Spirited Away

[John Holmes]

What is it about animation that keeps adults interested in viewing what a child calls a cartoon?! I wish I knew. But I know that I watch almost as much animation now as I did cartoons as a child.

Spirited Away is a fasinating film. It revolves around a child (a brat for sure) and her quest to revive her parents from a curse that was placed on them which, has turned them into pigs.

I found this to be fun ride. They story is well written and directed. The vision in conception of characters is nothing short of staggering. The colors as well as scenes are jaw dropping. It has a very 3-D feel to the film. And the sound is very satisfying.

I'll be adding this one to my collection.

[David Meek]

I haven't "done" anime in a while. This sounds like a good candidate to break back in with. Thanks John! :yesnod:

[Burke Strickland]

Spirited Away is on my list of Favorite Films (in thread not so far away, but seemingly a long, long time ago). :>) I was "spiritid away" by it when I first saw it during its limited run in commercial theaters and find it equally enchanting on DVD. I am glad to see someone else giving it favorable attention!

Burke

[John Holmes]

Always glad to help out David! :B

Burke,

I am also glad to find another as pleased with this film as I. I didn't see it in theaters. But, the DVD is really impressive in the picture and sound dept.

[David Meek]

John, do you have theaters in Florida that play anime titles? I'm not aware of any theaters in this tiny little provincial backwater town called Houston (~4 million people in Harris County) that show anime. :roll:

[Burke Strickland]

I'm not aware of any theaters in this tiny little provincial backwater town called Houston (~4 million people in Harris County) that show anime.

As far as I know, no commercial theater in the Houston area plays anime full time. But then, no theater plays film noire full time, or sci-fi full time or Swedish realism full time or ....

However, the River Oaks Cinema played Princess Mononoke in a limited run when it was first released in the US a few years ago. The Edwards complex on I-10 played "Spirited Away" for a couple of weeks last fall, when Disney released it in its English-dubbed version in a small number of US theaters. But it takes a comparatively high profile production backed by a big studio for distributon to get anime onto the big screen in the US.

Today, to enjoy these movies, you need to get the DVDs. In fact, there's a lot of anime to enjoy on DVD, but not nearly as much as there is on VCD or VHS (mostly "foreign imports", if you catch my drift).

Burke

[Jariten]

Oh Boy ...my favorite Anime Studio!

hohohh


What I can say is..(living in Japan).....Anime is all over...
and Studio Ghibli productions are just ..the bst you will ever get...
Even though Miyazaki says it's the last movie he will ever do....
more and more Anime comes out from his studio..
Actually the wife of one of my Anime director friends (Hiroki Ayashi) worked at Studio Ghibli as a colorist.
You will see a lot of pigs/and flying machines..
Why? Because Miyazaki likes pigs....and he loves flying machines
Studio where they also have their own projection room..and I was able..thanks to friends in the Anime industry...watch Tonari no Yamada-kun (My Neighbors the Yamada's)

ANYTHING you will pick up from Studio Ghibli....you will love.
Tonari no Tottoro (My Neighbor Tottoro)
Majojo no Talkkyubin(Kiki's Delivery Service)
Laputa (Castle in the Sky Laputa) <-- Awesome
Tonari no Yamada kun (this is actually based on a newspaper comic strip !)
Mononoke no Hime (Princess mononoke) <-- the Japanese LD with AC-3 is just FABULOUS .the sound is AMAZING.
Neko no onkaeshi (the cat returns) <-- recent release
Chihiro no kami ga kushi (Spirited away) <-- impressive movie
Kase no tani Nausicca (Nausicca and the Valley of the Winds) <-- Awesome
Conan (Conan the boy of the Future TV series)
There are also several others that didn't make it to full feature films.
On Your MArk is one of them..it was actually to disprove that Miyazaki wasn't able to do futuristic Anime.

I'm probably missing some (A Lot of) titles..as I have put my collection away...


Another fave Anime ...hence the nickname I use here....
Urusei Yatsura but let's not go there...I have the whole LD collection (over 70 LD's total) *grin*


Anyway...posting away...

^_^


Yes Spirited away is a +++++++ recommendation ..with all other Ghibli productions

P.S : I'm not sure how much has been edited in the US releases...
I know that Tottoro had a LOT of things cut away...especially Religious related items ( and that makes it more difficult to understand the movie)

Anyway


HAPPY VIEWING!

[John Holmes]

Hey David,

I wish it was so good! But, as Burke has stated, nothing dedicated to anime. Which is probably a market that's just waiting to be tapped.

Jariten,

You are truly a lucky man. Being an anime lover in Japan is almost, living a dream! Not many enthusiast would get that chance.

One of the things that I would love to see done is, the flood of japanese cartoons (some live action) that were on tv in the US in the 60's brought to DVD. There were quite a few that were fantastic. Some off the top of my head are:

Ultraman (live action)
Johhny Socko and His Flying Robot (live action)
Astro Boy (anime)
Prince Planet (anime)
Marine Boy (anime)
The Space Giants (live action)
8th Man (anime)
Johnny Cypher in Dimension Zero (anime)

ANYTHING you will pick up from Studio Ghibli....you will love.

I just put "Kiki's Delivery Service" in my rental queue about a week ago. I saw the trailer for it on the "Spirited Away" DVD.

[Jariten]

Hi John..

Well...There is an Ultraman DVD box here
^_^;;
the live action stuff !
o_O
The problem is...the price...
DVD's in Japan ..of Japanese Animation..are prohibitive in price!
Princess moninike was 9000Yen when it came out (80$)

o_O
so I have lots on Laserdisc...

^_^;;

[John Holmes]

OMG, that is spendy! But, I think I would find away to get the cash for the Ultraman Box set!!! :heh: I have a laserdisc player (two actually) just for that purpose as well. Though I don't own many titles of anime.

[Brandon B]

John, I believe Marine Boy is available on DVD, but not positive.

Disney is sloooooooooowly redubbing and releasing the remainder of Studio Ghibli's work in the U.S. Porco Rosso is in the chute now.

BB

[David Meek]

Disney is sloooooooooowly redubbing and releasing the remainder of Studio Ghibli's work in the U.S.

B, are they editing also, or just dubbing? I'd like to think the whole effort is available and not just something okay'ed by the PC-Police. :bash:

[John Holmes]

John, I believe Marine Boy is available on DVD, but not positive.

Disney is sloooooooooowly redubbing and releasing the remainder of Studio Ghibli's work in the U.S. Porco Rosso is in the chute now.

BB

Thanks Brandon. I give a look for it.

I hope Disney takes the time to do it right. Nothing worse than having great work, not given the royal treatment.

[Dean McManis]

Spirited Away is a wonderful Anime. I was talking to a friend of mine who is Japanese an he was telling me that the various spirit characters throughout the film are historically well known in Japan, each with their own distinctive character and attributes in the world of spirits. And they were appeased with offerings, as is shown in the movie. So apparently knowing the nature of these spirits (through the Japanese telling of these stories as children) there is much more depth to these stories than we would know as Americans watching the movie.

Still Spirited Away is so beautifully drawn and composed that it translates very well regardless.

I also have Princess Mononoke on DVD (by the same studio), which is also beautifully animated. My only big problem was casting Billy-Bob as a voice character on the english dub, but these movies are best vewed in their native Japanese anyway, reading the subtitles. 8)

Ghost in the shell is a Blade-Runner-like modern story that is a great thriller, sci-fi story with lots of action and a great soundtrack. :T

Although not traditionally animated, Final Fantasy was also really an anime-style film, with post-war theme and nature imperative. It was just done in CG, which changes the feel of the film.

Akira was another famous post apocalyptic story that gets most strange, oozing and gigantic as the story evolves. :E

Other Anime DVDs that I have a Bubblegum Crisis (4 girls in mechanical suits fight destructive robots in future Tokyo).
Gunsmith Cats (two young, spunky girls, who deal in guns and bombs get into trouble)
Graveyard of the Fireflies (post WWII Japan following the trials of two young kids who lose everything good in their lives) It is beautifully animated, but makes Schindler's List look lighthearted in comparison. :cry:

Record of Lodoss War (13 show series which was developed from the a huge Dungeons and Dragons game match fleshed out into an extended journey/battle similar to Lord of the Rings).

And many others...

I like animated films in general, but beyond the great artisic design and talent, many of these stories are quite compelling and enjoyable.
It's generally a good idea to rent these movies as Anime is definitely not for everyone. And keep in mind that many Anime movies are full of adult sex and violence, so don't let the animated style fool you into thinking that the subject matter will be suitable for young kids.

Spirited Away could be considered a family film though as it's not too violent or adult in nature. But even some Disney films are not exactly suitable for small children. I really enjoyed watching Spirited Away, which I've watched about 4 times now at home with different friends. Plus the DVD has some compelling videos which show some of the behind-the-scenes animation development work to create these movies.

-Dean.

[Azeke]

One of the best animations films I've seen in a while, (I'm a Jonny Quest fan), and is thought provoking as well 8) .

I viewed this DVD with the family and we all enjoyed it, (which doesn't happen a lot ), .

I 've added it to my collection of keepers, your mileage may vary of course .

Regards,

Azeke

[Dean McManis]

Have you ordered the Johnny Quest 1st season on DVD yet? 8)
My understanding is that the DVD set was available for sale on May 11th.

I used to also love the animated TV series, but I've found that my tastes have changed since I was a kid, and I tend to rent many TV series videos on DVD now rather than buying them.

-Dean.

[Azeke]

Dean,

I didn't even know that Jonny Quest was available on DVD. I have to check that out.

Thanks for the heads up.

Regards,

Azeke

[Brandon B]

B, are they editing also, or just dubbing? I'd like to think the whole effort is available and not just something okay'ed by the PC-Police. :bash:

AFAIK, there is no editing of the films, just a rerecording/remastering of the audio.

I believe John Lasseter of Pixar was the one that pushed for this effort by Disney (before the dark times).

Dean -

Saw the sequel to Ghost in the Shell in Tokyo. It is super way more beautiful cool than the first, even. Supposed to have a 9/04 US release.

BB