I just saw it today.
Pretty darn good!
The movie will supposedly only open in about 200 theaters maximum, and likely will not be out on home video until November this year. I doubt many crowds of people will see the film in its limited North American release, so go see it while you can!
Miyazaki and anime fans -- GO SEE THIS FILM! It's the best anime feature that I've seen in the past 6 years by far. I think it's possibly better than Spirited Away. No question it's MUCH better than Princess Mononoke. I have a soft spot for My Neighbor Totoro, but Howling's Moving Castle has heart, too.
HMC has a little bit of everything -- romance, action, and humor with a bit of political intrigue -- but still manages to stay on target and well above the saccharine levels of most American animated features without falling prey to talking mouth syndrome ==> the Japanese animation director's tendency to over-explain his film through dialogue without letting the pictures tell the story. This film doesn't become the awful pedagoguish exercise that Ghost in the Shell 2 was nor is it a film that's all style but lacking in substance like Steamboy was.
If HMC has one fault, it's Miyazaki's decision to make put in an anti-war subplot that was never in the original novel. HMC is dangerously close to pedagoguish level with its anti-war message but thankfully the film doesn't degenerate into a Fahrenheit 9/11 or thinly-veiled anti-American propaganda.
Now I read the children's novel this film is based and can comfortably say that the film DOES depart from the novel at points besides the anti-war message. However, the film is true to the novel in its central plot and characters with a few name changes and condensing of the character cast to speed the story along.
The soundtrack of this film is excellent like most Ghibli Miyazaki releases. I would definitely get this soundtrack on CD if it were released in the US (which it hopefully will be). It's a nice, mostly classical style music with hints of romantic European/pseudo-Italian style music that Miyazaki seems to favor for his films. That's a nice change from the rock/pop and hip-hop/rap soundtracks that dominate a lot of contemporary film soundtracks.
Contrary to other reviewer's opinions, I thought the character voices were cast well. Jean Simmons plays older Sophie while Lauren Bacall voices the Witch of the Waste. Christian Bale is surprisingly charming as Howl whilst the lead actress (name escapes me) is great as young Sophie, too. This is yet another in a string of Disney-dubbed Ghibli features that has perfectly cast talent. The names may be familiar to audiences, but thankfully it's not a case of crafting characters to actors' egos.
As for the film's actual animation, for some reason it's extremely weak and jerky at the beginning of the film but improves after about the first five minutes. Character animation is not a Japanese highpoint since their film budgets tend to limit the use of full-animation and force more recycled animation and limited animation in even theatrical anime releases.
What is great about this film's style is the lush use of color, the detail in the drawings, and the backgrounds. The detail and coloring of the drawings take your attention from the animation which is definitely not Disney-feature level. Pay particular atttention to the changing appearance of Sophie, the film's central character. Her appearance plays a big part in this film and ties into her feelings towards the title character.
For families and couples looking for their traditional animation fix that doesn't hit you over the head with topical humor, fart jokes, and toilet humor, Howl's Moving Castle shows that there's still life AND heart left in hand-drawn features.
Manga & Anime THREAD
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Still, I just can not seem to get by that bad lip movement and static six-frame per sec drawing in anime films.
Just as a good story is all important, so is the animation, and the fact that it is not smooth, given the clips we've put up here and that I've seen, doesn't help get me excited to see it, just as awesome animation with a bad story does the same.
I guess I will see this, as I saw Spirited Away, on TV eventually.
Just as a good story is all important, so is the animation, and the fact that it is not smooth, given the clips we've put up here and that I've seen, doesn't help get me excited to see it, just as awesome animation with a bad story does the same.
I guess I will see this, as I saw Spirited Away, on TV eventually.
The lip synch in anime isn't always great because of the fact that most of the animation is done before dialogue is recorded.
Fleischer Studios also did this for the majority of their shorts before the 1940s hence a lot of the ad-libbing in the Popeye shorts.
It really should be less of a problem for the ENGLISH version of Howl's but in some ways it's dumb to even TRY to be on the lip movements all the time. Synching vocal performances to the lips in English often results in STILTED acting which hurts the film.
I really didn't notice any bad acting in Howl's. They hired a nice group of actors for it.
Sure, the animation's isn't perfect and it's REALLY bad at the beginning of the film but I've gotta say I came out of that film with a very good feeling which I can't say many films this year have left me with... Don't go by the animation on the video clips posted on the web, though. Many of those QuickTime clips run at 15 fps so the animation in those clips looks worse than the actual film's frame rate (24fps)! Looking at postage-stamp sized clips really doesn't do just to a film that should be viewed on a 20-foot or taller screen, too.
It's sad to say this, but studios just don't pay people for full animation. Frankly, the quality of animated product has gone down since the late 1940s thanks to reduced budgets, lowered studio expectations for final product, indifference of the general audiences and producers to animation, and a great deal to the shortcuts and stylization introduced by animators.
It still amazes that there are pros out there that THINK today's animation is better than the World War II era animation by Disney, Fleischer, MGM, and Warners. There's just no comparison. Of course, the twits that generally make statements that today's stuff is great really have no historical perspective because they HAVEN'T SEEN THE OLDER ANIMATION and many of them are character designers. A lot of the newer, trendy character designers aren't even animators themselves! Heck, certain professional animation commentators haven't even taken a decent drawing class OR know how to draw themselves, either!
I have to give props to Miyazaki and several other Japanese directors -- they're lucky that they aren't bound by every damn politically correct tract and consideration that ruin so many films in the West. About 80% of the time I'd doubt an American or European animation director could craft a film as charming as Howl's, Spirited, or Totoro because of studio politics, marketing, and the social/PC-biases that poison so many films today.
Fleischer Studios also did this for the majority of their shorts before the 1940s hence a lot of the ad-libbing in the Popeye shorts.
It really should be less of a problem for the ENGLISH version of Howl's but in some ways it's dumb to even TRY to be on the lip movements all the time. Synching vocal performances to the lips in English often results in STILTED acting which hurts the film.
I really didn't notice any bad acting in Howl's. They hired a nice group of actors for it.
Sure, the animation's isn't perfect and it's REALLY bad at the beginning of the film but I've gotta say I came out of that film with a very good feeling which I can't say many films this year have left me with... Don't go by the animation on the video clips posted on the web, though. Many of those QuickTime clips run at 15 fps so the animation in those clips looks worse than the actual film's frame rate (24fps)! Looking at postage-stamp sized clips really doesn't do just to a film that should be viewed on a 20-foot or taller screen, too.
It's sad to say this, but studios just don't pay people for full animation. Frankly, the quality of animated product has gone down since the late 1940s thanks to reduced budgets, lowered studio expectations for final product, indifference of the general audiences and producers to animation, and a great deal to the shortcuts and stylization introduced by animators.
It still amazes that there are pros out there that THINK today's animation is better than the World War II era animation by Disney, Fleischer, MGM, and Warners. There's just no comparison. Of course, the twits that generally make statements that today's stuff is great really have no historical perspective because they HAVEN'T SEEN THE OLDER ANIMATION and many of them are character designers. A lot of the newer, trendy character designers aren't even animators themselves! Heck, certain professional animation commentators haven't even taken a decent drawing class OR know how to draw themselves, either!
I have to give props to Miyazaki and several other Japanese directors -- they're lucky that they aren't bound by every damn politically correct tract and consideration that ruin so many films in the West. About 80% of the time I'd doubt an American or European animation director could craft a film as charming as Howl's, Spirited, or Totoro because of studio politics, marketing, and the social/PC-biases that poison so many films today.
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I love that Fleischer used to animated Popeye before Costello and Questel came in to dub their lines - it's what makes their ramblings even more fun!
And, yes, of course the animation - the acting - is better in the older material, though the way the computer can now scan the lines makes things much crisper to look at.
I remember one of the old Disney animators (not sure if it was a Nine Old Man or it might have been Babbit) remarking about how upset they were once the ink and paint girls had overdrawn and outlined everything that the "feeling" was gone. Apart from the black lines, that's why the animators liked the Xerox process in the 60s, since it meant their animation - and fluidity - came through clearer than ever.
In my Jungle Book 2 review at DVD Toons, I think I said something along those lines - that it's weird to see "techincally" more rounded animation (with the light and shadows falling on Shere Kahn for instance) but that the motion and feel of the original acting (from 1967) just wasn't there.
And, yes, of course the animation - the acting - is better in the older material, though the way the computer can now scan the lines makes things much crisper to look at.
I remember one of the old Disney animators (not sure if it was a Nine Old Man or it might have been Babbit) remarking about how upset they were once the ink and paint girls had overdrawn and outlined everything that the "feeling" was gone. Apart from the black lines, that's why the animators liked the Xerox process in the 60s, since it meant their animation - and fluidity - came through clearer than ever.
In my Jungle Book 2 review at DVD Toons, I think I said something along those lines - that it's weird to see "techincally" more rounded animation (with the light and shadows falling on Shere Kahn for instance) but that the motion and feel of the original acting (from 1967) just wasn't there.
[quote="RandCanuck"]Better than Spirited Away?!?
Wow, I gotta see this! Thanks for your review! I don't know if I'll get around to seeing it in the theater, but I'm looking forward to the DVD for sure.[/quote]
Yes, I was VERY surprised by how much I liked this film.
I read the original novel this week just before I went to the theater to see it so I was prepped. It's a pretty good story and I liked most of the choices Miyazaki made to streamline the story for film.
I'm a bit ambivalent on the anti-war message but the rest of the film is pretty darn good.
Again, the animation at the beginning is particularly jerky and noticeably lousy but the rest of the film is lushly colored and textured.
And yes, I 'm getting the DVD AND soundtrack for this film when they become available. I'm hoping somebody has picked up domestic rights for the soundtrack but I'm not holding my breath. I don't think sales for Mononoke's and Spirited Away's soundtracks were great in the US...
Wow, I gotta see this! Thanks for your review! I don't know if I'll get around to seeing it in the theater, but I'm looking forward to the DVD for sure.[/quote]
Yes, I was VERY surprised by how much I liked this film.
I read the original novel this week just before I went to the theater to see it so I was prepped. It's a pretty good story and I liked most of the choices Miyazaki made to streamline the story for film.
I'm a bit ambivalent on the anti-war message but the rest of the film is pretty darn good.
Again, the animation at the beginning is particularly jerky and noticeably lousy but the rest of the film is lushly colored and textured.
And yes, I 'm getting the DVD AND soundtrack for this film when they become available. I'm hoping somebody has picked up domestic rights for the soundtrack but I'm not holding my breath. I don't think sales for Mononoke's and Spirited Away's soundtracks were great in the US...
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Anyone ever watch this show?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Littl'_Bits
It was VERY big in Israel, (early to mid 80s) basically like the Lion King was here--shirts, calenders, books, even food tie-ins like milk, pudding, honey, etc...I had a shirt with the main characters when I was seven. But then we came to America and I never saw this show until the mid-90s when they were showing it on Nick. It is MUCH better in Hebrew. They had actual names, not those "bit" ones in the English version.
Also, it's really not like the Smurfs (which was also shown in Israel), the tone is a lot more realistic.
We had Maya the Bee in Hebrew too. "Ha'dvorah Maya"
http://www.angelfire.com/anime2/animedr ... nmaya.html
It was VERY big in Israel, (early to mid 80s) basically like the Lion King was here--shirts, calenders, books, even food tie-ins like milk, pudding, honey, etc...I had a shirt with the main characters when I was seven. But then we came to America and I never saw this show until the mid-90s when they were showing it on Nick. It is MUCH better in Hebrew. They had actual names, not those "bit" ones in the English version.
Also, it's really not like the Smurfs (which was also shown in Israel), the tone is a lot more realistic.
We had Maya the Bee in Hebrew too. "Ha'dvorah Maya"
http://www.angelfire.com/anime2/animedr ... nmaya.html
Last edited by ShyViolet on July 26th, 2005, 4:25 pm, edited 2 times in total.
You can’t just have your characters announce how they feel! That makes me feel angry!
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Kimba The White Lion Restored on DVD
The classic anime series Kimba The White Lion exists in two different English-language versions: the original 1966 dub, produced by Fred Ladd and featuring Billie Lou Watt as Kimba, and a 1993 (or "Canadian") dub, with Yvonne Murray as Kimba. Each version will be released in its entirety by competing Australian companies this September.
Madman entertainment says they are working with Tezuka Productions and Mushi Productions to restore the 1966 dub to all its original glory.
EzyDVD is releasing the 1993 dub, which should be of interest to newer Kimba fans in the Western hemisphere, since this is the version now being shown on several TV channels here.
More info and links can be found here:
http://www.kimbawlion.com/KimbaDVDnews.htm
Madman entertainment says they are working with Tezuka Productions and Mushi Productions to restore the 1966 dub to all its original glory.
EzyDVD is releasing the 1993 dub, which should be of interest to newer Kimba fans in the Western hemisphere, since this is the version now being shown on several TV channels here.
More info and links can be found here:
http://www.kimbawlion.com/KimbaDVDnews.htm
Last edited by KimbaWLion on August 15th, 2005, 9:16 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Same here, for years I thought it just came from Israel! I didn't know anything about Anime.
What did you think of it?
BTW the melody/title of the English-language theme song was taken from the "We're the Little Bits" number from the My Fair Lady musical, of all places.
I didn't know anything about Anime.What did you think of it?
BTW the melody/title of the English-language theme song was taken from the "We're the Little Bits" number from the My Fair Lady musical, of all places.
You can’t just have your characters announce how they feel! That makes me feel angry!
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anime
These were popular in Israel too: (Anime)
http://www.geocities.com/iwantmybook/
and
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclo ... hp?id=3650
There wasn't much else to watch on TV then...just Little House on the Prairie, Diff'rent Strokes,Star Trek and movies in Arabic. (pre-cable days)
We had about three channels.
http://www.geocities.com/iwantmybook/
and
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclo ... hp?id=3650
There wasn't much else to watch on TV then...just Little House on the Prairie, Diff'rent Strokes,Star Trek and movies in Arabic. (pre-cable days)
We had about three channels.
You can’t just have your characters announce how they feel! That makes me feel angry!
Totoro in Space!
From AnimeNewsNetwork.com :
"Totoro Theme in Space (2005-08-05 12:53:02)
On July 29th the crew of the Space Shuttle Discovery woke to the theme music from My Neighbour Totoro. Preparing for his spacewalk that day, astronaut Soichi Noguchi (40) played a recording of his daughters singing "Sanpo" (Walk), the theme song to Hayao Miyazaki's My Neighbor Totoro. The recording was made at the Houston Japanese Language School and featured school girls, including Noguchi's daughters, singing the chorus. Source: Kyodo News "
This is cute stuff!
Your heart has to be made of stone if this doesn't give you a chuckle!
And yes, Totoro's a nice film. Still one of Miyazaki's best. Disney has a brand-new two-disc version probably out next year with A) the right aspect ratio; B) BOTH the original Japanese language with English subtitles and a new English dub; and C) a second disc with the standard extras of artwork and storyboard.
The news makes me want to break out my 10-year-old CD of Ghibli film music to listen to the Totoro theme all over again...
"Totoro Theme in Space (2005-08-05 12:53:02)
On July 29th the crew of the Space Shuttle Discovery woke to the theme music from My Neighbour Totoro. Preparing for his spacewalk that day, astronaut Soichi Noguchi (40) played a recording of his daughters singing "Sanpo" (Walk), the theme song to Hayao Miyazaki's My Neighbor Totoro. The recording was made at the Houston Japanese Language School and featured school girls, including Noguchi's daughters, singing the chorus. Source: Kyodo News "
This is cute stuff!
Your heart has to be made of stone if this doesn't give you a chuckle!
And yes, Totoro's a nice film. Still one of Miyazaki's best. Disney has a brand-new two-disc version probably out next year with A) the right aspect ratio; B) BOTH the original Japanese language with English subtitles and a new English dub; and C) a second disc with the standard extras of artwork and storyboard.
The news makes me want to break out my 10-year-old CD of Ghibli film music to listen to the Totoro theme all over again...
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Update on Kimba The White Lion DVDs:
EzyDVD of Australia has withdrawn their announced DVD set of the 1993 dub of the show. Madman Anime's 11-disc box set of the original 1966 dub, with restored visuals, is going ahead as planned.
Right Stuf International will release its Region 1 version of Madman's Kimba box set on November 5. Price has not been announced yet.
I will announce all details as I learn them: http://www.kimbawlion.com/snoo.htm
EzyDVD of Australia has withdrawn their announced DVD set of the 1993 dub of the show. Madman Anime's 11-disc box set of the original 1966 dub, with restored visuals, is going ahead as planned.
Right Stuf International will release its Region 1 version of Madman's Kimba box set on November 5. Price has not been announced yet.
I will announce all details as I learn them: http://www.kimbawlion.com/snoo.htm
Howl's Moving Castle & Totoro DVDs out Spring 2006
Disney is releasing its R1 DVD editions of Howl's Moving Castle and My Neighbor Totoro (with a new dub) in the Spring of 2006 according to an article posted at http://news.toonzone.net/article.php?ID=5261
Both of the new DVDs are 2-disc sets.
ALERT: There already is a My Neighbor Totoro DVD out in the US market that was released by 20th Century Fox Home Video. It's the old dub supervised by Carl Macek of the defunct Streamline Pictures. This version of Totoro was distributed by Troma Pictures in a brief theatrical run in the late 1980s. The DVD is already out-of-print as of last December (2004) but is still available and not hard to find.
Please note that this DVD has been cropped to fit the traditional TV screen format (1.33:1).
The new Disney edition coming out next year brings the Totoro movie back to its original widescreen format AND with its original Japanese language soundtrack with subtitles in R1 for the first time. Due to contractual obligations, Disney had to do a new English dub of Totoro. T
Both of the new DVDs are 2-disc sets.
ALERT: There already is a My Neighbor Totoro DVD out in the US market that was released by 20th Century Fox Home Video. It's the old dub supervised by Carl Macek of the defunct Streamline Pictures. This version of Totoro was distributed by Troma Pictures in a brief theatrical run in the late 1980s. The DVD is already out-of-print as of last December (2004) but is still available and not hard to find.
Please note that this DVD has been cropped to fit the traditional TV screen format (1.33:1).
The new Disney edition coming out next year brings the Totoro movie back to its original widescreen format AND with its original Japanese language soundtrack with subtitles in R1 for the first time. Due to contractual obligations, Disney had to do a new English dub of Totoro. T