll make you want to be there, feeling that cool ocean breeze right next to Sosuke and his mom. Goro Miyazaki creates something similar for From Up On Poppy Hill, a story that unfolds in a cute little town in Yokohama Japan, during the 60’s. This little town will make you want to pack your bags, travel back in time and walk in the streets of that cozy little town, buying a warm dumpling from a street vendor and eating it as the rain falls. So Goro Miyazaki’s films share that importance to ambiance and atmosphere that his father gave to his own films. These are not the only similarities between Goro and Hayao Miyazaki’s films.

Hayao Miyazaki’s films are always about endearing, immediately likable characters and warm hearted situations. They are an explosion of happiness and a celebration of life and how beautiful it can be. Most of the time there’s no place for sadness on Miyazaki’s films. Some might argue that this happy go lucky nature of Miyazaki’s films makes them unrealistic, or difficult to identify with, but I beg to differ because characters in Miyazaki’s films do go through transformations and their journeys, which are filled with challenges and difficulties, but they go through them with a positive attitude and a good heart, which sometimes makes all the difference in the world. Goro Miyazaki’s From Up on Poppy Hill offers us these positive vibes as well. Same as in his father’s films, characters in Goro Miyazaki’s films do good things for each other simply because. The main character in the film, a fatherless high school girl, wakes up early in the morning to make breakfast for her entire family. The film is filled with good natured scenes like this one, like the scene in which the girls help the boys clean and fix their clubhouse. Boys and girls working together to change their world; instead of propagating that old stereotype of boys and girls hating each other all the time. It’s a beautiful scene. It’ll make you wish you were 12 again, playing in a clubhouse like that one with your friends.

But I guess what makes this film so ‘Miyazaki’ is that Hayao Miyazaki wrote it, and Goro Miyazaki directed it, so we get a double dose of Miyazaki on this one, father and son working together to give us an extra Miyazaki film! Even though the Miyazaki’s make films with a happy nature about them, within the context of the film, they also tackle serious issues. Spirited Away (2001) is all about a little girl learning to accept her responsibilities in life and pulling her own weight in the world. From Up on Poppy Hill also stars a little girl (another Miyazaki staple) who misses her father, a sailor who drifted away into sea one day and never returned. Is he still out there? Will he ever return? She handles all these issues while also falling in love with one of the boys in her school. There’s this beautiful scene where they are both riding a bike together through town during a cold, rainy evening, I loved it. I don’t know what it is about the Miyazaki’s, but they know what warms our hearts, and they put that into their movies. I think what attracts me the most to their films is that warmth. Simply seeing people being good to each other as opposed to the harshness we sometimes confront in our daily, real world lives. But then again, I think the real world can be the way it’s represented in these films even if they might be a bit idealistic at times. So what, I’m with the Miyazaki’s, I say let’s dream big about what humanity is capable of becoming. Go out there today and be randomly good to someone, simply because.

Rating: 5 out of 5

   

Castle in the Sky (1986)

Title: Castle in the Sky (1986)

Director: Hiyao Miyazaki

Review:

Castle in the Sky was the first official Miyazaki film to be released under the Studio Ghibli banner, it would be the film that presented the new animation studio to the world, so it was a film on which a lot was riding on. Of course, Miyazaki and crew must have been concerned with this film making an impression on Japanese movie goers, so it had to start with a bang, and it had to be something special. Miyazaki achieved this with great success; Laputa is a very fun and entertaining film with extremely lovable characters. For me all of Miyazaki ’s films are special treats, but I found myself having an especially great time with this one. I think a lot of my enjoyment had to do with the characters which are so much fun, so alive and so hilarious! Some of Miyazaki ’s films can be serious affairs, like Princess Mononoke for example, but Castle in the Sky was fun all the way for me because it did a fine balancing act between comedy, sci-fi elements and adventure.

On this film we meet two characters, Sheeta a young girl who is being chased by the government and by pirates and Pazu, a little boy who works helping out miners. What is so precious about this little girl? She carries with her a magical pendant that can make your body weightless, and number two it can show you the way to ‘Laputa’, a mystical flying city. Not many have seen Laputa, but those who have seen it or know of its existence will stop at nothing to learn the secrets of its powers. You see, it is said that at one time Laputa and its civilization ruled over the earth with it’s advanced technology. Will all that power fall on the wrong hands? Will the long lost city of Laputa be brought back to life once again?

Filmmakers are storytellers, and the best of storytellers use their abilities to send out a positive message to the masses, to lash out against the evils of the world and to speak out for the people. Miyazaki is such a filmmaker; many of his films have an environmentalist or anti-war message attached to them. Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (1984) is about a Princess protecting nature, Princess Mononoke (1997) dealt with similar subject manner and Castle in the Sky can be added to this roster of Miyazaki films with a social conscience. On this one, the villain of the piece is called Muska, a man hell bent on learning the power behind Sheeta’s magical pendant and finding the lost city of Laputa . His main goal? To harness the power of the floating city and conquer the world with it; to teach those he considers less than himself a lesson or two. In one moment, Muska speaks of himself as superior to other humans, humans whom he considers stupid and below him. The main focus of the film is politician’s lust for power, and the responsibility that accompanies the power they crave. This is a common theme in some of Miyazaki’s films, for example in Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, Nausicaa is a good, just ruler whose subjects admire and care for because she treats them with justness and respect. On Castle in the Sky we have a madman who wants to be a ruler, but is ultimately corrupted by this power. With Castle in the Sky Miyazaki’s is accentuating the importance of humility in rulers and the need for them to be compassionate with their people, to not let power go to their heads.

One of the things I enjoyed the most about Castle in the Sky is the pirate family that we meet. They all live together in this pirate ship that flies around the skies, always looking for the next treasure. They are also interested in Sheeta’s magical pendant. The family is composed of a bunch of guys and their pirate mother and father, kind of like the Fratelli Brothers from The Goonies (1985), where the mother is this old hag and the brothers are a bunch of bumbling idiots who follow moms’ rules. Mama Pirate is a character called Dola, a really tough old lady who fights and eats like a man but has the tender qualities of a mother. Cloris Leachman does a great job voicing this character in the English version of the film. The dynamics and dialog between the pirate family are hilarious! A true highlight of the film and here’s where I tell you that Castle in the Sky is one of Miyazaki ’s funniest movies ever because of these characters. At first they appear as villains, but they slowly win you over until by the end of the film they are these lovable characters that you wish you could hang out with.

Dola, the coolest old lady you'll ever meet! 

Castle in the Sky plays with many of the themes that Miyazaki normally addresses: environmentalist issues, a strong female lead, an anti-war message…but I find it so interesting that Miyazaki can address the same themes and still make a film that doesn’t feel repetitive. You don’t feel like you are watching the same movie all over again. What sets Castle in the Sky apart from other Miyazaki films is it’s amped up comedy and its sense of adventure. The first half of the film has a chase sequence that takes place on a train track, which is truly awesome. It felt like something you might see on an Indiana Jones film or something. Another unique element is the idea of this mystical flying city that only a select few people have ever seen. The city is this interesting mix of technology and nature, remnants of a long gone society. And yet another aspect of the film that sets it apart is the films villain, which in my opinion is one of the most evil villains on any Miyazaki film. The thing about villains in a Miyazaki film is that most of the time, they don’t come off as being all that evil. They are soft spoken and polite, hell, in general, you come off seeing a Miyazaki film and you feel like you’ve seen nothing but goodness and lightheartedness. But on Castle in the Sky, Muska, the films villain is a truly evil individual, a selfish person looking for nothing but personal gain; he was voiced by veteran voice actor and Jedi Master, Mark Hamill.

But, at the same time, Castle in the Sky has all of the elements that you’d expect from a Miyazaki film. You get to meet these characters that are so pure and good of heart, they feel as if they have nothing but goodness inside of them. Pazu and Sheeta (wonderfully voiced by Anna Paquin and James Van Der Beek in the English version) are a boy and a girl respectively. Normally Miyazaki will have a female lead, but with this film, he went with both. Best thing is that Pazu and Sheeta develop such genuine care for one another; they have these tender scenes where they display such care and love, interesting part is that it’s not even on a romantic level. What they develop with one another is closer to true friendship. I love that about watching Miyazaki films, you just feel great after watching them. Even though bad things do happen in his films, most of the times you come off feeling as if you’ve just seen an explosion of love.

Rating: 5 out of 5

Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (1984)

Title: Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (1984)

Director: Hiyao Miyazaki

Review:

Thanks to Walt Disney Pictures acquiring the distribution rights to Studio Ghibli films, the Japanese animation studio has gone on to become a house hold name in the Western world. Not that it wasn’t already a house hold name in Japan , but now, it’s films are more accessible to the rest of the world. Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind is a film that is commonly thought of as the first Studio Ghibli film, yet it really isn’t. You see, when Nausicaa was made, Studio Ghibli had not been officially formed yet. Technically speaking, that wouldn’t officially happen until Miyazaki and crew got together and made Laputa Castle in the Sky (1986). Still, the team behind Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind was the team that would go on to form Studio Ghibli, so many consider it the first true blue Studio Ghibli film. In actuality, Miyazaki ’s first full length animated feature was The Castle of Cagliostro (1979), and he followed that one with his second animated feature Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind. It’s amazing how Miyazaki and crew started making quality films right from the very beginning! Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind is a true achievement of Japanese Animation.

Nausicaa explores the Toxic Jungle

The film tells the story of a post apocalyptic world striving to survive. After a nuclear war which is referred to as the “Seven Days of Fire”, the world was suddenly overrun by a deadly Toxic Jungle. This jungle is filled with mutations, deadly plants, fungus, and giant insects. It is also inhabited by gigantic caterpillars known as Ohmu’s. Some humans have learned to co-exist with the jungle, while others fear it and want to destroy it. Humanity managed to survive the apocalypse and is now separated into a group of Kingdoms. Nausicaa is an adventurous young girl who rules over the peace loving people of a land called The Valley of the Wind. Unfortunately, their peace is interrupted when a huge war ship from the land of Tolmikia crash lands in their valley. Tolmikian’s have a war like mentality and seek to take over every village they come across. To make matters worse, they carry within their ship the embryo of a giant warrior creature that has huge destructive capabilities, which they have just stolen from the people of the Kingdom of Pejite . The Tolmikian’s intend to use this giant warrior to lay waste to the Toxic Jungle, which they see as a threat. Can Nausicaa teach the Tolmikian’s to co-exist with nature? Will the Tolmikians achieve their goal of destroying The Toxic Jungle?

As you can probably tell from the synopsis, this is an environmentalist film through and through. Nausicaa is what some would call a “tree hugger”. She loves nature and life and is willing to die in order to protect all living things. She is portrayed as having a very curious mind towards all living things, like a scientist of sorts. She purposely walks into the Toxic Jungle, to study it, to understand it, she does not fear it like the Tolmikians do. She is also a just ruler; the people of The Valley of the Wind love her and respect her, because she is fair with her people. In this way the film sets an example for the kind of rulers that we’d all love to have in the world, but seldom ever see. In contrast to Nausicaa’s peace loving ways, the Tolmikians use their tanks, soldiers and guns to spread their way of life across the land. When they see The Valley of the Wind, their first thought is to conquer it and so they muscle in on the territory with their army. The films anti-war message is channeled through the character of Nausicaa as well, Nausicaa is a character who prefers talking things out before shooting guns.

The Tolmikians have the embryo of a ‘giant warrior’ in their power and they intend to use it to destroy the Toxic Jungle with it, and again, as in many Japanese films we see the theme of Weapons of Mass Destruction addressed. This is something totally understandable when we take in consideration Japanese’s history with nuclear weapons. The death of so many Japanese in the nuclear blasts on Hiroshima and Nagasaki is the trigger for the constant resurgence of this theme in Japanese cinema. Interestingly enough, this isn’t the only time that a Studio Ghibli film addressed the dangers of nuclear warfare. Isao Takahata’s Grave of the Fireflies (1988) explored these themes more deeply. It is a tale about a brother and his little sister trying to survive in Japan after the nuclear blasts have already taken place. Grave of the Fireflies is a truly heart wrenching film; highly recommend you check it out if you haven’t done so yet. On Nausicaa, it’s the giant warrior that represents these fears of a weapon so powerful that it could potentially destroy all life on the planet. And of course, it’s the war loving Tolmikian’s who want to use it against nature, which brings us to another one of the films themes: Man vs. Nature.

Like many Hayao Miyazaki films, Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind stars a young girl as the main character. This would be something that would go on to distinguish Miyazaki ’s films, the use of a female as the lead character. Princess Mononoke (1997), My neighbor Totoro (1993), Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989), Castle in the Sky (1986) all have females in the lead role. Miyazaki ’s respect towards women is something I’ve always admired about him, he is very sensible towards women. I was just watching Howl’s Moving Castle (2004) the other day and that film begins with Howl protecting a young lady from a pair of rude soldiers that were crudely hitting on her. In Miyazaki ’s films, women are usually portrayed as very strong willed, brave beings who know what they want in life, and if not, they are on their way towards discovering it. He rarely portrays them as damsels in distress.

But aside from all Nausicaa’s themes and characters, there’s the animation and the fantasy element which is so well achieved. Miyazaki has always been synonymous with quality animation; from the very beginning he has delivered exquisitely well animated films. Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind is a film that has equal elements of fantasy, science fiction and adventure. It displays many of the elements that would become common place in a Miyazaki film: strong female characters, sensible characters that display emotions, and planes! Like many of Miyazaki ’s films, a lot of the action in Nausicaa takes place aboard these giant flying ships, Nausicaa herself is always flying on a glider which is pretty cool. When I was a kid, I always wanted to have that glider! Speaking of which, Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind was one of the first films I saw as a kid that showed me that animation could go well beyond what I was seeing in Saturday Morning Cartoons at the time. I didnt know what the hell Japanese Animation was when I was a kid, but I new I liked it! Other Japanese Animation had the same impact on me like Lenseman: Power of the Lense (1988), an excellent Japanese Animated film that has yet to be released on dvd or Blue Ray. The version of Nausicaa that I saw back then when I was a kid was called Warriors of the Wind (1986), released by Roger Corman’s New World Pictures, Warriors of the Wind was a horribly butchered and heavily edited version of Miyazaki’s film which took out elements that were considered boring, which amounted to about 20 minutes of film. Miyazaki suggests you totally avoid that version; in fact he goes as far as suggesting we “take it out of our minds”. Cant say I blame him, the poster for this American release totally distorts what the film is about, even going as far as showing characters on the poster that were never even on the film!

Their are no winged horses on Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind! 

Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind is a beautiful film to watch, it is filled with characters that feel and love and care. It has many similarities with Miyazaki’s own Princess Mononoke, so if you liked that one, do yourself a favor and check out Nausicaa, a film that was the embryo of what would go on to become the illustrious Studio Ghibli. It is one of Miyazaki ’s finest animated features. Don’t miss it.

Rating: 5 out of 5