Miyazaki’s movies just blow me away. All of them. They have some similar themes but they just keep amazing me. They keep going farther and farther out there. To the really good stuff.
He does anime—animated films from Japan—that are pretty much suitable for kids across the board. A few are solidly in the coming-of-age category, but all of his films reach across the ages to everyone. Everyone.
They’re so detailed yet so imaginative. They’re full of neighborhoods, nature, bikes, curious children, awkward-but-brave teens, complicated/compromised adults, mixed old/new technology, planes and things that fly and flap, old/new weaponry, ethereal spirits of both nature and city, some scary stuff, some super-hyper cute stuff—all astonishing.
I highly recommend that you check them all out. Maybe see one a month. Don’t overdo it. Or a few a year. Stretch them out. As long as you can.
M’s films blend old and new. They include all generations and personality types. All animals, nature, weather, water and spirits. Fact and fancy. Such sharp well-aged details of the imagination everywhere!
The main link for my article here goes to a set of brief but strict film-buff reviews. There’s some film-buff lingo but you can tell Miyazaki’s the real McCoy because this tough-case reviewer declares several of his film’s to be among the best of all time. Not bad.
Here are a few titles to check out. I’m a lame “reviewer” but really you can’t go wrong by watching ALL of them:
“My Neighbor Totoro”—about a city family that moves to the country and the two sisters who find wondrous creatures in the traditional culture around them. What detail and weather and nature! Nice music, too. Children just love this one. But so does everyone.
“Castle in the Sky”—A girl has to rescue a world. An evil army gets in the way as does a wild posse of pirates run by a granny.
“Kiki’s Messenger Service”—A girl witch comes of age and finds a city to serve. Lovely bike details. Neat theme song. Great city views and human interaction.
“Howl’s Moving Castle”—What a moving castle! What a brooding hero.
“Princess Mononoke”—wild spirits of the forest fighting to survive against encroaching people who are in turn fighting to survive—everyone is ambivalent here, even the evil lady queen. Great blend of old and new, spirit and nature, human relations, as in all M’s films.
“Spirited Away”—totally cosmic and otherworldly views of a city and its denizens of elsewhere. Wonderful city detail in all respects.
“Whisper of the Heart”—a coming of age romance between high-schoolers. Just great relations depicted between everyone involved, including cats, buses and the city.
Here’s an Amazon overview page for Miyazaki: www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_/103-2032753-3312641?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=castle+in+the+sky-2032753-3312641
If you end up wanting to buy any of M’s flicks, PLEASE use the following link to get into the Amazon system and so support the OYB cause. Thanks! — www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/6303118240/jeffpottersoutyo (this one leads to Totoro).
https://www.filmfreakcentral.net/screenreviews/filmsofmiyazaki.htm
