Special Movie Debate: Hayao Miyazaki

[Reed Rothchild | 10,081]

[Ankos | 596]

It's been a while since I've seen some of these so I might be misremembering which ones I have and have not watched. I remember liking them, but a decent chunk are kids movies, so maybe I wouldn't like them as much if I re-watched them

[Sumez | 3,218]

Jeez it's hard to pick just one favourite 

[doner24 | 1,235]

I have seen every one except for the latest one. My favorite is Princess Mononoke. You people voting for Howl’s Moving Castle need to have your heads examined (unless it’s the only one you’ve seen). 

[doner24 | 1,235]

To add to my post above. Mononoke and Spirited Away are nearly perfect movies. Nausicaa and Arrietty are the most underrated. Totoro and Kiki and Laputa and Cagliastro are must watches too. Howl and Ponyo lag behind but are solid watches. The more humanized stuff is not nearly as good IMO. 

[Link | 2,952]

Well! I just saw my first Myazaki film. The Boy and the Heron. So, that one.

Edited January 26, 2024 by Link
spelling

[Brickman | 4,314]

Seen all except The Castle of Cagliostro. All are pretty brilliant except maybe Ponyo, I wasn’t really into that movie.

Choosing one favourite is almost impossible but I ultimately went with Princess Mononoke even though Nausicaa could be my favourite if you ask me tomorrow. Both are just amazing stories and resonate with me the most considering I live in a forest in real life and enjoy nature  

Nausicaa I think has the better soundtrack but the animation is superior in Princess Mononoke.

An underrated movie of his is The Wind Rises. Yeah it’s a love story but it is also a fascinating small insight to the powerful Japanese planes being made during WW2 and loosely based on their creator.

I’m going to Japan in March and I’m disappointed that the Ghibli park will be doing maintenance when I’m there  

[Sumez | 3,218]

2 hours ago, Brickman said:

Seen all except The Castle of Cagliostro.

Cagliostro seems to be generally panned among Lupin III fans, for not treating the characters properly - but not knowing about those, it's honestly amazing. I only saw it a few years ago on Netflix, and it has a surprising huge amount of classic Miyazaki traits even as early as the 70s  

[GPX | 1,444]

I’ve only see about 3-4 of the titles on the list, with Castle of Cagliostro being one of my favourite anime movie of all time, and Lupin being one of my favourite series of all time. 

Miyazaki is like the Miyamoto of anime, both know how to fully translate their imagination into reality. 

[Sumez | 3,218]

Here's my personal summary of every movie on the list

The Castle of Cagliostro (1979)
As I already touched on, it's kind of impressive how many Miyazaki mainstays were in place already in this pre-Ghibli movie. Not really in the running for my favourite, but it is actually quite up there.

Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (1984)
Castle in the Sky (1986)
I've seen Nausicaa at least twice, and I think I've seen Laputa just once, but honestly I remember very little from either outside of few individual impressions and visuals. And I tend to mix them up a lot.
Both are frequently mentioned favourites, but although I don't dislike them, neither really made much of an impression on me.

My Neighbor Totoro (1988)
Kiki's Delivery Service (1989)
Both of these were probably the biggest Ghibli hits here in Denmark long before anime really gained any presence at all.
Where Mononoke was more of the nerd's semi-niche point of interest, Totoro and Kiki were dubbed and broadcast in public TV, and I know a lot of people who saw them as kids. I didn't see either of them until adulthood, but I think both hold up very well, which should be unsurprising to anyone else who has seen them.
Despite its darker undertones, Totoro feels more like a decidedly "kids movie" to me, while Kiki actually managed to move me immensely even when I watched it the first time only a couple of years ago. It is just incredibly good, and definitely in the run for being the favourite.

Porco Rosso (1992)
For some reason Porco Rosso didn't leave much of an impression on me first time I saw it - felt like a bunch of Ghibli/Miyazaki cliches thrown together with no real vision.... But the second time, I was actually quite blown away - it felt like I'd somehow forgotten the entire second half of the movie. It's funny, exciting, and extremely emotional, with a real unique take on magical realism. Definitely one of the less prolific Ghibli movies that deserves better.

Whisper of the Heart (1995)(writer)
This movie has a really funny Japanese rendition of Take Me Home, Country Roads

Princess Mononoke (1997)
Another favourite - I have no idea how many times I've seen it, but I think I had to actually see it multiple times before it really clicked for me. And even now thinking about it, I somehow don't remember the details of it too well. I think I need to watch it yet again, but it's definitely in the highest echelon of Miyazaki movies.
One thing I enjoy about his movies is that even when dealing with tangible threats, protagonists and antagonists, it's never really as black and white as you'd think. Anyone can be your friend, and anyone can be your enemy, given the circumstances, and the themes of the movie are more important than the actual events. I don't think any other movies on this list demonstrate that quite as well as Mononoke does.

Spirited Away (2001)
If Totoro or Mononoke wasn't it, Chihiro was the western mainstream breakthrough of Studio Ghibli, and deservingly so. It's beautiful, and the animation is a step above even what came before. The story is very emotional and spiritual, with so many layers you can watch it over and over, and always discover new emotions. I picked The Moving Castle as my favourite for the poll, but it could just as well have been this.

Howl's Moving Castle (2004)
This movie feels similar to Chihiro for me, with a lot of similar magical beats and emotions. The major difference in this one is that the sinister undertones are much more pronounced, making it probably a bit less kid friendly. I really enjoy the way Ghibli's movies treat that sort of darkness, so that bumps up this one a lot to me.

Ponyo (2008)
The Secret World of Arrietty (2010)(writer)
These two feel like a return to the style of Totoro and Kiki in terms of both tone, plot and just in how they are more pure kids movies. But neither managed to have nearly the same magical impact for me, and I'd probably rank them among the lowest of the movies on this list.

From Up on Poppy HIll (2011)(writer)
I checked that I hadn't seen this, but the more I think about it, the more I'm unsure of that. Looking at pictures, all of it seems familiar, but I might be confusing it with things from Whisper of the Heart or Kiki, I'm not sure.

The Wind Rises (2013)
Watched this in the theater when it was advertised as the last movie from Miyazaki - was really excited to see him telling a more personal and apparently mature story, but will you believe it - I don't remember much from it at all. All I remember is that it didn't really make much of an impact on me.

The Boy and the Heron (2023)
This movie hasn't premiered here yet, but I'm going to a preview showing this Sunday. Really looking forward to it!

Edited January 26, 2024 by Sumez

[RH | 5,428]

Well, time for me to be Bizzaro-Gloves but I’ve never seen any of these.

(And yes, I agree that that’s a travesty!)

[Kguillemette | 1,681]

Only seen spirited away, which was recently. Watching more ghibli movies has been on my list since. It really touched me.

[OptOut | 9,278]

8 hours ago, Reed Rothchild said:

Japanese Colonel Sanders looking MF right there. 

[spacepup | 2,570]

This was awfully difficult.  I LOVE the Ghibli / Miyazaki films - have seen every one on the list, many of them multiple times.  

I picked Nausicaa as my favorite, because there is something about that movie that just really resonates with me.  But for me, it is incredibly difficult for me to even pick a favorite between Nausicaa, Mononoke, and Laputa.  I love all 3 SO much and have seen each of them many times. 

I enjoy most of the other movies - especially Spirited Away.

I've always loved the Miyazaki and Ghibli films.  There is a special kind of magic in the stories and storytelling, that many have tried to replicate but just can't quite get.  There are also some great themes that persist throughout many of them.

All in all, they are just great and I love them very much.  Every year I go to multiple of the movies in theater thanks to "Ghibli Fest"

[T-Pac | 8,443]

8 hours ago, doner24 said:

I have seen every one except for the latest one. My favorite is Princess Mononoke. 

Likewise.

Princess Mononoke is easily one of my top 5 films of all time.

[T-Pac]

[nrslam | 501]

Spirited Away is a masterpiece, and many of the others are very good.  The exception, for me, was Totoro.  The story was OK but the little girl spent so much time screaming that it frazzled my nerves.

I picked up about 10 of these on DVD for $1 apiece at a g-sale a few years ago and watch them semi-regularly.

[wongojack | 373]

I guess something is wrong with me because none of the few that I've seen have made any lasting impression on me at all.  They all mix together.

 

Voted - Spirited Away

[glazball | 178]

Had to go with Princess Mononoke, but Howl's Moving Castle is a close 2nd and I believe it has better art and animation.  The only one I haven't seen yet is The Boy and the Heron - waiting for a BD or UHD release.